Corey Krajewski
Staff Writer
As Thanksgiving ends, the Christmas season truly begins, bringing us glad tidings of cheer and merriment. Tragically, it also brings us the vitriolic rhetoric of the participants in the “war on Christmas.”
Every year, some Americans across the nation begin to rabble rouse over either an alleged attack on the Christian values of Christmas, or on the other side, claim that Christians aim to suppress the religious freedom of other groups. This small group of Americans, year after year, steers the holidays away from being a positive experience and turns the season to yet another divisive issue.
The goal of the holidays is to bring people together with the goal of spreading happiness. People unite their friends and families and enjoy each other’s company, regardless of religious denomination. Everyone desires to escape the stresses and rigors of everyday life, and turn to each other for relief from them.
Sadly, some continuously take issue with how others celebrate the holidays. This year, the battle has taken on the form of a coffee cup from the Starbucks franchise. Starbucks has traditionally sold cups during the holiday season with festive imagery, such as reindeer or elves. For this year, it went with a solid red cup, meant to invoke personal feelings on the holidays. Instead, a few Christians took it as an affront to the heritage of Christmas.
Starbucks is a secular organization, operating in a secular country. It has no responsibility to show any religious values through the company. It also has a clientele that expands well beyond just Christians, and it would be silly for Starbucks to do things only in the interest of one segment.
The argument from many Christians is that Christmas is rooted in a Christian heritage, and that they are being persecuted via the secularization of the holiday. But Christmas has not been turned into a secular holiday. Christmas has become openly celebrated both religiously and secularly. People do not seek to stop Christians from celebrating the holiday in their tradition, and Christians should not seek to curb those who celebrate the secularized version.
On the other hand, some activist organizations fail to see the secularization of Christmas. Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union argue that government funded organizations cannot put up displays that feature Christmas imagery. Putting up a Christmas tree should not be understood as an endorsement of Christianity as a state religion. It is an icon for a federal holiday, celebrated widely throughout the country, by many different demographics.
The holidays serve as a time to celebrate the togetherness of all people, and it is morally reprehensible to continuously turn it into a battle. The stories that people should be talking about during the holiday season are ones about selfless charitable actions taken by citizens, as opposed to ridiculous controversies created by muckraking media personalities.
krajewcj11@bonaventure.edu
