The Religious Right's War on Christmas Began Centuries Ago
As journalist Frederick Clarkson observes, proclamations from Bill O'Reilly, claiming the existence of a leftist assault on Christmas, are "part of a transcendent politics of the Religious Right, and a variant of that old time McCarthism -- baiting everyone with whom they disagree as advocating a 'godless' agenda." Indeed, Billy James Hargis' Christian Crusade was making the same chargesm of a left-wing 'war on Christmas', back in 1960 and much earlier in the year -- in July in fact.
But how did the "War on Christmas", as a concept, originate ? As it happens, once upon a time there was a real "War on Christmas" and it was initiated by the theocratic Christian right of its day, Swiss Calvinists and Scottish Presbyterians. Here's a short overview:
The "war on Christmas" traces back, historically, to Calvinist bans on the celebration of Christmas which began in Geneva and then migrated, with the spread of Calvinist theological views, to Scotland, where Christmas was banned in 1583, a ban that remained in force for almost four hundred years and was only lifted in the 1950's. As Amy McNeese writes, in an article, first published in the Church of Scotland magazine Life & Work,that may be one of the best treatments of the War on Christmas.
"For almost 400 years, Christmas was banned in Scotland. At the height of the Reformation, in 1583, when anything smacking of Catholicism and idolatrous excess was thrown out with contempt, Christmas and all its trappings was wiped off the official calendar...
...Reinforced by the hard arm of the law, this was a ban that had bite...
This was an age when religious belief could mean the difference between life and a very nasty death....
Scottish Presbyterians, when called on for support by the Puritans of the English Parliament in 1644, did so on the understanding that their allies would in exchange impose the ban on Christmas. For over a decade traditional English Christmas festivities were prohibited
From Scotland, the ban on Christmas spread south as Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army brought the Cromwellian revolution to England. Cromwell's Puritans banned Christmas in England for about a decade but the measure was unpopular. Feelings among pro and anti Christmas advocates ran strong and, after a second enforcement act against Christmas was passed by the English Parliament in 1647 [writes McNeese],
Again the people rebelled, this time so forcefully that armed officers had to be sent to remove evergreens decorating St Margaret's Church, near the English Parliament itself. Rioting broke out in London, Kent, Oxford, Canterbury and Ipswich, in which several people were killed. A petition with more than 10,000 signatures demanded either the restoration of Christmas or else the king back on the throne...
Even after the bans were revoked in England in 1660, Puritans and other Non-Conformists "ranted against Anti-Christ's-masse and those Masse-mongers and Papists who observe it", and were commonly known to "inveigh against New Year gifts and evergreens, or to attack the Pope by refusing to eat plum-broth; or to condemn those who ate mince-pies as Papists and idolaters"....
These attitudes were carried to the New World by English Puritans, Quakers, Baptists and Scottish Presbyterians. In America, reprisals were as harsh here as back in Scotland. In Massachusetts a five-shilling penalty was imposed on anyone found feasting or shirking work on Christmas Day...
A hundred years later the Quakers were still ranting against the Christmas pie as "an invention of the scarlet whore of Babylon, an hodge podge of superstition, Popery, the Devil and all his works".
From England the War on Christmas then crossed the Atlantic to the New World migrating with the Puritans who were fleeing the persecution of their political and theological tendency that followed the overthrow of Cromwellian government. Under Puritan rule in the Bay State Colony, Christmas was at one point legally banned for two decades.
Christmas fared worse in Scotland though and was only brought back after four centuries, in part due to the culinary experiences of Scottish soldiers during World War Two. As McNeese describes,
Abroad and in the company of English soldiers, many Scots experienced their first proper Christmas dinner. Once tasted, it was never forgotten. On their return home, these servicemen began to celebrate the festival with some style, and gradually their ideas took root.
Early in the 20th Century in America, the notion of a "war on Christmas", which had long been on the wane, got a boost, as Talk To Action contributor Chip Berlet demonstrates, in 1921 with Henry Ford's notorious and highly influential anti-Jewish tract "The International Jew".
