The war against Christmas

It’s not even December yet, and the sparks are already flying.

In some ranks, it’s no longer Christmas Eve. Now it’s “Holiday Eve.” Others don’t send Christmas greetings. They send “holiday greetings.” As for that tree…you guessed it. It’s now a “holiday tree.”

On AM and FM radio stations and on TV talk shows, the debate is raging over whether somebody out there is stealing Christmas. This topic just begs Publicity Hounds to jump into the fray and, at the same time, promote their product, service, cause or issue.

—If you sell a product or service with the word “Christmas” in its name, and you’re keeping it that way, or if you’ve substituted the word “holiday” for “Christmas,” let business reporters know. Be ready to talk about what this means to profitability.

—Federal agencies, state offices, county governments, cities, towns and villages should let local reporters know what’s allowed and what isn’t on government property. Creches at City Hall? Religious Christmas carols? Where do you draw the line?

—Historians can present another view. How has this issue been handled throughout history? Was it ever a problem until now? And why is the debate more heated than ever?

—How is your company handling this dilemma? Has your Christmas party turned into a holiday party? Are you editing the word Christmas out of your company newsletter? I’ll bet most of you corporate types wouldn’t touch this one. Too bad. You could end up on the front page of your local newspaper.

—Or is this whole thing fabricated by hysterical Christians and conservative talk radio, as an article at Salon.com implies?

Don’t forget the bloggers, letters to the editor and opinion columns, letters to ezine publishers and Internet discussion boards that would be interested in this topic. For tips on how to do this, see “How to Use Newspaper and Magazine Editorial Pages.”

As for my household, we don’t send greetings, but if we did, they’d be called Christmas cards. When we buy gifts, we call it Christmas shopping. We have a Christmas tree. And we’re having friends and family over on Christmas Eve to enjoy a Christmas dinner, Christmas cookies and Christmas cheer–while we play our favorite Christmas carols on CD. We might even watch our favorite Christmas movie. It’s “White Christmas.”

And what do we want for Christmas? A “Just Say Merry Christmas” wristband.

Merry Christmas.