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The War on the War on Christmas

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« on: December 15, 2011, 05:13:25 am »

The War on the War on Christmas
Relax, attacks on Christmas are made up by Fox News and the sinister 'Christian Right.'


Yes Virginia, there really is a war on Christmas.

Every year, millions of Christians that celebrate the birth of their Savior are faced with the attacks on Christmas - "holiday trees," atheist ad campaigns and even outright blasphemy in mocking nativity scenes. To Christians and conservatives, the evidence is overwhelming. But in recent years, the left and the mainstream media have actively denied that the war even exists.

From the hard left gang of current and former MSNBC personalities to CNN hosts to Huffington Post writers, the watch words have been "fake" and "phony" and "ridiculous." With varying degrees ire, they've blamed Fox News and the "Christian right" for the "manufactured outrage" at attacks on Christmas.

2011: The Battle Continues

rest: http://www.mrc.org/cmi/eyeonculture/2011/The_War_on_the_War_on_Christmas.html

Im just linking the story as i could spend all day refuting the article. Again let me quote the prophet...
Jer 10:2  Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen,
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« Reply #1 on: December 16, 2011, 06:21:49 am »

War on Christmas: Are Christians Losing the Battle?

Each Christmas, atheists and agnostics seem to ramp up their attacks on the holiday used to celebrate the birth of Christ.

Some believers respond with anger, others by rallying in favor of their local nativity scene display.

Attorney and pastor Randy Singer says it's understandable to be disappointed and upset with the political correctness and even disrespect some groups have portrayed toward Christmas.

But in a secular culture, he says there's a better way to respond.

Singer is also author of The Judge Who Stole Christmas.

Click play for his comments on the book, the war on Christmas and how believers can react.
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2011/December/War-on-Christmas-Are-Christians-Losing-the-Battle/

seriously people, The Lord Jesus wasn't born in December!!!! Quite defending the Roman Catholic lies!!!!

Quote
Saturnalia

By the beginning of December, writes Columella, the farmer should have finished his autumn planting (De Re Rustica, III.14). Now, at the time of the winter solstice (December 25 in the Julian calendar), Saturnus, the god of seed and sowing, was honored with a festival. The Saturnalia officially was celebrated on December 17 (XVI Kal. Jan.) and, in Cicero's time, lasted seven days, from December 17-23. Augustus limited the holiday to three days, so the civil courts would not have to be closed any longer than necessary, and Caligula extended it to five (Suetonius, XVII; Cassius Dio, LIX.6), which Claudius restored after it had been abolished (Dio, LX.25). Still, everyone seems to have continued to celebrate for a full week, extended, says Macrobius (I.10.24), by celebration of the Sigillaria, so named for the small earthenware figurines that were sold then.


Macrobius, in his Saturnalia, creates an imaginary symposium among pagan intellectuals in which he offers an explanation for the varying length of the holiday. Originally, it was celebrated on only one day, the fourteenth before the Kalends of January. With the Julian reform of the calendar, however, two days were added to December, and the Saturnalia was celebrated sixteen days before the Kalends (December 17), "with the result that, since the exact day was not commonly known—some observing the addition which Caesar had made to the calendar and others following the old usage—the festival came to be regarded as lasting for more days than one" (I.10.2). The original day now was given over to the Opalia, honoring Ops, who personified abundance and the fruits of the earth, and was the consort of Saturn. As the two deities represented the produce of the fields and orchards, so they also were thought to represent heaven and earth. It was for this reason, says Macrobius (I.10.20), that the two festivals were celebrated at the same time, the worshipers of Ops always sitting in prayer so that they touched the earth, mother of all.

In the Roman calendar, the Saturnalia was designated a holy day, or holiday, on which religious rites were performed. Saturn, himself, was identified with Kronos, and sacrificed to according to Greek ritual, with the head uncovered. The Temple of Saturn, the oldest temple recorded by the pontiffs, had been dedicated on the Saturnalia, and the woolen bonds which fettered the feet of the ivory cult statue within were loosened on that day to symbolize the liberation of the god. It also was a festival day. After sacrifice at the temple, there was a public banquet, which Livy says was introduced in 217 BC (there also may have been a lectisternium, a banquet for the god in which its image is placed in attendance, as if a guest). Afterwards, according to Macrobius (I.10.18), the celebrants shouted Io, Saturnalia at a riotous feast in the temple.

The Saturnalia was the most popular holiday of the Roman year. Catullus (XIV) describes it as "the best of days," and Seneca complains that the "whole mob has let itself go in pleasures" (Epistles, XVIII.3). Pliny the Younger writes that he retired to his room while the rest of the household celebrated (Epistles, II.17.24). It was an occasion for celebration, visits to friends, and the presentation of gifts, particularly wax candles (cerei), perhaps to signify the returning light after the solstice, and sigillaria. Martial wrote Xenia and Apophoreta for the Saturnalia. Both were published in December and intended to accompany the "guest gifts" which were given at that time of year. Aulus Gellius relates that he and his Roman compatriots would gather at the baths in Athens, where they were studying, and pose difficult questions to one another on the ancient poets, a crown of laurel being dedicated to Saturn if no-one could answer them (Attic Nights, XVIII.2).

During the holiday, restrictions were relaxed and the social order inverted. Gambling was allowed in public. Slaves were permitted to use dice and did not have to work. Instead of the toga, less formal dinner clothes (synthesis) were permitted, as was the pileus, a felt cap normally worn by the manumitted slave that symbolized the freedom of the season. Within the family, a Lord of Misrule was chosen. Slaves were treated as equals, allowed to wear their masters' clothing, and be waited on at meal time in remembrance of an earlier golden age thought to have been ushered in by the god. In the Saturnalia, Lucian relates that "During My week the serious is barred; no business allowed. Drinking, noise and games and dice, appointing of kings and feasting of slaves, singing naked, clapping of frenzied hands, an occasional ducking of corked faces in icy water—such are the functions over which I preside."

This equality was temporary, of course. Petronius speaks of an impudent slave, who had burst out laughing, being asked whether it was December yet (Satyricon, LVIII). Dio writes of Aulus Plautius cajoling his troops in his invasion of Britain. But they hesitated, "indignant at the thought of carrying on a campaign outside the limits of the known world." Only when they were entreated by a former slave dispatched by Claudius did they relent, shouting Io, Saturnalia (LX.19.3).

If a time of merriment, the season also was an occasion for murder. The Catiline conspirators intended to fire the city and kill the Senate on the Saturnalia, when many would be preoccupied with the celebration. Caracalla plotted to murder his brother then, and Commodus was strangled in his bath on New Year's eve.

At the end of the first century AD, Statius still could proclaim: "For how many years shall this festival abide! Never shall age destroy so holy a day! While the hills of Latium remain and father Tiber, while thy Rome stands and the Capitol thou hast restored to the world, it shall continue" (Silvae, I.6.98ff). And the Saturnalia did continue to be celebrated as Brumalia (from bruma, "the shortest day," winter solstice) down to the Christian era, when, by the middle of the fourth century AD, its festivities had become absorbed in the celebration of Christmas
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« Reply #2 on: November 26, 2012, 02:04:38 pm »

Santa Monica Nativity Scenes Committee Lawyer Says 'War on Christmas' Lost?

A lawyer representing a group of churches that appears to have lost their bid to continue a nearly 60-year-old tradition of hosting a Nativity scene at a park in the beach city of Santa Monica, Calif., says the battle to preserve Christmas displays in the national public square has been lost.

"When [Monday] (11/19/2012), United States District Court Judge Audrey B Collins delivered a 28-page ruling denying my client the right to continue a 59-year-old tradition of exhibiting Nativity scenes along Ocean Boulevard in the City of Santa Monica this Christmas season, another dagger plunged into the heart of America's twilight customs and traditions. The sneered-at 'war on Christmas' was effectively lost for good," wrote William J. Becker, Jr., of The Becker Law Firm, in an article.

A controversy over the display about the birth of Jesus at Palisades Park erupted last Christmas season when an atheist group "manipulated" the city's lottery system for spaces, according to the Santa Monica Nativity Scene Committee, resulting in only two booths for the Christian group that normally uses 14 booths for the various Nativity-related scenes.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/santa-monica-nativity-scenes-committee-lawyer-says-war-on-christmas-lost-85489/#b5C0YJZ0c0HichKM.99

Ah.. Its that time of the year again, with the made up war on a pagan holiday.
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« Reply #3 on: November 27, 2012, 03:06:56 am »

Yeah, this holiday thing really irritates me. My wife and family are into it, as they have been all their lives, even my mother and father who claim to be Christians, yet they look at me as the "black sheep" for protesting the pagan celebrations. It's really silly when you consider that my wife isn't even Christian, and yet just loves to decorate, nativity scene and all. Roll Eyes She doesn't believe in Jesus, yet has no problem celebrating the holiday. It boggles the mind!
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« Reply #4 on: November 27, 2012, 06:44:45 am »

2012 'Naughty & Nice' List Shows More Companies Now Say 'Christmas'

"Nice" companies that acknowledge Christmas far outnumber the ones that censor it, according to Christian legal group Liberty Counsel's 10th annual "Naughty & Nice" checklist. Those on the "Naughty" side include Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., and Banana Republic.

"Be sure to thank retailers that acknowledge Christmas and give your respectful opinion to retailers that pretend it doesn't exist," the group says in its report released in time for the 2012 Christmas shopping season and as part of its tenth annual "Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign."

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/2012-naughty-nice-list-shows-more-companies-now-say-christmas-85492/#X27MzmV4xGwjxuCs.99

Quote
...Also on the "Nice" list are AC Moore Arts & Crafts, CVS pharmacy, Dillard's, Disney.com, Dollar General, Eddie Bauer, Frontgate, JC Penney, Kmart, Kohl's, Land's End, Lehman's, Martha Stewart, Sears, Staples, Target and Walmart...

disney? need i say more...
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« Reply #5 on: November 27, 2012, 10:10:59 am »

Well, Martha Stewart, CVS Pharmacy, and JC Penny are only *a bit* better than Disney, quite frankly.

Yeah, this holiday thing really irritates me. My wife and family are into it, as they have been all their lives, even my mother and father who claim to be Christians, yet they look at me as the "black sheep" for protesting the pagan celebrations. It's really silly when you consider that my wife isn't even Christian, and yet just loves to decorate, nativity scene and all. Roll Eyes She doesn't believe in Jesus, yet has no problem celebrating the holiday. It boggles the mind!

Welcome to my life - my family thinks I'm crazy too, even though I pointed to the evidence not only historically, but also SCRIPTURALLY(ie-the verse where Paul says we celebrate his RESURRECTION). It really groans my spirit within me over how the Christ-hating unbelieving world just eats up this holiday, and hear them mentioning the name of Christ so many times during this period, but do so in an obvious pagan manner.(ie-the television programs will have at least 1 xmas program/movie on per day, and the radio stations and blasting this music wherever you go)
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« Reply #6 on: December 02, 2012, 12:26:11 pm »

AMERICA'S CHRISTLESS CHRISTMAS

Kelly Boggs.....Some seem shocked at the election results. But America's slow slide toward secularism has been taking place for some time now. I would argue that for at least three decades, id say a lot longer than that the Christmas season has been a clear indicator of our country's penchant for secular style over traditional substance.That is a true statement The essence of Christmas is the birth of Jesus Christ, lets slow down here, Christmas has NOTHING to do with Jesus, he wasnt born in December, Christmas is Saturnalia with a different name nothing more and nothing less. Its people like this that really hurt the Gospel, i bet this person is a catholic It is distinctly and exclusively a religious holiday...But in American popular culture the reality of Christmas Is not just lost; it has been discarded like ripped wrapping paper.No no it hasnt, Christmas was always a debauchery drunken ****, its only going back to what it was intended to be. Christ's birth is no longer the focus.It was NEVER the focus, quite lying to people All things secular trump the sacred as Ameri- cans celebrate Christmas in name only. 

MORE: http://www.bpnews.net/BPFirstPerson.asp?ID=39271

How does this help to spread the gospel when you start with a LIE? We are to tell the truth, how can you possibly lead anyone to Jesus when you start with a LIE?

Jer_10:2  Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
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« Reply #7 on: November 20, 2013, 07:05:28 am »

AFA Calls Out Retailers Who Refuse to Recognize Christmas

Will you get a “Merry Christmas” at the checkout line this season or a “Happy Holidays” in the parking lot?

As the Christmas shopping season intensifies next week for Black Friday, the American Family Association (AFA) is encouraging shoppers to patronize retailers who are “for Christmas” with its 2013 Naughty or Nice List.

“We’ve become a society that is overly concerned that something we say, even when true or right, might offend someone,” says AFA President Tim Wildmon. “The truth is that America was built on Christian principles and our nation has enjoyed much of our economic success because of the tenets of our Founding Fathers. When stores try to be politically correct by pushing Christ out of Christmas, it’s time to shop somewhere else.”

American Family Association released the 2013 list last week, just in time for the busy gift-giving season. AFA notes nearly 60 stores who either tell shoppers to have a “Merry Christmas,” use Christmas on a regular basis or recognize Christmas in some other way.

The organization calls attention to five other retailers who stand out as “5 star”-rated companies that promote and celebrate Christmas on an exceptional basis. They are, in addition to AFA’s own online store, Belk, Hobby Lobby, Lowe’s, Sears and Wal-Mart.

Other “for Christmas” companies on the 2013 list include ACE Hardware, Amazon.com, Banana Republic, Bass Pro Shops, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Big Lots, Books-A-Million, Cabela’s, Collective Brands, Costco, CVS Pharmacy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dillard's, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Gap, H.E.B. Stores, HSN.com, Hallmark, Hancock Fabrics, Harris Teeter Stores, Home Shopping Network, JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts, Kmart, Kohl’s, Kroger, L.L. Bean, Macy’s, Marshalls, Meijer, Menard’s, Michaels Stores, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Office Max, Old Navy, Pier One Imports, ProFlowers.com, Publix, QVC.com, Rite Aid, Sam’s Club, Scheels Sporting Goods, Super D Drug, Target, TJ Maxx, Toys R Us, Wall’s and Zappos.com.

American Family Association also lists several “naughty” retailers who are “against Christmas,” or those who may use “Christmas” sparingly in a single or unique product description but as a company does not recognize it. These retailers include Barnes & Noble, Family Dollar, Foot Locker, Limited Brands, Maurice’s, Office Depot, PetSmart, Radio Shack, Staples, Supervalu and Victoria’s Secret.


http://www.charismanews.com/us/41816-afa-calls-out-retailers-who-refuse-to-recognize-christmas
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« Reply #8 on: November 20, 2013, 09:39:18 am »

Quote
“We’ve become a society that is overly concerned that something we say, even when true or right, might offend someone,” says AFA President Tim Wildmon. “The truth is that America was built on Christian principles and our nation has enjoyed much of our economic success because of the tenets of our Founding Fathers. When stores try to be politically correct by pushing Christ out of Christmas, it’s time to shop somewhere else.”

Uhm...I don't think our founding fathers recognized this pagan holiday. Roll Eyes

Quote
The organization calls attention to five other retailers who stand out as “5 star”-rated companies that promote and celebrate Christmas on an exceptional basis. They are, in addition to AFA’s own online store, Belk, Hobby Lobby, Lowe’s, Sears and Wal-Mart.

Other “for Christmas” companies on the 2013 list include ACE Hardware, Amazon.com, Banana Republic, Bass Pro Shops, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Big Lots, Books-A-Million, Cabela’s, Collective Brands, Costco, CVS Pharmacy, ****’s Sporting Goods, Dillard's, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Gap, H.E.B. Stores, HSN.com, Hallmark, Han**** Fabrics, Harris Teeter Stores, Home Shopping Network, JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts, Kmart, Kohl’s, Kroger, L.L. Bean, Macy’s, Marshalls, Meijer, Menard’s, Michaels Stores, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Office Max, Old Navy, Pier One Imports, ProFlowers.com, Publix, QVC.com, Rite Aid, Sam’s Club, Scheels Sporting Goods, Super D Drug, Target, TJ Maxx, Toys R Us, Wall’s and Zappos.com.

American Family Association also lists several “naughty” retailers who are “against Christmas,” or those who may use “Christmas” sparingly in a single or unique product description but as a company does not recognize it. These retailers include Barnes & Noble, Family Dollar, Foot Locker, Limited Brands, Maurice’s, Office Depot, PetSmart, Radio Shack, Staples, Supervalu and Victoria’s Secret.

Wow...that's ALOT of "for Christmas" companies, and FEW "naughty" retailers. Roll Eyes
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« Reply #9 on: November 20, 2013, 01:08:11 pm »

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...Radio Shack...

What? Have they not seen the commercials they've done for years now of people playing with remote control cars, etc at Xmas?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa_PO201PUc&feature=player_detailpage
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« Reply #10 on: November 20, 2013, 01:17:19 pm »

What? Have they not seen the commercials they've done for years now of people playing with remote control cars, etc at Xmas?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa_PO201PUc&feature=player_detailpage

thats from 1987  Cheesy, i havent been to a radio shack in a while, but i think they say happy holidays and not merry xmas. personally id prefer to hear happy kawanza.  Cheesy
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« Reply #11 on: November 20, 2013, 01:21:27 pm »

Nonetheless, it's really mind-boggling why any of these companies would want to celebrate this pagan holiday - the ones that do aren't witnessing the gospel of Jesus Christ, but using it to buy and sell merchandise.

And pretty much the lost world loves xmas.(not saying I'm better than them, but when I had this Churchianity mindset, I loved this "holiday")
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« Reply #12 on: November 20, 2013, 05:00:33 pm »

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/costco-apologizes-bibles-labeled-fiction-174517191.html
11/20/13
Costco Apologizes For Bibles Labeled As 'Fiction'

Costco has apologized after some Bibles were wrongly labeled as "fiction."

A pastor tweeted a photo of the mislabeled religious document with the caption "Costco has Bibles for sale under the genre of FICTION Hmmmm..." reports Jason Wells at The Los Angeles Times.

His comment sparked outrage from offended Christians.

Costco was quick to apologize, saying that the Bibles were mislabeled by a distributor.

"However, we take responsibility and should have caught the mistake. We are correcting this with them for future distribution," Costco said in a statement to Fox News.
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« Reply #13 on: November 21, 2013, 02:45:36 am »

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thats from 1987  Cheesy, i havent been to a radio shack in a while, but i think they say happy holidays and not merry xmas. personally id prefer to hear happy kawanza.  Cheesy

I know. As I said, they've celebrated the holiday for decades. I did a search on YT and many Radio Shack commercials came up, dating back to at least 1981.

Yeah, whatever they call it, they still acknowledge the holiday. They cannot afford not to.

Kawanza? Really? How exactly does one celebrate that one? Get a drum and some face paint and...never mind. Wink
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« Reply #14 on: December 02, 2013, 06:26:33 am »

Campaign under way to tell Texans, 'You can say Merry Christmas'

A pro-family organization in Texas is conducting a "Merry Christmas, Texas" campaign to publicize and promote legislation that was passed this year.

The Merry Christmas Law was passed in the Texas legislature last summer with bipartisan support.
 
Jonathan Saenz of Texas Values says such a law was necessary when examples of political correctness run amok began popping up.
 
"Students were told they couldn't write 'Merry Christmas' when sending letters to troops in Iraq," Saenz recalls. 
 
In another case, a child informed his father he had to call the Christmas tree at school a "holiday tree." The father is a state legislator.
 
On its website, the organization credits state Rep. Pat Fallon for introducing the Merry Christmas law in the state legislature. In Fallon's own district, a school's PTA instructed there would be no mention of "Christmas" during the school's "Winter Party." 
 
Saenz says it will take a massive effort to educate millions of students at nearly 1,200 schools about the new law.
 
Ads are running on social media, there is advertising on print and radio, and there is the "Merry Christmas, Texas," website.
 
Saenz ays there are a number of other states looking at passing legislation similar to the Merry Christmas Law.

 - See more at: http://www.onenewsnow.com/culture/2013/12/2/campaign-under-way-to-tell-texans-you-can-say-merry-christmas#sthash.GO1uZ961.dpuf
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« Reply #15 on: December 02, 2013, 10:10:43 am »

Children Offer Up a Simple Message to Inspire People to ‘Keep Christ in Christmas’

Sometimes simple messages are the most powerful.
 
A Christmas-themed video from the Mormon Channel, a media outlet owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, breathes new life into the age-old message that treating others with kindness can sometimes be the greatest gift of all.
 
In making the case, the clip, which features “a Christmas angel, a grumpy old man and an unusual Christmas pageant,” tackles the cultural debate that surrounds consumerism and the holiday’s faith-based roots.

With gift-giving sometimes overtaking the Christmas season, many complain that the holiday’s true message is lost.
 
“Christmas is a wonderful time of year, because everyone likes to give presents to each other,” says one of the children depicted in the video. “But some people think that Christmas has become too commercial; some think we have forgotten how to keep Christ in Christmas.”
 
The kids can then be heard airing a list of resolutions — pledges they plan to make during the Christmas season. As each kid offers up a change in behavior he or she plans to implement, a wrapped gift is symbolically placed on a table.

“This year for Christmas, I’m going to say I’m sorry more,” one child says.
 
Others pledge to play with their kids more, share their lunches with those who are hungry and stop yelling at people while driving their vehicles. And those are only some of the planned changes — elements that point to an embrace of Christmas’ true meaning.

In the end, the video’s message was clear.
 
“We put Christ in Christmas when we give the gifts he wants us to give — the gift of ourselves,” the narrator says.
Would that be the alien Jesus from Kolob? Who is the brother of Satan?
 
We’ll leave you with the video below:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/12/02/children-offer-up-a-simple-message-to-inspire-people-to-keep-christ-in-christmas/
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« Reply #16 on: December 02, 2013, 11:31:19 am »

I know. As I said, they've celebrated the holiday for decades. I did a search on YT and many Radio Shack commercials came up, dating back to at least 1981.

Yeah, whatever they call it, they still acknowledge the holiday. They cannot afford not to.

Kawanza? Really? How exactly does one celebrate that one? Get a drum and some face paint and...never mind. Wink

AFA Calls for Radio Shack Boycott Over 'Christmas' Censorship

The American Family Association is calling for a limited one-month boycott of Radio Shack, accusing the company of censoring the word "Christmas" from its holiday promotions and advertising.

"Until Radio Shack proves it recognizes Christmas by using it in their newspaper, radio, television advertising and in-store signage, I will boycott its stores this Christmas," a boycott pledge on AFA's website states.

The faith-based nonprofit claims Radio Shack has continued to censor "Christmas" for years despite tens of thousands of consumer requests asking the company to recognize the holiday. The company frequently uses the term "holiday" instead of "Christmas" in its advertising.

"Radio Shack has been one of the most stubborn retailers that we have dealt with," Bryan Fischer, director of issue analysis for AFA, told The Christian Post. "If you look at Radio Shack's recent economic performance, the reality is that they are not in a position to offend any of their potential customer base. So we believe when we make it clear to them that the people who are looking to buy Christmas gifts for family and friends expect Radio Shack to be Christmas-friendly this year, we believe that we'll get their attention."

AFA wants boycott participants to leave comments on Radio Shack's Facebook page and call the company's corporate office to declare that they will shop elsewhere during the Christmas season unless the company makes some changes. The group is also encouraging participants to "politely" inform local store managers of their intentions.

Fischer says Radio Shack franchise owners will not be pleased with corporate leaders because of the boycott.

