It's Beginning to Feel a lot Like...

The "War On Christmas": Reality, Myth, Relevant?

 Onlookers past by American Atheist demonstration in Santa Monica, Ca.

(Photo Courtesy of AP)

             As festive holidays approach, some wonder where is the Christmas spirit? Cases that question whether Christmas is too engrained into public life and push the boundaries of a citizen’s constitutional right to religious freedoms are receiving national spotlight and have increased lately as Christmas nears.

To give you a visual reader, here are some recent cases that have questioned Christmas’s place in American life as of late:

• Arkansas Society of Freethinkers complains of the decision of first and second grade teachers at Terry Elementary School to take students to a church performance of "A Charlie Brown Christmas"

• UC Berkeley seeks to ban Salvation Army from Campus due to the organization's alleged homophobic practices. 

• The decision of the Santa Monica City Council to end the tradition of erecting nativity scenes or other displays in Palisades Park. 

The case of whether Christmas should be celebrated in private or in public and to what degree is a relevant topic and most likely will remain in national interest for years to come. This topic remains a question of one’s own personal opinion and outlook of what the constitution defines as religious freedom.

The exact phrasing from the constitution  is: 

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

This leaves the question on whether there is a war on Christmas or has the public become too sensitive about the mention of even celebration of certain holidays. Does the hanging of Christmas ornaments in a public area necessarily qualify the establishment of a national religion? In my opinion, no one should be forced to celebrate a certain holiday, but no one should be forced to not be able to celebrate their holiday as well. Though Christmas celebrates the birth of the Christian savior Jesus Christ, Christmas also celebrates “reindeer” and a character named Santa Claus, which is in no way religious. For the case of the parent suing their child’s school over a voluntary field trip to go see “It’s Christmas Charlie Brown” is a little ridiculous. During these festive seasons, the motive is to spread holiday cheer not to force someone to celebrate a religion. Anyone who has a problem with this topic should re-evaluate what force and religious prosecution is compared to other countries in the world.