By the America of the early 1960's, American Christian right groups such as Billy James Hargis' Christian Crusade, which was at least heavily Christian nationalist if not overtly theocratic, had appropriated the notion of a "war ion Christmas" as a means of red-baiting the American left ( see section, below ). But the true, historical War on Christmas was a creation of the Protestant, theocratic right.
According To Billy James Hargis' 1960 "Crusader" article [below], published during dark days leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis, during which communism was held to be stealthily advancing via liberal Protestant churches and the machinations of Hallmark Greeting Cards and UNICEF, Christmas was also then under siege from the left. But in 1960, the religious right's war on the alleged war on Christmas got started much earlier in the season than is now customary.
In 1960, the war on the war on Christmas started in July.
Below: December 9, 1960 article from "The Crusader"
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You know the type of religious bullies who are fighting this mythical war on Christmas don't know history or don't care.
And now they have a media outlet namely News Corp. (what an oxymoron name eh?) who coordinates FNC's Billo rants and the stories in WSJ on their media properties.
It would be nice if people knew a little bit more about history, so that when a malcontent like O'Reilly tries to get people all worked up with such ridiculous statements about a "War On Christmas", he would get laughed off the air. What cracks me up is O'Rielly selling his book as a good read for "the holiday season", etc. Anyone else see that story?
The only "wars" on anything are the ones he and his ilk make up for ratings, and the informationally challenged are happy to help him out. However, just because some of us celebrate other holidays around this time of year doesn't mean we have something against Christmas, and businesses trying to include all of us in their bottom line is just business. Just ask "holiday season read" O'Rielly ;)
Happy Yule, everyone!
Happy Yule, DarkWitch! May the Solstice bring you and your loved ones health and happiness.
Businesses telling employees to say Happy Holidays is one thing. Telling Christians who work at the businesses that are hoping to make a quick buck from the holiday known as 'Christmas' (TM) that they are forbidden to speak that which cannot be spoken, is quite another. Letting Christians say what they want is enough. Many will, at the end of the day, choose to say hollidays. For those who don't, what ever happened to open mind and tolerance and live and let live and all those other classic liberal sacred cows? But if people in our country are so intolerant and so willing to impose their views on otheres that they demand censorship in the name of their moral preferences, then I suppose we learned very little at the end of the 20th century.
If I was working at some business, I would probably get fired for saying Happy Yule. But that wouldn't be a problem for me, cause I figure if someone is paying me to do a job, I'm going to do it the way they tell me to do it. I'm just kind of funny that way. So I don't get what you are saying to me. I personally couldn't care less what holiday greeting I receive from anyone this time of year, I just smile and wish them the same because I can respect other people's good wishes and don't feel the least bit threatened if they are not exactly like me.
Wish others could do the same without getting all fired up about their "rights". Just plain respect and good manners would get us past most of this "war".
And as to the generalized war...
Some non-Christians, not all, are at war with Christianity.
They are the ones who want to take God out of our Pledge, off of our coinage and songs.
They are the ones who insist that we can no longer sing Christmas Carols in our public schools
and make it difficult, if not impossible to have even non-denominational service for graduating High Schoolers.
And one of the most notorious, was a lady by the name of Madelyn Murray O'Hare, who, among others, started this baloney in the 1960's and even went so far as to sue the govenment of The United States of America for allowing Apollo 8 Astronauts Borman, Lovell and Anders to read from Genesis while orbiting the Moon on Christmas Eve 1968 40 years ago.
Not to forget that they were also the ones, "OHare in particular" that made prayer in schools unconstitutional.
I must wonder today, if we are any better because of it? I don't beleive that we are in fact.
One other point that is probably not well known dealing with religion and government was that, on the Apollo 11 mission, just after Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin landed on the Moon, Aldrin asked for a moment to give thanks and he took Holy Communion during that moment. Nasa, fearing reprisal kept it queit for some time.
And everyone of those supposedly bad things are actually good things.
We really should not have any "God" references on anything connected with government because we have a government that is forbidden to promote religion OR to oppose it. Being neutral and not referring to religious ideas on coins, seals, is appropriate for anything connected with government. So is the ban on school prayer and the singing of Christmas carols in public schools. You see, not every student in public school is Christion, so why should they be subjected to ideas that contradict what they have learned at home? YOU would not like it if Jewish or Hindu songs and decorations were pushed on your child, so why do you think it is ok to do so in the government run public school system, where EVERYONE is supposed to be considered equal, with NONE preferred over the other?
