Christmas is the Reason

Two weeks ago, I saw a news story on television relating how the ACLU sent out warnings to local school districts to say "Holidays" vice "Christmas."  One of those school districts is in Tennessee.  The ACLU and all of the other "holiday" people are in the wrong.  It is time to set the record straight.

First, what is a holiday?  Consulting the dictionary, holiday can be used as a noun or an adjective.  Since the phrase advocated is "happy holidays," the use of 'holiday' is as a noun and not an adjective.  Therefore, we will only parse the noun definition of 'holiday'. 

From dictionary.com:
1.  a day fixed by law or custom on which ordinary business is suspended in commemoration of some event or in honor of some person.
2. any day of exemption from work ( distinguished from working day).
3. a time or period of exemption from any requirement, duty, assessment, etc.: New businesses may be granted a one-year tax holiday.
4. a religious feast day; holy day, esp. any of several usually commemorative holy days observed in Judaism.
5. Sometimes, holidays. Chiefly British . a period of cessation from work or one of recreation; vacation.

The variations of the individual meanings have one thing in common:  a day or days off.  This means a holiday is a day from which one refrains from work or other requirements.  One of the key elements exists in the first definition: "a day fixed by law or custom."  So boiling down the definition of holiday to its essence, three elements rise to the top:  (1) a day recognized by the law or by custom  (2) which is a day off  (3) from regular duties or work.

Thus if a so-called 'holiday' does not meet all three elements, the day cannot be classified as a holiday.

Let's evaluate some of the "holidays."

Christmas:  December 25th is a day set aside by law (federal and all 50 states) as a holiday.  While the United States does not have an official national holiday, several dates are set aside as federal days off.  Most states recognize those same dates and may add or subtract from the dates according to customs in the state.  But, Christmas is a day set aside by law and custom as a day off from regular duties or work.  Thus Christmas is a holiday.

New Year's:  Just like Christmas, January 1 is a federal and state day off from work.  Thus, New Year's is a holiday.

Hanukkah:  Is not set aside by law, but is set aside by custom.  Jews celebrate Hanukkah around the world as a celebration of the eight days one day's worth of oil lasted.  Unfortunately, the days are not the same every year since the day is set by the lunar calendar and not the Gregorian calendar.  Also, Hanukkah is an eight day celebration which does not include a day off from regular duties or work (except for the day one of the eight falls on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath).  Thus, Hanukkah only meets the first element and not the other two.  Therefore, Hanukkah is not a holiday.

Kwanzaa:  Is another week long celebration.  Again, this celebration is not recognized by law.  It is hard to say if it is even recognized by custom.  The celebration was founded in 1966.  Although the official website touts the celebrations as being celebrated around the world, the number of people celebrating do not raise the celebration to one of custom.  First, the celebration is totally made up.  While a celebration of "African" heritage, until Kwanzaa was dreamed up, not a single country or tribe or people of Africa celebrated anything similar to Kwanzaa.  Much like Hanukkah, Kwanzaa does not include any official days off from work or other requirements.  Kwanzaa does not satisfy any element of a holiday; thus Kwanzaa is not a holiday.

The Winter Solstice:  Do I really need to go through this one?  Not recognized by law, not recognized by custom (although aspects have been included in Christmas), does not have a day off.  Thus, the winter solstice is not a holiday.

This means only Christmas and New Year's can be classified as holidays.  Thus to say "Happy Holidays" means "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year."  Any attempt to say otherwise signifies a lack of understanding of what a holiday is.

The big reason the ACLU hates Christmas is the religious flavor of Christmas.  What a farce on the short-sided and small-minded part of the ACLU!  When I was growing up there were two aspects of Christmas:  the religious portion and the commercial portion.  Merry Christmas was more than wishing someone a good day on the day of Christ's birth.  Christmas included Santa Claus and gift giving and Christmas trees and wreaths.  Christmas encompasses more than just the birth of Christ.

You must realize that as Christianity spread across Europe, the religious leaders of the time made concessions to "include" the pagans.  This made conversion to Christianity easier for the pagans.  For example, no one can actually pinpoint the exact date of Christ's birth.  (How many shepherds actually tend sheep at night in the winter?)  December 25 was chosen in the 800's as the date of Christ's birth.  This date occurs around the winter solstice (pagan) and during the celebration of an Egyptian (pagan) celebration.  Thus Christmas was an inclusion of other belief systems in an effort to convert to Christianity.

Does that mean the same today?  Of course not!  With the commercialism of the Christmas season, Christmas encompasses more than just the celebration of Christ's birth.  Christmas, while a religious day, is also an American and English tradition.  This means saying "Merry Christmas" is not a promotion of a religious day but an acknowledging of good tidings and cheer (attributes the ACLU lacks).

Also, through the years of establishing the tradition of Christmas, Christmas has taken on a different flair than only the religious portion.  Christmas has become "generic" to the country (and half the world).  By becoming generic, Christmas has lost the religious overtones and become a word for the masses.  I bring this up for a reason.

The ACLU is composed of lawyers.  To become a lawyer, one has to attend law school.  One of the courses in law school is property.  One of the subjects of property is the creation of intelligent property, such as trademarks.  Companies trademark their slogans (ie California Western School of Law's slogan "The Way Law School Aught to Be" is trademarked) and the symbols which set them apart from their competition.  But the law recognizes that after sometime the trademark becomes generic and thus no longer a trademark.  For example, Xerox is not a trademark anymore.  People can say they xeroxed a document, even on a non-Xerox copier.  Other terms fall into this category:  aspirin, elevator, and a host of others.  The point here, is once something becomes generic, it no longer is owned by one group; it is owned by the society.  Lawyers, at least competent ones, should know this.  Christmas has become generic.  The term no longer belongs to Christians.  The term belongs to all of us.  Thus the ACLU lawyers are arguing with a weak basis.  Obviously, the ACLU has forgotten law school.

Saying Merry Christmas does not promote Christianity.  It promotes a season of putting up a pagan Christmas tree and exchanging gifts while spreading good tidings and cheer.  It is a season of celebration with the culmination in a legal day off from work.  Christmas is the true holiday.

Next time someone says "Happy Holidays" respond with "Merry Christmas to you too."  When they try to explain what they mean, instruct them on what a true holiday is.  And if you're unlucky enough to encounter an ACLU lawyer, remind them that competent lawyers know property rules and how they seem to have forgotten the essence of property law with respect to generic terms.

Christ may have been the genesis of the season.  But, in reality, Christmas is the reason for the season today.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Mike

Some references not listed in the text:

Annual secular and religous celebrations near Christmas time:  http://www.religioustolerance.org/xmas_other.htm

The True Origin of Christmas:  http://www.thercg.org/books/ttooc.html

The Origin of Christmas:  http://www.origin-of-christmas.com/

The Real Story of Christmas:  http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/Christmas_TheRealStory.htm

Kwanzaa from Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa

Christmas from Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas