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Secularization of Christmas
The Secularization of Christmas refers to the notion that the religious elements of Christmas are gradually being removed from the celebration of the holiday, leaving cultural, non-religious elements such as Santa Claus and Christmas trees while eschewing traditions focused on the birth of Jesus Christ and its relevance in the Christian religion.
This is typically attributed either to a general, unguided secular trend in society or, more controversially, because of an alleged active suppression of the religious aspects of the celebration of Christmas. In particular, the term War on Christmas is used, most prominently by commentators on the Fox News Channel, to assert that there is a concerted campaign to "take Christ out of Christmas" in the United States of America.
This campaign allegedly consists of a conspiracy of secularists and so-called "powerful liberals" who wish to entirely remove Christian influence from American culture. The term "War on Christmas" was first coined by Michael Medved in the 19 December 2001 issue of the newspaper USA Today. While there is significant disagreement over whether a "War on Christmas" exists, the term itself is used by pundits and commentators who either dismiss or accept the theory. There are alleged analogues in many if not all Western nations.
A
Macy's storefront in San Francisco, California during December 2004
Both the alleged abolition of Christmas and the universally
acknowledged conflict between the secular and religious aspects of
Christmas and the associated, larger, December holiday season have
caused a considerable amount of controversy. The expressions "Happy
Holidays", "Season's Greetings", and "Xmas" are commonly given examples
of the secularization of Christmas. Other cases cited as being part of
the war include dropping or replacing the word "Christmas" in greetings
and public statements and bans on Christmas decorations on public
property. While the recent controversy over the secularization of
Christmas is mostly restricted to the United States of America, it has
become a topic of minor interest in Canada, Australia, and the United
Kingdom as well.Fox News campaign
Specific incidents
See also
The
War on Christmas:
How
the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian
Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought
The idea of a war on Christmas in America has gained prominence following extensive coverage on the Fox News Channel. The channel's commentators Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity first spoke of a "war on Christmas" in the months leading up to the 2004 holiday season, and picked up the topic again in late 2005. Discussions of the idea are common on the Internet, especially in the blogosphere.
In part, O'Reilly frames his argument as pro-business. "Every company in America should be on their knees thanking Jesus for being born. Without Christmas, most American businesses would be far less profitable," O'Reilly said on a Fox News program. "More than enough reason for business to be screaming 'Merry Christmas'." Critics, however, point out that attempting to include non-Christians in Christmas by generalizing the holiday is a wholly capitalistic method of increasing profits — the more people affected by marketing, the more people will come out and purchase.
Another proponent of the idea, John Gibson, wrote a book entitled The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought (ISBN 1595230165), which was published in October of 2005. Gibson and others claim the abolition of Christmas (War on Christmas) is part of a broader "culture war" waged by progressives.
O'Reilly claimed that "it's all part of the secular progressive agenda ... to get Christianity and spirituality and Judaism out of the public square." He also went on to say that this larger agenda includes "legalization of narcotics, euthanasia, abortion at will, gay marriage." In this alleged recent movement, Gibson has charged that a wide array of groups, including "liberals," "secular progressives," the ACLU, the Anti-Defamation League, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State are the forces behind the attack, while O'Reilly has focused more narrowly on the ACLU and billionaire financier George Soros.
By 10 December 2005, 15000 "Just Say 'Merry
Christmas' " bracelets had
been sold. A Fox News / Opinion Dynamics poll for November 29–30, 2005
found that
42% of respondents believe that "there is a War on Christmas in the US
today," with 48% in disagreement. Media Matters for America, a watchdog group critical of conservative media, reported that from Monday, November 28, to Friday, December 2, Fox News aired 58 different reports, interviews, and debates about the War on Christmas.
Many print and television media outlets are skeptical, calling it a conspiracy theory or attempt to further a conservative Christian agenda.
Specific incidents
The following incidents are examples of secularization of Christmas, reactions to secularization, and notable claims of secularization that proved to be false.