Let's not forget that it was only recently added...
How do you know we wouldn't. I, for one, would welcome religion being able to come out of the closet and be part of the public discussion. My faith isn't that weak. And if folks have no beliefs? No problem. I welcome that. I think there are enough days on the calendar to invite everyone. Once you start saying this or that type of talk/expression needs to be sealed off from government, then the door is opened to others.
If you believe and worship, good for you. Let the rest of us do the same rather than lie to give the illusion of a national unity . It makes us suspect when we declare unity on the things on which we truly agree.
Despite the addition of the "under G-d" phrase to the pledge, this is not a nation under G-d. We allow allow people to worship any or no G-d. That is what makes us better than countries with a state religion.
Why should religious events be sponsored by any public institution? Hold them in a private place or after school hours and paid for with private donations. Would you allow me to hold a Santeria service in a school on one of their holy days? Would you be willing to help pay for it?
I challenge you to show me a non-denominational ceremony that includes Eastern and non-deist beliefs.
Try walking a mile in the shoes of a Muslim, Jew, Taoist, or atheist before you judge.
Nope, you are judging not me. I'm all in favor of a Menorah btw.
Fact is that all Christians are half Jewish for Jesus, Mary his mother, Joseph his human father...w
Tyranny of the Minority I'm afraid, Americans, after all, individually believe in God.
I respect your right to not believe but do you respect the right of the majority?
"I must wonder today, if we are any better because of it? I don't beleive that we are in fact." (sic)
That's as poor an argument for religion as I've ever heard. Did incidents like 9/11 happen because of the loss or absence of faith? Both Robertson and Falwell tried to pin that one on the legions of the godless, as well. But that doesn't explain why the godly folks in the Bush Administration all seemed to be looking the other way when Richard Clarke was trying to make clear the danger posed by al-Qaeda. Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney, et al ... they were, in fact, already casting covetous glances at Iraq.
Ultimately, why is it the fault of the godless for anything? If my disbelief is sufficient to derail your belief and/or the power of your prayers, your faith, and your God, what does that say about your religion?
And what the heck does Buzz Aldrin's private observance of faith, or the lack of publicity of a spiritual moment have to do with anything? Remember, Christ taught us that we should not pray in public, with attendant panoply and fanfare, 'as the hypocrites do'. Instead, go to your room and pray in secret, and your Father, hearing you in secret, shall reward you openly.
My faith and how I express it or live up to its ideals (or fail to, as the case may be) is a subject between me, my pastor, and my God.
amen, err... well, you know what I mean
JESUS PRAYED IN PUBIC -SERMON OF THE MOUNT. JESUS WASNT TALKING ABOUT PUBIC PRAYER HE WAS TALKING ABOUT PRAYING IN PUBLIC WITH THE WRONG MOTIVE.
I must wonder today, if we are any better because of it? I don't beleive that we are in fact.
Who is this "we." for whom you speak? If you are a religious theocrat, the world may not look as good, but for those who want to be freed from the tyranny of religious doctrine, things are coming up roses.
I think that, from your viewpoint, that everyone is a theocrat who is religious.
You do realize, don't you, that "G-d" wasn't IN the original pledge.
It was added during the Cold War, supposedly to smite those atheist Commies.
And O'Hare has been dead for what, decades. Give her up already.
I thnk there is a generalized war not just on Christmas but on Christians per se....
For one thing, I can't stand this " Keep Christ in Christmas" stuff, and I'm Catholic too.
Why? Christ is already in Chistmas as in the very definition of the word is "Mass of Christ"
I mean, really, who do folks actually think Santa Claus is? JUST a fictional character? Nope, you weren't listening carefully. Actually, Santa is just a different translation "Sinter Klaus" the Norwegian
(I believe) translation of St. Nicholas, who was a Catholic BIshop in Turkey hundreds and hundreds of years ago and the Saint was known for his gift giving to little children.
Now, without Christ, there wouldn't be a Christmas or the gift giving which is a remembrance of the gift of the Saviour that God gave us, and also the remembrance of the first human Christmas gifts given by The Magi or 3 Kings to the baby Jesus, which were Gold, Frankincense and Myrhh.
Yeah, Christians have been brainwashed by rightwing, fear-mongering talk radio into thinking that THEY are the ones being persecuted today in America, when it is THEY who are doing most of the persecuting.
Christmas is a Holy Day to Christians and let them have it, I say. However, the months of November, December and January are also the times of festivals and holidays for other religions than Christianity and have been BEFORE Christianity was created. I think having clerks in public places say "Happy Holidays" is a wonderful compromise that respects ALL of the cultures represented. The CUSTOMERs are free to call out any style of holiday greeting they want -- free speech, right? No one is stopping Christians from doing anything except in the government run institutions were references to ANY religion are inapproriate -- freedom of (and FROM) religion means government supports NONE, get it?
So...and this is relevant in what way?
And when did I disagree that Happy Holidays is not a good greeting?
Hey, I'm almost 52 and I remember a song called Happy Holidays being sung in the 1960's!
There is only a war on Christians who insist on shoving their beliefs down others' throats.
The midwinter holiday is NOT exclusively Christian. In fact, it wasn't even originally Christian. It was preempted by the Church during their repeated attempts to convert pagans. (A quite stark example of this preempting is your St. Bridget. Historically, there never was a Bridget. Your St. Bridget is actually the Celtic goddess Brighid.)
Further, since the bible fails to mention the date of Jesus' birth, Pope Julius I CHOSE December 25th.
Pagans were exchanging gifts at midwinter centuries before the birth of Christ. It is NOT exclusively your holiday.
I remember a nun who taught me in the early 50s who would get very upset when she found someone writing Xmas instead of Christmas. Christ was being taken out of Christmas. I saw no problem with it then at my tender age. Today I look at Christmas in a greater secular sense; a good day for family and friends to get together. I don't celebrate Christmas, per se, rather I enjoy the festivity and goodness that attends this holiday. A Christmas high mass in a festooned church is a beautiful event. So Merry Christmas, or whatever you prefer!
This will sound cliche, but Christmas means something different to everybody. A friend of mine, who is Muslim, celebrates Christmas because his family sees it as a cultural celebration (which is actually true in US). Businesses see Christmas as a commercial spectacle that can generate upwards of 50% of their profits for the year. Christians see Christmas as a celebration of the birth of Jesus. 2000 years ago, Christmas (which obviously wasn't called Christmas at the time) was a celebration of the Winter Solitice. Actual the Catholic Church adopted the day they did for Christmas because it was the day of the Winter Solitice and it would be an easier transition for people who celebrated the pagan rituals of the time. It seems a little pathetic when people try to force their opinions on others, as O' Reilly does and also as many who have written here do. It is sad when a country that was founded fleeing religious and social persecution becomes the one thing that it was meant to stand against.
I used to love Christmas until O'Reilly started telling me I HAD to. Thanks for ruining it for me Bill.
Nicely done sir.
I think it's funny that saying "Merry Christmas" is the key to keeping Christ in Christmas. When I was a child in the 50s, "Merry Christmas" was too secular for religious people, who always said, "Have a blessed Christmas" or :Have a holy Christmas.
I think you need to get a little background on what you are talking about. Every point you made here was incorrect. Learn before speaking, than you won't look so ignorant.
Some of it is incorrect. Protestants haven't always been against Christmas. Some more radical, rebellious parts were. Likewise, Protestants do have nativity scenes, but it is true that they typically do without a Christmas day service (unless Christmas falls on a Sunday). Most have Christmas Eve services. But it is a little over done, I'll admit.
I like Chip Berlet a lot. I appreciate what he is trying to do. There is not a lot of help for victims of spiritual abuse and wrong teaching. I am happy to know there are people who understand what is really happening and how predatory and immoral and UNholy the Religious Right is. I appreciate this essay.
