For those of you unsure where you can shop this year, the Christmas Police have some advice.
Has TV preacher Pat Robertson joined the “War on Christmas”?
Probably not. But last week, Robertson had the temerity to point out that Christmas trees really aren’t very Christian and recommended that not a lot of time be spent defending them. Speaking on his “700 Club” show Nov. 15, Robertson pointed out that Christmas trees “come from Teutonic Paganism” and “are not an integral part of Christianity.”
I don’t often agree with Robertson. After all, in 1996 I wrote an entire book critical of his views – but this time he’s right. The Christmas tree’s connection to Christianity is tenuous at best. A pious legend holds that Martin Luther decorated the first Christmas tree. Impressed by the appearance of evergreens in a snowy forest, Luther supposedly took one home and decorated it with candles, much to the delight of his family. Voila! The first Christmas tree.
It’s a charming story but just that – a story. No serious scholar of religion or Luther’s life accepts the tale. In fact, Christmas trees come from an entirely different religion: Paganism. In the ancient world, evergreen branches were given as gifts during the Solstice as a reminder that humanity would survive the dark days of winter.
Yet to hear the Religious Right tell it, defending the appearance of Christmas trees in public places is an integral part of combating the so-called “War on Christmas” being waged by “secularists.” Several groups threw a fit last year after officials at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport removed 15 artificial Christmas trees rather than accommodate a rabbi’s request to erect a menorah. (The trees were quickly replaced after a public outcry.)
A few years ago, Robertson’s own American Center for Law and Justice threatened to sue a Florida county that had removed Christmas trees from county facilities. County officials put them back up rather than go to court.
Religious Right groups claim to be acting in defense of the Christian tradition, but it seems they are spending a lot of energy defending a non-Christian symbol. It could even be argued that Christmas trees are downright unbiblical. The Book of Jeremiah specifically warns against bringing a tree into your home and decorating it.
Jeremiah 10:3-5 says, “For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.”
Either Robertson has joined the “War on Christmas,” or the Religious Right is, as usual, making a big deal out of nothing.
I’ve written before about the Religious Right’s phony “War on Christmas” and explained how groups use it to raise money and spur activism. (I will have a full report about this in December’s Church & State.) Some groups are so desperate to pick a fight they have formed squads of “Christmas Police” to monitor the terms being used on retailers’ Web sites and catalogs.
For those of you unsure where you can shop this year, the Christmas Police have some advice. Liberty Counsel’s annual “Naughty & Nice” list is out.
On it we learn that it’s OK to shop at Bed, Bath and Beyond because its Web site offers a “Christmas Decorations” section. But better stay away from Home Depot! Liberty Counsel tells us that on the company’s Web site, “everything is red and green, but it’s the ‘Holiday Gift Center,’ ‘Holiday Decorations,’ ‘Home for the Holidays’ ‘Artificial Trees,’ not Christmas trees. No mention of Christmas.”
Read the list and marvel that some people obviously have too much time on their hands. Then, do what mostly everybody else who celebrates the Winter Holidays plans to do this year: Shop at the stores with the best prices.
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