How the Jews and secularists did not steal Christmas

How the Jews and secularists did not steal Christmas
- Rabbi Michael Lerner
Sunday, December 17, 2006

Some leaders of the Christian Right have decided to make an issue of the secularization of Christmas. Objecting to the move by Macy's and some other retailers to wish their shoppers "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings," instead of the traditional Merry Christmas, they accuse secularists in general, and, on some of the right-wing talk shows, Jews in particular, of undermining Christmas.

The assault has been led by Bill O'Reilly, the most popular cable newscaster, who told millions of viewers that there was a systematic assault on Christmas by secularists. When challenged by a Jewish caller who said he felt uncomfortable being subject to frequent attempts to convert him by Christians at his college, O'Reilly responded: "All right. Well, what I'm tellin' you is, I think you're takin' it too seriously. You have a predominantly Christian nation. You have a federal holiday based on the philosopher Jesus. And you don't wanna hear about it? Come on -- if you are really offended, you gotta go to Israel then.''

I told O'Reilly that my grandfather didn't come here from Russia to be in a "Christian country," but rather in a country that welcomes many different faith traditions and officially privileges none.

Meanwhile, Richard Viguerie, the master of right-wing direct-mail campaigns, interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air, repeated the charge that Christians were the victims of a systematic secularists assault against Christmas. On MSNBC, William Donahue of the Catholic League insisted, "Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. It's not a secret, OK? They like to see the public square without nativity scenes."

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Not surprisingly, the Christian Right is unwilling to challenge the capitalist marketplace -- because their uncritical support for corporate power is precisely what they had to offer the Right to become part of the conservative coalition. Their loyalty to conservative capitalist economics trumps for them their commitment to serving God. But for those of us who want to prevent a new surge of anti-Semitism and assaults on the First Amendment, our most effective path is to acknowledge what is legitimate in the Christians' concern -- and lead it into a powerful spiritual critique of the ethos of selfishness and materialism fostered by our economic arrangements. It's time for our liberal and progressive Christian leaders and neighbors to stand up again on behalf of Jews and on behalf of their own highest spiritual vision -- and challenge the real Christmas and Hannukah thieves! Meanwhile, the rest of us can consciously resist by giving gifts of time rather than gifts of things. Give your friends a certificate saying "I'll give you five hours to do ... " and then fill in the blanks with something that they might need that you could offer. Teach their child a skill or help that child with homework? Paint part of their home or fix a leaky pipe or mow their lawns or shovel their snow or give child-care time or do food shopping? Sharing your time could be far more meaningful, allow for real contact, etc. For those with whom you don't want that contact, don't buy -- just send them a lovingly written personal note affirming the values you want this season to teach. Resist the pressure to join the orgy of consumption!


More:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/12/17/EDGRMLJJEI1.DTL


Rabbi Michael Lerner is editor of Tikkun Magazine, www.Tikkun.org, and national chair of the Network of Spiritual Progressives .www.spiritualprogressives.org

Not too long ago, he was arguing that "secularism" was the problem.

http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20060424&s=lerner

Maybe the fact that the "War On Christmas" bullshit has clearly been widened this year to include mythical, pushy Jews snatching Christmas trees out of airports has woke him up.

I think I've been doing all my life. My mother stressed either spending the time to find something a loved one really wants (and for not much money) or making something for them, including gift certificates for time.

They need to remember this. Jesus was even called RABBI by his followers. The Last Supper was a Passover Seder, etc., etc.

Do these people intentionally IGNORE all this? Here In New York, we started saying Happy Holidays DECADES ago because of our large population of Jewish residents. The Hanukkah season coincides with Christmas. So, we just started saying "Happy Holidays" as a collective holiday term to include both Christians and Jews.

I really cannot understand what all the fuss is about. As with sexual orientation, the only people who feel a threat to their religious faiths are those who are insecure in them themselves. They has to boost themselves up at the expense of others.

for creating an atmosphere where everyone is running around afraid of "giving offense" and then getting sued for said "offense"(real ,imagined or deliberately made more of than what it was).
Two recent examples of this are the Seattle airport. Who , when a Rabbi mentioned that they didn't have any Menorahs, and offered one for display . the airport officials overreacted and had all the Christmas decorations removed. The decorations were later put back , but not before the well-meaning Rabbi was blamed for "ruining Christmas".
The other one was in Riverside when a city official stopped the choir from singing Christmas carols for fear of offending the (half-Jewish)figure skater.(who was shocked when she found out).
Both of these incidents were at least in part caused by the "climate of fear" being generated by gung-ho attorneys and greedy individuals who see every slight as opportunity to make money.

it can't happen. Terror is an emotion, you can not make war on it. Christmas is a religious holiday, you cannot steal it. Giving this any credence just gives the right wingers more air time. this is just my opinion. :shrug: