Bright lights, parades, Santa, creches with sweet little baby Jesus smiling up at his adoring mother. Giggling children, wild with anticipation. It’s that wonderful time of the year--or it ought to be.
For some of us the dreaded War on Christmas goes on. It’s getting to be sort of like the other one--the Iraq quagmire we love to hate--we just can’t seem to find a way out of it. Faux News’ Bill O’Reilly is ready, once again, to make use of his second amendment rights, armed and dangerous and firing away at the Happy Holidays crowd. If you won’t holler “Merry Christmas!” exclusively, you’re the enemy. If you shop the store with a Happy Holidays banner on display, you’re a secular collaborator. Christmas is Christmas, it’s for proper Christians only and you’d better watch what you say about it. The O’Reilly Parsing Posse is on the prowl. Holiday is a no-no. And this is war.
In Australia it appears that a jolly old Santa who can’t control his jolly old laughter and cuts loose with “Ho-ho-ho!” has stepped over the line. In major fashion. He’s offensive to women everywhere with his “Ho” reference. Which three hos is he talking about, anyway? Is he pimping the holiday? Who knew? The jolly old elf is prostituting Christmas. And he’s been getting away with it for years.
Is nothing sacred anymore?
Not much. Seems we’re a world of “Christians” so taken with buying up the shiny stuff--and with declaring war on one another--that we’ve forgotten what the gift of the season really is. It’s non-denominational. It’s the season of love. And maybe the best gifts we ever get aren’t the biggest, shiniest boxes under the tree.
I wrote about a military family last spring, one whose young son was in Iraq on his fifth deployment. He finally came home in July and he is awaiting orders soon for his sixth tour. But his family has had him safe at home for five months now and he will be spending Christmas with them for the first time since the invasion of Iraq. This military family doesn’t care if it’s Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. They’re apt to holler whichever phrase pops into their heads these days. They don’t worry whether or not, to some folks, Santa’s shout-out sounds like “Get Your Jollies With One of These Babes Right Here!”, either.
They’ll attend Christmas Eve services, exchange gifts, laugh, love, hug and eat too much. For this military mom the real war, at least for awhile, is on hold. Her Christmas miracle is celebrating with her son; she’s been praying, since 2003, for a season of peace.
This family’s gift is one my family has been privileged to enjoy with them. I want to share it with all of you. Let’s get all the war and politics out of the way for a few days--both the real, deadly ones and the ridiculous battles over semantics. Let’s let it be what it is, the season of love and of peace.
Happy Holidays, ya’ll. And “Ho-ho-ho!”
By Linda Hansen,
columnist
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