Merry War on Christmas Eve!
I can only assume that BillDo took heed of my strategy paper on the War on Christmas™, because here‘s what he’s moaning about now:
“The latest gambit by the anti-Christmas Czars is to flood public parks with a vast array of cultural symbols. For example, at the Fort Collins Museum in Colorado, in addition to a nativity scene and a menorah, they are displaying the Indian Diwali Festival of Lights, the Thailand Buddhist celebration of Loy Krathong, the Chinese Lantern Festival, African-American Kwanzaa, Muslim Ramadan, and the Scottish Hogmanay festival.
“It is insulting to Christians and Jews to dilute their long-standing holidays in a country founded on Judeo-Christian principles by turning public areas into a junk-yard clutter of cultural artifacts, and that is why only the nativity scene and the menorah should be allowed in the same place at this time of the year. The real goal of the cultural fascists is to water down the meaning of Christmas (and to a much lesser extent Hanukkah) via contrived competition. Let the others find another spot or another time to display their symbols.”
In other words, “it’s our country, and our holiday. We’ll share with the Jews, but the rest of you can just fuck off.”
No word from the Indian, Thai, Chinese, African-American, Muslim, or Scottish communities on how they feel about their culture being dismissed as “junk-yard clutter”. (Besides, I thought Scotland was Christian, and celebrated Christmas. Maybe BillDo resents them because they’re mostly Protestant. And besides, Hogmanay is a new year celebration. Is Bill going to lay claim to New Year’s Day now as well?)
At any rate, as I sit here admiring the Christmas tree and listening to Bing Crosby, with a Christmas LOLcat on my lap helping me type (and, incidentally, preventing me from getting up and getting the glass of egg nog that I want), yes, I am diluting the True Meaning of Christmas™.
If you didn’t want other people enjoying the secular stuff that’s been glommed onto your religious holiday over the centuries, you shouldn’t have made it so much fun. So now all the kids are playing in your sandbox. Whatcha gonna do about it?
I know what I’m going to do about it: pick the cat off of my lap, get a glass of Christmas cheer, and use it to dilute Christmas some more. And maybe water the tree with Bill’s tears.
I don’t notice BillDo complaining about those North European pagans diluting Christmas by adding that decorated-conifer tradition, from their solstice Jul festival.
I mean, he is that old, isn’t he?
I don’t know about all that, but as mein frau and I sit here watching A Christmas Story, I happened to Google something about this fine piece of cinematic tradition and landed at ooblick.com. Impressed by the energy and… well, love that you put into fabricating The Leg Lamp; and pleased to be reminded of one of my favorite products from Ted Geisel’s warped and wonderful imagination – I hung around.
Diluted or no, Merry Christmas to ya.
Foo:
Glad you liked it. But did you mean Jean Shepherd, rather than Ted “Dr. Seuss” Geisel?