"I believe a lot of the pressure will come from the outlet owners and operators themselves," said Fischer.

AFA has released a Naughty or Nice List of the nation's top retailers each year since 2007, according to Randy Sharp, director of special projects for AFA. The list rates companies based on how "Christmas-friendly" they are, and Radio Shack is just one of 11 companies listed as being "against Christmas" this year.

Boycotts are also a part of AFA's annual Christmas campaign, however, and each one has been a success for the organization. In 2007, for example, AFA intervened after a Lowe's holiday catalog referred to Christmas trees as "family trees." The company apologized, blaming the mistake on a "breakdown in the proofing process," according to WND, and is now one of six companies AFA has awarded a "5-star" rating for promoting and celebrating Christmas in an exceptional way.

Sharp says companies typically agree to recognize Christmas shortly after the boycotts begin because they are afraid of losing out on sales during the holiday season.

"They depend on Black Friday to turn a profit for the entire year," said Sharp. "So any negative publicity is bad news and they want to nip it in the bud."

Last year AFA held a boycott of Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic stores, all of which are operated by Gap Inc., and approximately 22,000 people signed the boycott pledge in a matter of hours. Gap Inc. was on the "naughty" side of AFA's list last year, but the company made a turnaround and is now considered a Christmas-friendly retailer.

"It's been a very successful campaign, and we are winning this War on Christmas," said Sharp

http://www.christianpost.com/news/afa-calls-for-radio-shack-boycott-over-christmas-censorship-109405/
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« Reply #17 on: December 02, 2013, 03:06:06 pm »

Quote
The American Family Association is calling for...

(Sorry, gotta rant a bit on this one)

These so-called "Christian" groups going after worldly institutions serves no purpose at all, but to make the faith look bad, which of course is the enemy's goal.

They are truly controlled opposition.

We are to be content, and not sue, ESPECIALLY in Caesar's courts. We are suppose to handle "the smallest matters" among ourselves and leave the world to itself. Yet churchianity wants to meddle in the world, trying to force their false "works" doctrines on an unbelieving world, which of course will not work, except to work against the truth.

Honestly, I could care less what the AFA says. Tell me what Jesus says. "Behold, I have told you before"
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« Reply #18 on: December 03, 2013, 03:29:27 am »

(Sorry, gotta rant a bit on this one)

These so-called "Christian" groups going after worldly institutions serves no purpose at all, but to make the faith look bad, which of course is the enemy's goal.

They are truly controlled opposition.

We are to be content, and not sue, ESPECIALLY in Caesar's courts. We are suppose to handle "the smallest matters" among ourselves and leave the world to itself. Yet churchianity wants to meddle in the world, trying to force their false "works" doctrines on an unbelieving world, which of course will not work, except to work against the truth.

Honestly, I could care less what the AFA says. Tell me what Jesus says. "Behold, I have told you before"

I believe the AFA/FNC leadership are Council for National Policy members - they are doing their part to help usher in this One World Religion.
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« Reply #19 on: December 17, 2013, 05:27:29 am »

Did You Know That Christmas Was Once Banned for 22 Years in This American Colony?

Despite its widespread popularity today, Christmas hasn’t always been a welcome celebration in America.
 
While pundits, religious freedom advocates and church-state separatists debate the merits of the so-called “War on Christmas,” there was a time in American history when Christmas celebrations — in at least in one local community — were banned entirely.
 
The General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony passed a law in 1659 that fined anyone caught celebrating Christmas or similar celebrations, forcing them to pay five shillings, Mass Moments reported.
 
The law penalized any citizens “observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way.”

Similar to the debates that some have in contemporary society about commercialism and other elements that aren’t aligned with the traditional meaning of Christmas, the Puritans apparently saw the holiday season as offering up excesses and as having no Biblical rooting.
 
“Finding no biblical authority for celebrating Jesus’ birth on Dec. 25, the theocrats who ran Massachusetts regarded the holiday as a mere human invention, a remnant of a heathen past,” Andrew Santella once wrote in Slate. “They also disapproved of the rowdy celebrations that went along with it.”
 
One of the main sources of contention was the fact that some believed Christmas was simply an adoption of the pagan holiday of Saturnalia, a Roman celebration.
 
Saturnalia may be unfamiliar to some, but it was an ancient festival celebrated in Rome in honor of the god Saturnus. This celebration, which was commemorated on Dec. 17, is credited with having an influence on modern-day Christmas festivities.

It wasn’t until 1681 that the law was repealed as a result of British pressure. But Christmas didn’t become a fixture in the state of Massachusetts until 1869, Mass Moments noted.
 
And as Mental Floss noted, despite overturning the ban, students in Boston were still reportedly punished and risked expulsion if they skilled school on Christmas Day through 1869.
 
While atheist activists are regularly accused today of waging a War on Christmas, it seems that it was the Puritans — a Christian cohort — that were battling over the holiday centuries ago.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/12/16/did-you-know-that-christmas-was-once-banned-for-22-years-in-this-american-colony/?utm
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« Reply #20 on: December 17, 2013, 08:58:27 am »

Quote
It wasn’t until 1681 that the law was repealed as a result of British pressure. But Christmas didn’t become a fixture in the state of Massachusetts until 1869, Mass Moments noted.

And Wescott and Hort put out the corrupt Alexandrian texts in 1881 - seems like a lot happened in the 19th century concerning seeds for Apostasy being planted.
 
Quote
While atheist activists are regularly accused today of waging a War on Christmas, it seems that it was the Puritans — a Christian cohort — that were battling over the holiday centuries ago.

Yes, I know Obama has this Marxist mindset, but nonetheless it's still mindboggling how these so-called "conservatives" will really go after these Obama-types when they merely war over this pagan Xmas holiday.

So I guess using this logic, the Puritans were Marxists as well. Roll Eyes
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« Reply #21 on: December 19, 2013, 11:00:39 am »

http://theweek.com/article/index/254325/fox-news-has-already-lost-its-war-on-christmas
Fox News has already lost its War on Christmas

Recent surveys suggest Fox is waging a hopeless war against demographic shifts

12/18/13

Take down the Christmas tree Holiday Conifer and pack up the Nativity set Biblical-themed diorama: The War on Christmas is over, and the secularists have won.

