by Annie Biller

Created on: December 07, 2008

Christmas was originally meant to be a holiday to celebrate the birth of the Christ child. HE was God's gift to mankind and the tradition of giving gifts to one another grew from remembrance of HIS birth, as we sought to show recognition of the great sacrifice God made and emulate the giving of the greatest gift of all. Christmas was established as celebratory tribute to HIS birth to be observed on December 25th. It was to be a time of giving, a time to set aside difficulties and strife in recognition and honor of the Christ child and simply love one another.

Over the years this wonderful time of year has become exploited and crassly commercialized. Santa and his reindeer arrived on the scene. Stories written to entertain children have grown in popularity and they also have been exploited to the point where they have taken precedence over the recognition and acknowledgement of the anniversary of the birth of Jesus and these delightful little stories intended solely for entertainment have become in a large part the theme of the holiday and are used to promote this commercialism. "Christmas" trees with their twinkling lights and glittering ornaments and gifts wrapped in bright paper and pretty ribbons have become the central focus and all but obliterated the meaning behind what should be one of the most reverent days of worship in the year.

Religion has taken a back seat to commercialism. Banks. credit card companies, and retail establishments promote the use of credit to tempt consumers to spend more than most can realistically afford. Hymns that we sang to acknowledge and praise the GIFT that was given to mankind still exist but songs about "Santa", "Rudolph", and "Frosty" and gifts under the tree are now the ones we hear when we turn on the radio or walk into a shopping mall. Displays of a religious nature are now "politically incorrect" and banned by many retailers because there are potential customers who choose not to believe in God that might be offended by such displays. Salutations of "Merry Christmas" have been replaced with "Seasons Greetings" or "Happy Holidays".

Political correctness has made inroads everywhere. Children in schools no longer depict the birth of Christ in their school plays and no longer sing songs with religious meaning. They no longer dress as shepherds and wise men or as Mary and Joseph. Displays of faith are banned outside church walls.

Laws have been written to remove religion from public places because there are people who have no religious beliefs or whose beliefs deny that the birth of Christ should be celebrated on this holiday. Will these laws attempt to remove the reason on which the Christmas season was originally based?

Christ.

The Christ child.

Christmas.

The name given to this day of celebration is clearly there for all to see.

Will the politically correct succeed in erasing acknowledgement of the true meaning of Christmas by turning December 25 into the celebration of commercialism?

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