Prior to 2005, the Capital One corporation used Christmas-related themes in their advertising without uttering the word "Christmas". In December 2005, the company released an ad containing the phrase "all I want for Christmas is..", which was one of the first American ads from the 2005 Christmas season to contain the word "Christmas". In February 2006, the corporation released a television ad that included the greeting "Merry Christmas", as well as reference to Easter, Halloween, St. Valentine's Day, and Thanksgiving. This commercial is believed by some to again reflect the pro-Christmas stance that Capital One is believed to have taken.
• The Republican National Committee posted a "Happy Holidays" message on its home page on 24 December 2005.
• Target, Inc. planned a secular advertising campaign for "holiday" items, including trees, decorations, gifts, and more. After a boycott was issued by the American Family Association (AFA) on 12 December 2005, Target decided to focus more on Christmas, and now has affixed a red slide to the end of two already existing commercials wishing customers a "Merry Christmas." One ad is called "Countdown to Christmas". Target announced to the AFA that the corporation intends to use holiday-specific advertising and slogans such as referring directly to Christmas.
• Walgreens did not use "Merry Christmas" in its advertising in 2005. The company responded officially to the criticism from opponents of secularization, issuing a letter stating: "Next year, you can be assured our advertising will better incorporate 'Christmas', and our holiday trees will be called Christmas trees. Unfortunately, all of this year's December ads are already printed, so it's too late to make changes for this season."
• FOXNews.com branded their online store's Christmas ornaments "Holiday Ornaments", including one for the O'Reilly Factor. The naming was changed, the day after MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann pointed it out.
• The "holiday card" sent out by George and Laura Bush in 2005 does not mention the word "Christmas", and Laura Bush said "Happy Holidays" — not "Merry Christmas" — during the official Christmas tree unveiling at the White House. Criticism has been leveled at the president by Joseph Farah, editor of the conservative WorldNetDaily, and by William Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.
• Bill O'Reilly falsely claimed that the Plano Independent School District in Plano, Texas banned students from wearing the colors red and green. O'Reilly retracted his allegation on December 20, after an attorney from the school district requested a retraction and local parents threatened a lawsuit. O'Reilly later stated that it was cupcakes and napkins that were not permitted to be red or green, not clothing.
• O'Reilly has also wrongly stated that Saginaw township in Michigan "opposes red and green clothing on anyone". In an interview with WNEM TV-5, the Township supervisor Tim Braun said that the comments were "flat out not true". Braun also pointed out that the township hall has red and green Christmas lights
• On December 9 O'Reilly reported that the United States Postal Service has stopped issuing spiritual Christmas stamps.However, the USPS continues to sell the "Madonna and Child" stamp but have not printed a new version for 2005, due to a planned stamp price change.
• The Ridgewood Elementary School in Dodgeville, Wisconsin was falsely accused of changing the lyrics to "Silent Night" and forcing the students to sing a secularized version.
The charge was made by O'Reilly and then also on Fox by Mathew Staver of Liberty Counsel. However, the school had not changed any lyrics, but had instead presented a Christmas play, The Little Tree's Christmas Gift, written in 1988. In the play, the title character, a small and unwanted Christmas tree, sings about his loneliness, to the tune of "Silent Night". The play has also been performed in several churches. It does not exclude Christmas and in fact concludes with audience participation singing of "Deck the Halls" and "We Wish You A Merry Christmas".
Despite the demonstrable falsity of this charge, O'Reilly repeated it again on January 3, 2006 on The Late Show with David Letterman and then a third time on the January 11th broadcast of his radio show. In January 2006, the Dodgeville School District demanded a widely distributed apology, a retraction of claims by the Liberty Counsel that the school's policies are "hostile" to the U.S. Constitution, and $23,899.48 in damages. The District's attorney stated her belief that the Liberty Counsel "used this red herring to attempt to collect money through the form of donations."
• A week before Christmas 2005 the Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives rep. John Dingell(D-MI-15) a 25 tearm congressman read a satirical poem on the house floor about the "Preserving of Christmas" and Fox News
See also
Bill O'Reilly
Christian Right
Conspiracy theory
Culture of the United States
PC – Political Correctness