While Fox News was busy insisting that Santa (and Jesus) are white, a couple of new polls pointed to something that the network has been warning about for years: Christmas has gradually become less of a religious holiday, and more of a cultural one.

First up, a Public Religion Research Institute survey released Tuesday found that almost half (49 percent) of Americans believe stores should use non-denominational greetings like "Happy Holidays." That's up slightly from three years ago, when 44 percent preferred less-religious platitudes to the traditional "Merry Christmas."

At the same time, just under half of all Americans (49 percent) now believe the biblical story of Christmas — virgin birth, angels, three wise men, and so on — is historically accurate. That's a steep decline from a decade ago, when fully two thirds of Americans believed the story was completely true.

So what happened to America? In a word: Aging.

Younger Americans are far less likely than older ones to view Christmas as a religious holiday. Much like how same-sex marriage, m@rijuana legalization, and other once-untouchable wedge issues have been blunted by the nation's shifting demographics, the same phenomenon is evident in America's changing views of Christmas.

**Uhm...m@rijuana has proven to cure various diseases.

A recent Pew poll bears out this point. In the survey, 51 percent of respondents say Christmas is "more of a religious holiday," while 32 percent say it is more so a cultural one. But among adults ages 18–29, only a 39 percent minority say they celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday; among those 65 and up, 66 percent say the same.

Moreover, though seven in 10 respondents in the survey say they typically went to religious Christmas services as children, only 54 percent say they plan to do the same this year.

The shift reflects America's growing body of so-called nones, or the religiously unaffiliated, whose share of the population rose from 15 to 20 percent in the last five years alone. With that group on the rise, and with millennials beginning to skew the nation's overall demographic makeup, an uptick in support for a more secular Christmas should be expected.

So Fox News is sort of right in saying that "Yes, Virginia, there really is a War on Christmas." But the war isn't one being waged by fanatical, intolerant liberals and foaming-at-the-mouth atheists. It's one being waged by inexorable shifts in America's demographics and beliefs.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Uhm...hate to burst your bubble, but Xmas has always, ALWAYS been a CONSUMERISM festivity(as long as I can remember since I was a child in the 70's, that is).
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« Reply #22 on: December 07, 2014, 07:05:29 am »

Franklin Graham: The War on Christmas Is a War on Christ

Hey Frank, Christians NEVER celebrated Saturnalia. Period. Theres a reason it was banned for so long in ancient Christian conclaves. It wasnt even really celebrated in America that much until AFTER WWII. Oh and Frank, one of the biggest ideas that get people to not believe in Jesus or the Lord God, is Santa Clause. Because you lie to your children and tell them there is this magical person that gives them free stuff. Its all a lie Frank, one im sure you spread around. Quite lying to people. Quite celebrating saturnalia.

Millions of Christians around the world soon will be celebrating the birth of Christ. In many places, like ancient Bethlehem where Jesus was born, commemorating the birth of the Savior is still the main focus. Unfortunately, the United States in the last few decades has witnessed increased hostility toward the sacred nature of Christmas, erupting into what has become a blatant war on Christmas.

Stores, schools and communities across America continue to find new and intolerant reasons to remove any religious references to Christmas, stripping it of any holy or historical significance. Christian songs, prayers and other spiritually vital connections to the Lord Jesus Christ are deleted or diminished.

Some flagrant examples:

In Ramsey County, Minnesota, the courthouse banned red poinsettias because someone deemed them a "Christian symbol."

The city of Pittsburgh refers to the Christmas holidays as "Sparkle Days," in an ironic attempt at avoiding offense.

A Veteran's Administration hospital in Augusta, Georgia, adopted a policy banning religious Christmas songs in public areas.

But none of this should surprise us.

That's because at its root and core, the war on Christmas isn't really about Christmas at all—it's about the Son of God. The war on Christmas is a war on Christ and His followers. It's the hatred of our culture for the exclusive claims that Christ made: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).

When Christ stepped out of eternity and into a cold animal stall in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, the angels announced His birth with these stunning words to shepherds huddled in the Judean darkness: "But the angel said to them, "Listen! Do not fear. For I bring you good news of great joy, which will be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11).

Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, became as fully man as He was fully God. He took on human flesh for one reason—to die for our sins, to rescue us from eternal separation and unending punishment. He fulfilled that mission three decades later when He hung on a cross in Jerusalem, was buried, rose again and ascended into heaven.

Believers in Christ call Jesus' birth His first Advent, or His first Coming. It was a time for miracles and healings, but also a time for suffering at the hands of sinners. He was betrayed, scorned, beaten and crucified.

When Christ returns—His second Advent or Coming—it will be an entirely different experience. He will come with undiminished power and glory, as a conquering King who will cast Satan and unbelievers into an eternal lake of fire. His kingdom will be finally consummated with the new heavens and the new earth.

Scripture calls the time between those two Advents the last days. We don't have to wait for them. Everyone born from the resurrection of Christ until His triumphant return has lived in them.

The Apostle Peter, in his first sermon at Pentecost, referred to the Holy Spirit's outpouring with the words of the prophet Joel: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh" (Acts 2:17).

The writer of Hebrews began his letter with a magnificent description of Jesus Christ, saying that God "has in these last days spoken to us by His Son" (Hebrews 1:2).

And the Apostle Paul told his protégé Timothy that "in the last days perilous times will come" (2 Timothy 3:1). He goes on to list nearly 20 chillingly familiar character traits that describe those days, such as pride, brutality, treachery and heartlessness.

We should not be taken aback, then, when a day that should be devoted to meditating upon the marvelous, virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ is instead treated in a scandalously secular way that denies His deity and saving work.

The name of Christ is an offense to the unbelieving world. The mention of His birth, or life, or death and resurrection, is an insult.

The world, the flesh and the devil all hate the mere mention of His glorious name. They are mortal enemies of the Savior.

