Holidays? Which holidays?!!

This time of year always bugs the heck out of me, and the very fact that it does bother me bothers me even more. As a Christian, this should be an enjoyable, joyous time of year for me. I should be totally immersed in the Christmas season, enjoying it for all its worth, and should be simply drenched in Christmas spirit.

But I'm not entirely, and that bugs me. Part of it is the commercialization that has twisted one of the holiest days of the year into this revolting money and greed fest Christmas has become -- and people still doubt the existence of Satan. Another huge reason is because of the annual Christmas wars that inevitably spring up immediately following Thanksgiving, which always devolve into a veiled reference to "the Holidays" or, even worse, the "Holiday" itself.

I utterly despise this. When I was a kid, the Holidays referred collectively to the time between Thanksgiving and New Years. Because there were three major holidays in just over a month, it was often easier to refer to the three as a whole rather than pulling each out. If you were referring to a specific holiday, like Christmas, then you would simply say, "What are your plans for Christmas?"

But no more. Thanksgiving now stands alone, and "the Holidays" stands for the various religious and quasi-religious celebrations that happen in December, up to and including New Years. This is partially due to our oh-so-sensitive feelings nowadays, our painfully politically correct world, in that referring to a specific holiday may possibly insult somebody, somewhere, sometime, and so we couldn't let that happen. Part of it is simply good marketing, because if retailers only have "Christmas" sales, then the Jews won't show up, and likewise if they were to have "Hanukkah" sales.

But I think a far greater reason for it is to intentionally and absolutely cut Christ out of Christmas altogether, and hold on to it as merely a pleasant secular holiday based upon eating, drinking, gifts, and greed. This goal becomes more and more clear every year, as the anti-Christian and anti-Christmas forces become ever bolder and receive weaker opposition.

Think of this for a moment: It has become fashionable in some circles to refer to "Holiday trees" and "Holiday balls." Are you friggin' kidding me?!! Holiday trees?!! Which holiday, Memorial Day? The Fourth of July?!!! There is simply no holiday associated with the decorating of evergreen trees but Christmas. "Ah," my ever present doubters say, "but the trees have nothing to do with Christianity. They are part of left over pagan celebrations."

That's the point! The trees have nothing to do with Christianity itself, and are solely associated with one holiday, so why not call them thusly? The whole argument behind taking down municipal nativity scenes was because they were wholly religious symbols, are were therefore unconstitutional. OK, but what about the trees, the balls? They are clearly not religious, so why not refer to them as they are?

The reason, clearly, is to try and get even the name Christ disassociated with Christmas. If even innocent things like the trees and decorations can't be labeled with Christmas, then what other reason could it be than to get Christ out of Christmas? If people are offended simply by the utterance of the name Christ, then that is just too damn bad for them. It is ridiculous to think that simply saying "Christmas" would make even the most dedicated atheist shrivel up and die, so there must be a deeper, more nefarious reason behind it.

Also, think of this: Ever see a commercial for a "holiday" sale that features things like holly, candles, evergreen trees, stockings, candy canes, and the like? All of the visual representations of Christmas are used without ever referring to it itself. Its almost like retailers are using a code to let people know they mean Christmas but can't actually use the word itself. Again, another example of Christ being cut out of Christmas. More and more, the day itself is being referred to as "Holiday" -- singular, as in "your Holiday gifts" or "your Holiday plans" -- showing that the name of Christ is simply too disturbing for most sinners even to hear.

This is an utterly nefarious and deceitful thing, and we Christians must fight back, and fight back hard. These people are trying to take our celebrations from us, taking our faith from us, even trying to take the name of our Savior from us. Why shouldn't we fight back as heartily as they have attacked us? Christ didn't die on a cross so we could deny his name, even if only in not using the word "Christmas."

This is our task, this is our mission. If you are Christian and reading these pages, prepare for a fight and take the battle to these people. Even if only in simple ways, such as wishing strangers "Merry Christmas" rather than "Happy Holidays," then do it. But fight back in some way.

And if you are one of those non-Christians who love to see the Christmas season being turned into the Holiday season...well, you'd best get used to disappointment.