The Religious Right has done more harm to the face of Christianity than any other group ever could, even liberals. I cringe at the way holypeople exploit their own followers. They are predators and are the ones who have commercialized Christianity. Televangelism is a BIG business. It is laughable that anyone associated with the Right could point the finger of blame at anyone else for profiting off of Christ or for highjacking the message of Easter or Christmas. The way Calvinism and predestination has been used to manipulate believers is just too sad. It is a sad scam.
This is all so hilarious.
The Catholic Church declared December 25 to be Jesus' birthday because that coincided with the Roman Saturnalia -- a holiday they wished to co-opt. He was actually born closer to September (a hint, shepherds don't take their flocks out in the snow).
Then, much later, in another co-opting of a "pagan" celebration, European Christians incorporated German tree worship into their rites and voila, the modern Christmas.
The idea that people in the 21st century would care about all this crap is disturbing at worst, laughable at best. Reminds me of a news story several years ago about Jewish and Arab fanatics who were killed fighting over "Joseph's Tomb," which almost certainly has the historical reality of the several tons of "true cross" distributed around the world. Maybe someone should claim to have found Mary's sanitary napkins.
None of this deserves one iota of respect, it's just foolishness, easily exploited by characters like O'Reilly.
This is so true. And yet, the irony is, the Catholic Church is usually portrayed as this blood thirsty institution that butchered, slaughtered, and tortured anyone who didn’t follow in step in every way possible. Let one talisman or totem be found, and it was off to the rack. Yet, we know about all the borrowing and coopting that went on, indicating that maybe, just maybe, the Church was actually a little more open to the cultures around it than we sometimes give it credit for. In fact, it was. And much of what people assume to be straight from the original play book is, in fact, a testimony that for much of its history, the Church was quite at home utilizing and even celebrating aspects of the surrounding culture that weren’t in direct conflict with its core teachings.
Yes, it's true, the Catholic Church is far less racist than most of the European Protestants (true to their heritage from the Roman Empire), they encouraged interracial marriage in South and central America, and yes, like the Romans, they easily incorporated local gods-- they just called them "saints."
Christmas went secular a long, long time ago. Christmas carols didn't exist until the 19th century; before then, everyone got along fine with existing hymnals. The Christmas tree is a German folk tradition that only migrated to the US after World War One. Biblical historians pinpoint Jesus' birth to September rather than December, which coincides with the Roman feast of Saturnalia and the Wiccan holiday of Yule. And should we infer something from the fact that St. Nicholas (AKA "Santa Claus") is the patron saint of Moscow?
Actually the Christmas tree came to the US earlier than that. Not to pick, but it was around long before the end of WWI in America.
Imported by the Germans who settled in Pennsylvania, no doubt. Still, it didn't go mainstream until the 20th century.
One doesn't say this often, but I think the Russians have it right: The main winter holiday is the new year (with Father Frost instead of SC) when friends/family get together, exchange gifts, do trees, etc. Christmas on the Orthodox calender is the 7th of Jan. For those who believe in the religious aspect of it, they have their day. For those who don't, they simply don't celebrate it--works for everyone. Besides, Christ wasn't born in Dec. anyway
The Republicans are bereft of real ideas anyway, doing little more than using race as a way to make war on the New Deal: http://www
That this "War on Christmas" has a long and dubious history in this country is thus not a surprise. If they had real ideas, the Republicans wouldn't have to resort to this kind of inanity.
Happy Hogswatch, everybody!
Happy Hogswatch to Kiba and everyone else out there! I have to check and see what the Flying Spaghetti Monster has to say about all of this too! If people understood that the origins of all of this crazyness was actually a winter celebration perhaps we could all enjoy the holiday together.
OMG! I LOVE that someone besides me loves Hogswatch!!!! I love my tusked Hogfather! And the Soul Cake Duck! so I say " On Gouger, Rooter, Tusker and Snouter!!!!"
*hangs head* Gawd I'm a dork
L
Have you seen the Sky One TV adaptation of the novel? Oh my goodness. They did a great job of bringing it to the screen.
May the Hogfather bring you many nice sausages without any gristle or green stuff that might not be herbs.
LOL! I'm looking forward to the bacon, myself.
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