IN SEARCH OF A FEW MEN OF GOOD WILL

George and Laura are in trouble with the fundies. They made the mistake of sending a million of their closest friends a card that uses the scriptural passage "The Lord is my strength and my salvation" (from the Psalms) and wishes the recipient "Happy Holidays." The fundies are outraged that the card uses "only" a quotation from the Old Testament, and doesn't even mention Jesus or Christmas. Laura graciously responded that "we have friends of all faiths," which, while undoubtedly true, probably only makes the fundies madder. Why is the First Couple palling around with infidels?

And, of course, the American Family Association is still demanding that good Christians boycott any retailer whose employees wish them "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." The AFA appears to be totally ignorant of ecclesiastical and American history--our highly Christian founding fathers, the New England Puritans, not only didn't celebrate Christmas, they made its observance a crime. They considered it a pagan festivity.

Anthropologically and historically, they were right. The "Christmas tree" which the First Family is not allowed to call a "Holiday Tree"--it's pure Norse and Celtic paganism! Martin Luther hijacked it for his flock because it was a good symbol for a good party. It didn't make its way into Anglo-Saxon society until a couple of centuries after that.

The use of the December 25 date was hijacked from pagan sun-worshippers by the Roman emperor Constantine when he made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. Any halfway-competent biblical scholar can tell you Jesus was not born on December 25, but sometime in the spring of the year (when shepherds kept their flocks--outdoors--by night, which they sure wouldn't have done in midwinter.) But Constantine decided the December 25 date would appeal to a lot of people who had been celebrating it anyway in honor of the Winter Solstice. Which is to say, once again, it was a good symbol for a good party.

Unlike our Puritan forbears, I have nothing against a good party. Especially during the darkest, coldest, gloomiest part of the year. A good winter solstice party is a significant contribution to the quality of life. The Holy Blessed One undoubtedly endorses that concept. What She almost certainly doesn't endorse is using a religious symbol as an excuse for a low-level ill-mannered religious war.

So, gentle reader, when somebody wishes you a "Happy Holiday," please don't growl "Holiday, bah humbug." Let "peace on earth" begin with you!