WAR AGAINST CHRISTMAS 2004 COMPETITION
[I] [III] [IV] [V] [VI] [VII] [VIII] [IX] [X] [XI] [XII] [XIII] [XIV] [XV] [XVI] [XVII] [XVIII] [XIX] [XX] - See also: War Against Christmas 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000

SOME people at VDare.com (who shall remain nameless in order to protect the guilty) refer to me as the "staff moderate."

Calling me a moderate is like calling Strom Thurmond wishy-washy but in any event, my predilection for sarcasm had to factor in on Peter Brimelow's decision to assign me to write about the War Against Christmas competition.

That being said, I could not be happier to oblige him.

We begin today's lesson in Mile High country. 

Sam Karnick, co-editor The Reform Club blog, has a fine piece in the American Spectator entitled Muscular Christians Flex Their Muscles, summarizing a controversy that we've had a lot of email about.

Denver, Colorado has an annual Christmas parade much like every other city in the country. 

A private non-profit group organizes the festivities: The Downtown Denver Partnership.

AS we've reported, The Faith Bible Chapel of Arvada, Colorado was told by the partnership that it could not enter a float in this year's parade. According to the Denver Post, the Downtown Denver Partnership "…cited a longstanding policy against overtly religious and political themes."

So I have some thoughts…

Is there anything more overtly religious, in and of itself, than Christmas?  What does the "partnership" think a Christmas parade (even if disguised as a "Festival Of Lights") celebrates?

Christmas celebrates one thing and one thing only:  The birth of Jesus Christ.  It has never meant anything else. (Which would probably explain the name of the holiday but I am just guessing.)

Overtly religious?  Does the partnership believe that Christmas is about a furry, oversized rat that crawls out of his burrow to check for his shadow…oh, and leaves presents?

On Sunday, Even the New York Times reporter (gasp!) implicitly sided with the Christians (this is either one of the seven signs of the Apocalypse or times are-a-changin'):

"Like a spark in dry tinder, the result was a flare-up that caught even some church leaders by surprise. A holiday rite that had drawn thousands of parade goers annually suddenly became a symbol, for many Christians, of secular society run amok."

Roughly one thousand Christians gathered at the parade and sang hymns in peaceful protest.

(The Pastor of Faith Bible Chapel is apparently a former Marine with a "Bring it On, Ooh-Rah" approach to ministry…much like my own former Marine pastor.  I knew I loved Marines for a reason.)

Here's a tip for the parade organizers:  I don't care what your personal faith is but if you want to have a parade that avoids anything "overtly religious" might I suggest you have it on another day.  ANY other day!

In fact, how about Arbor Day? 

You and the Sierra Club can have a ball…although I don't recommend you cut down any trees, which would be the functional equivalent of removing Jesus Christ from Christmas.

In other news…

I have to be honest. Sometimes the Salvation Army guy who stands out in front of stores with a Santa hat, ringing a bell and asking for donations, really irritates me.

I don't know why!!  I know it's wrong but sometimes I just want to grab his bell and run it over with my car.

But Jack Kendrick writes us:

"Don't forget Target Stores! They have banned the Salvation Army bell ringers.  This Christian charity is one of America's finest organizations."

You see, if there is anything more inappropriate during the Christmas Season, it's Christian charity. 

Why would Target want to celebrate the birth of Jesus by feeding the hungry, clothing the needy and sheltering the cold as those unacceptable people at the Salvation Army do EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR??

Oh, that's right!  For corporations such as Target (Dayton Hudson Corporation) Christmas is just a two-three month season that shows a dramatic increase in sales…for seemingly unknown reasons.

I avoid Target most of the time because of a language barrier. Here in California, very few of their employees speak English.

However, I am going to avoid them now for being greedy, ungrateful fat cats.

But here is Target's email if you wish to comment on their decision to remove Christian charity for Christmas.

More War Against Christmas entries tomorrow…

Bryanna Bevens [email her] is a political consultant and former chief of staff for a member of the California State Assembly.