The world the Bible speaks of is the world system that is set against the rule and reign of Christ. It is enthralled with power and greed, and it wants no part of the Messiah's absolute authority.

The flesh refers to the rebellious, sinful soul of man that is corrupted with deceitful desires and refuses to acknowledge God. It is willful, prideful disobedience that reacts with instinctive disdain for the Savior.

The devil animates it all. Knowing that his time to roam on earth is short and that he will one day be cast into the lake of fire, he opposes Christ at every turn. He and his demons will help gather all the nations into a great last-ditch rebellion against the King of kings before he is defeated.

Until then, however, we should expect stiff, relentless opposition to the gospel message from our culture. The persecution that many believers already experience in many countries may still be far into the future for us, but don't expect that it will not intensify and heighten.

However, since we know that Christ has already made every provision for sinners like us, we can steadily and obediently be about the Father's work of letting our light shine before men. We can be about the business of living uprightly in an evil age, testifying of Christ's power to deliver us from sin, Satan and the world.

The war on Christmas—the war on Christ—is doomed to fail. Christ came the first time to rescue us from our sin; He is coming a second time to establish His kingdom forever under His righteous reign.

Every believer from every age who has repented and trusted in Him for the forgiveness of sin will be with Him. The Babe at Bethlehem will be the conquering King.

So this Christmas, don't worry if you see the opposition building. Praise Him that He came to earth 2,000 years ago on a rescue mission, that He has rescued you.

http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/46334-franklin-graham-the-war-on-christmas-is-a-war-on-christ
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« Reply #23 on: December 04, 2015, 11:10:19 am »

https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/judge-bans-students-from-performing-in-live-192232997.html
Judge Bans Students From Performing in Live Nativity Scene
December 3, 2015

High school students who have been rehearsing a live nativity scene as part of their annual Christmas Spectacular are now scrambling to rework the show — sans Mary and baby Jesus — after a federal judge issued an order to nix the religious reenactment from the show.

STORY: Santa, Jesus Booted Off Courthouse Lawn

But for a public school to have planned to perform a nativity scene in the first place is “really out there,” Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, tells Yahoo Parenting. The national organization joined the ACLU of Indiana in filing a lawsuit against Concord High School in Elkhart, Ind., on behalf of an unnamed, non-Christian family that complained about the religious scene. “It’s the kind of thing you’d expect in a Catholic school or private school or something out of the ’50s, but not today,” Gaylor says. “This had our jaws dropping.”

STORY: Mall’s Santa Display Sparks Outcry

The inclusion of the scene was “so egregious,” she explains, and the show so close to happening — it’s scheduled to be performed this Friday — that the organization asked the court for a temporary injunction, which was granted on Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Jon DeGuilio. “The living nativity scene impermissibly conveys an endorsement of religion and thus runs afoul of the Establishment Clause,” DeGuilio noted in his decision, referring to the First Amendment clause that forbids government from establishing an official religion and from favoring one religion over another.

“Holiday celebrations that proselytize students are inappropriate in public schools,” Heather L. Weaver, ACLU senior staff attorney, said in a statement. “Today’s ruling makes that clear and ensures that all students and families, regardless of faith or belief, will feel welcome at Concord High’s winter concert.”

The Concord Community Schools district responded to the ruling through a press statement, released on Wednesday, from superintendent John Trout. “Concord Community Schools is disappointed in the decision rendered today by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana,” it reads. “The Concord High School music department is working overtime to insure [sic] that this year’s Christmas Spectacular performance complies with the Court’s order. Additionally, Concord Community Schools is presently researching the possible appeal of the Court’s preliminary injunction. A decision on whether to take that step will be made in the next few days.”

Issues similar to this one come up annually around holiday time. In 2013, some parents and students were upset when a New York school decided to omit all religious references from “Silent Night” for a performance by fifth-graders. And this year so far, the word “Christmas” has been banned from school flyers in a New Hampshire town, and a judge ordered a nativity scene — along with a Christmas tree and Santa decorations — be removed from an Arkansas courthouse lawn. And while some decry such events as small battles in a “war on Christmas,” Gaylor calls the pushback “a war against separation of Church and state.”

Concord High School has performed its Christmas Spectacular — inspired by the Radio City holiday show in New York City — every year since 1970. It has included the living nativity scene “for at least the last twenty seven years, and likely the last forty five,” the judge’s order reads, calling out that continuity as part of the problem. “The fact that this segment has remained constant while the other portions have changed or rotated could itself suggest a preference for that segment and its message,” he writes. “In addition, until this year, every show has included a narration by a faculty member that includes readings from the Bible of the story of Jesus’s birth. … The religious and Christian message conveyed by those performances with both the live nativity scene and the Biblical narration is unmistakable.”

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« Reply #24 on: December 07, 2015, 08:47:36 am »

http://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/university-of-tennessee-to-employees-ensure-your-holiday-party-is-not-a-christmas-party-in-disguise.html
University of Tennessee to Employees: 'Ensure Your Holiday Party is Not a Christmas Party in Disguise'
12/4/15

The University of Tennessee has recently released a document entitled “Best Practices for Inclusive Holiday Celebrations in the Workplace” in which it encourages employees not to discriminate against others who may celebrate differently.
 
According to Todd Starnes of Fox News, in its newly released guidelines, the University instructs employees to “Ensure your holiday party is not a Christmas party in disguise.”
 
When asked about the “Best Practices for Inclusive Holiday Celebrations in the Workplace,” the University said, “It is a list of suggestions for inclusive celebrations. We recognize that our campus community is diverse and its members observe various religious and faiths.”
 
The University went on to say it honors Christmas as one of the celebrations observed by its employees.
 
Some of the other guidelines in the document for workplace holiday parties state, “Refreshment selection should be general, not specific to any religion or culture,” and “Holiday parties should not play games with religious or cultural themes.”
 
Starnes stated that the University highlighted games such as “Dreidel” and “Secret Santa” as part of this guideline.
 
