Cartoon #230: “War on Christmas”

Jesus was Jewish. He never celebrated anything like ‘Christmas.’ In biblical times, birth dates were not remembered, and birth anniversaries were not observed.

What would a Jewish contemporary of Jesus, who was the same age as Jesus, have said if you had asked him when he was born? After wondering about your sanity for asking such a question, he might tell you the year of his birth — if he knew even that much. That year would be 3761 by his calendar.

If you wished him a happy Hanukkah (or Feast of Dedication as he knew the holiday), he would know exactly what you meant. Hanukkah is a celebration of his people’s real victory in their own real ‘war on Judaism’ waged by the Syrians.

If you think there is a ‘war’ against Christmas in the U.S., just try ignoring it. If you are right, it should be easy to avoid Christmas gifts, Christmas decorations, Christmas music, Christmas TV specials, Christmas ballets, Christmas plays, Christmas pagents, Christmas concerts, Christmas parades, Christmas services, Christmas cards, Christmas foods, Christmas advertising, Christmas greetings, Christmas movies, Christmas magazines, Christmas books, Christmas parties, Christmas bonuses, and Christmas vacations.

If you are correct, you will not see, or hear, or touch, or smell, or think about any of these Christmas experiences. On December 26th, or later, it will occur to you that Christmas passed without your noticing it. Think you can do that? If so, you are wrong. You won’t succeed. Now ask yourself: If Christmas can’t even be ignored, how can there be any kind of clear and present danger threatening to kill it?

So what is all this hoopla and humbuggery about a so-called “war on Christmas?” It is a fabrication of the religious right in the U.S. It is more fear mongering to raise money for neo-conservative political causes. It’s as nonsensical as the false accusation about a conspiracy to use Spongebob Squarepants to turn heterosexual kids into homosexual adults. It is as nutty as a fruitcake.