Losing the War on Xmas #5 - Christmas Booze

Remember to do your shopping on Xmas Eve!

Happy Repeal Day! Upon this day patriotic Americans celebrate the freedom to drink and be merry, taken back by the American people from pietistic Protestant reformers on December 5th, 1933.

Of course, repeal didn't go into effect everywhere all at once. Many individual States and counties remained dry for years thereafter, and the vestiges of Prohibition remain with us to this day. For example, consider Oklahoma Statutes §37-537 (6)(C)(3) "...no such sales shall be made, or package store premises be allowed to remain open for the purpose of making such sales, on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day" (emphasis mine).

Long story short, Christian demands for special treatment have not only given them the only exclusively religious holiday widely recognized at all levels of government, but have also ensured that last-minute shoppers will be enjoined to sobriety upon that day, just as the Christian temperance movement would have them do.

Surely, this is a minor victory against the forces of secularism and equal treatment, but nonetheless, I must congratulate the Christian soldiers for once again gaining special rights, and in taking away the rights of those who might choose to ignore the wisdom of Proverbs 20:1.

Losing the War on Xmas #4 - Deck the (City) Halls

Imagine that an American city decides to create a government owned and operated display featuring a Christian nativity scene, tin soldiers, Christmas trees, snowmen, reindeer and other animals, an array of lights, and a shed with a Santa Claus and elves. Imagine further that the city refuses offers from citizens to include non-Christian religious symbols such as a menorah and a sign marking the winter solstice. What would be the likely outcome of such a scenario, in the nation which first birthed the idea of a formal separation of church authority from state power?

Before you answer, you may want to bone up on the increasingly murky jurisprudence of government religious displays. Here is a concise and accurate article from Dahlia Lithwick of Slate, and here is a bulleted summary from Religious Tolerance. Now that you've got that material under your belt, how do you think the case at hand actually turned out?

Should one recall that these posts are part of a series called Losing the War on Christmas, that might well give away the (invariably unhappy) ending. However, I hate to always end on a down note, so here are a few words of wisdom from then Circuit (now Chief) Judge Mary Beck Briscoe, “Denver has taken the position that, as regards religious items, only items pertaining to the holiday of Christmas are welcome in its display. Wells' sign, like the menorah, represents an alternative religious perspective that Denver has opted to exclude from its display. The decision to exclude Wells' sign and a menorah from the display sends the message that Denver supports Christianity and does not support other religions or religious viewpoints. When the City creates that impression, it violates the Establishment Clause.”

With any luck at all, Briscoe's unbiased and well-reasoned case for genuine religious neutrality will someday become the norm within the Tenth Circuit, and indeed, all of the courts of our fair land.

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UPDATE: My preferred solution is an open forum.

Losing the War on Xmas #3 - Indirect Support

Christmas enjoys a sort of special status even in states which retain a Constitutional prohibition on taxpayer support for religious sects. For example, the State of Oklahoma will help you find a Christmas tree or hold a Christmas parade or advertise for a Baptist Christmas pageant.

Once again, defenders of Christmas, rejoice! You are winning the war on religious pluralism and church-state separatism.

Losing the War on Xmas #2 - Public Spaces

Unlike the Occupy movement, in America, Christmas is literally everywhere. You'd be hard pressed to find a downtown anywhere in this nation where the shops haven't dolled up for the season, and most often the city council has also elected to spend some green on greenery and banners and the like. Here are just a few examples: OKC, Chicago, Rochester.

Now, some Christians are going to say that there are too many pretty lights and not enough Baby Jesus in the public spaces (not true) but that is a bit like winning a major battle and complaining that it just wasn't enough of a rout. No one can walk downtown without being visually assualted by a thousand little reminders that the Christmas season is upon us.

Not only has Christmas attained a unique position as the only religious holiday granted to all state and federal employees, but it is also the holiday upon which by far the most collective effort is spent upon decoration and promotion. Rejoice, defenders of Christmas! You've won again.

Losing the War on Xmas #1 - Officially Happy Holidays

The federal calendar is loaded with various days of recognition, some far more widely recognized than others. Here is a list of the most important of them all: [PDF]

In the PDF, do have a long look at the list of holidays recognized by the State of Oklahoma. Can we explain their importance in terms of general overarching themes? We have several holidays recognizing some of the greatest movements for social and political change (Independence Day, Labor Day, MLK Day, and quite arguably Veterans Day and Memorial Day as well) and two holidays in recognition of the turning of the calendar (New Years and the annual harvest festival that we call Thanksgiving in North America) and a couple of celebrations of individual leaders (President's Day and MLK) who have made outstanding contributions to moving America forward.

That just leaves Christmas. What's that even doing on the list? If it is essentially just another solstice festival, we could surely lump it in with the others marking changing of the seasons. If it is something more (as Christians generally claim) we are forced to the conclusion that Christmas is a uniquely religious holiday during which all of America pauses (except for Chinese take-out restaurants - God bless 'em) in order to pay homage to one particular religion.

This counts as a distinct victory in the War on Christmas. Take heart, soldiers of theocracy. You won this battle back in June of 1870.