Some, like Representative John Duncan (R-TN), an alumni of the University of Tennessee, and Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey, expressed their concern that political correctness is holding too much sway.
 

“The people I represent are disgusted by this,” Duncan said. “People from all over the country are sick and tired of all this political correctness.”
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« Reply #25 on: December 09, 2015, 06:05:33 pm »

MICROSOFT BANISHES GOD FROM CHRISTMAS SONG
Creator on cutting-room floor for commercial


The Gates are trying to kill off half the population and all of black Africa, does this really surprise anyone?

Microsoft decided to leave God on the cutting-room floor for a commercial featuring “Let There Be Peace on Earth.”

Producers for the computer giant’s latest television commercial reshuffled lyrics to the popular song to avoid airing, “With God as our Father, brothers all are we. Let me walk with my brother in perfect harmony.”

Like the reporting you see here? Sign up for free news alerts from WND.com, America’s independent news network.

The ad features Microsoft employees and members of a New York City choir singing just outside an Apple store.

“To celebrate the holidays, Microsoft employees, who were selected from across the country, gathered together, meeting each other for the first time, at the new Microsoft 5th Ave Store to spread some holiday wishes,” a description of the video reads on YouTube. The ad has received over 1.5 million views since Dec. 1.

The Christian Post reported Tuesday that a “making of” video of the commercial does include God, meaning the Creator was edited out for television broadcasts.

The Blaze reached out to Microsoft for its coverage of the story on Tuesday, but did not receive comment.

Paul Marshall, Lela Gilbert and Nina Shea have collaborated to create “Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians,” which confirms that groups like Pew Research, Newsweek and The Economist also identify Christians as “the world’s most widely persecuted religious group.”

“Let There be Peace on Earth” was written by Jill Jackson-Miller in 1955. Sy Miller, her husband, composed the melody.


Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2015/12/microsoft-banishes-god-from-christmas-song/#lrgdfkXSQ6II3ATK.99
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« Reply #26 on: December 16, 2017, 07:38:26 pm »

Is Christmas a Religious Holiday? A Growing Number of Americans Say No

Combatants in the annual “War on Christmas” have some new data to chew on, thanks to a survey released this week by the Pew Research Center.

While many doubt that Christmas is embattled, as some conservative pundits contend, the new study does suggest American attitudes are changing.

The Pew study, based on interviews conducted in recent weeks with 1,503 adults, found that while a vast majority of Americans still celebrate Christmas, most find the religious elements of the holiday are emphasized less than in the past — and few of them care about that change.

Like much else in the United States, a strong partisan divide runs through the survey results, with responses from Republicans seeming to place an emphasis on religion and those from Democrats on secularism.

But the data complicate efforts to portray Christmas as either in mortal danger or in no trouble at all, a central issue in a yearslong debate over whether Christmas in America respects Christianity or has been undermined by liberalism.
Who celebrates, and how

Ninety percent of Americans celebrate Christmas in some form, a figure that has “hardly budged at all” since its survey in 2013, the center said.

Fifty-six percent of Americans believe that the religious elements of Christmas are emphasized less now than they were in the past, but only 32 percent of Americans say that development bothers them either “a lot” or “some,” according to the study.

In 2017, 55 percent of Americans said they celebrated Christmas as a religious holiday, including 46 percent who saw it primarily as a religious holiday and 9 percent who said it was both religious and cultural. Thirty-three percent celebrated it as primarily a cultural holiday, the study said.

Four years ago, 59 percent of Americans said they celebrated Christmas as a religious holiday, including 51 percent who said it was primarily religious for them and 7 percent who treated it as both religious and cultural. At the time, 32 percent said they celebrated it primarily as a cultural holiday.

The changes in attitudes are reflected in how people said they planned to spend their time during Christmas.

In 2013, 86 percent of celebrants said they would spend Christmas Eve or Christmas Day with loved ones, and 54 percent said they would attend a religious service. That declined in 2017 to 82 percent who said they would spend the holiday with family or friends and 51 percent who said they planned to attend a religious service.
The Bible story

The most seismic change captured by the survey, from a theological standpoint, may be the declining number of people who said they believed the biblical story of Christmas accurately reflected historical events.

The survey asked respondents about their belief in four parts of the biblical Christmas story: that an angel heralded the birth of Jesus; that it was a virgin birth; that wise men were guided to baby Jesus by a star; and that he was placed in a manger.

Only 57 percent of Americans believe in all four, down from 65 percent in 2014. There were two factors that contributed to the trend, researchers said. One was that atheists and the religiously unaffiliated appeared even less likely now than in the past to believe the story of Jesus’ birth. The second was “a small but significant decline” of roughly 5 percent “in the share of Christians who believe in the Christmas narrative contained in the Bible.”
Merry Christmas?

President Trump has turned the phrase “Merry Christmas” into a political battle cry, claiming that the greeting is being drummed out of public life by politically correct alternatives like “Happy Holidays” and the seasonal design choices of corporations like Starbucks.

He has often told supporters that under his presidency “we will be saying Merry Christmas again.” But most Americans don’t really care, according to the survey results.

Fifty-two percent said it did not matter to them what kind of holiday greeting was used by people or businesses, and only 32 percent said they prefer to be greeted with “Merry Christmas.”

Answers to that question differed along party lines. Roughly half of Republicans prefer to hear “Merry Christmas,” compared with 19 percent of Democrats. Sixty-one percent of Democrats said they don’t care what holiday greeting people use, while only 38 percent of Republicans agreed.
Holiday displays

There has also been a move toward the secular on the question of whether religiously themed holiday displays, like Nativity scenes, can be displayed on public property, like town halls and public schools.

Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union oppose such displays, calling them a violation of the separation of church and state, but two-thirds of Americans say they do not see a problem with them, according to the poll results.

But the number of respondents who said Christian displays should be allowed on their own, without symbols of other religions, like a Menorah, declined by 7 percentage points since 2013, to 37 percent from 44. The number of Americans who oppose religious displays on public property has grown to 26 percent from 20 percent in the same time period, the study said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/13/us/christmas-less-religious.html
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