2008 Woodie Awards
Student defends Christmas as religious holiday
Issue date: 12/7/07 Section: Editorial/Opinion
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12/07/07 - To the Cigar, On Tuesday, I submitted an article concerning the reluctance and refusal by many to acknowledge Christmas as the religious holiday that it is. Originally, there was little material evidence I could offer, but on Wednesday, I found my proof. The letter entitled, "Student names Santa brutal dictator of North Pole, calls for his firing,"? espouses the type of mindset I spoke about.
By the blatant absurdity of the whole thing, "a satirical, cleverly written letter to God, which also manages to be mildly entertaining," the author, Jeffrey Andreoni, attempted to dismiss the idea that Christmas is in danger.
Well, Mr. Andreoni can parody the matter until he is blue in the face, but his letter does not even begin to address the problem. Instead, he exacerbates it. One reason for this is that Mr. Andreoni doesn't believe there is a problem to begin with, which ironically is a part of the problem: the oblivion and ignorance of the public.
How do the people fight against a movement they cannot see? Somehow, perhaps because of religious differences or a lack of any faith at all, Andreoni does not understand exactly what the censorship of a religion means to its adherents.
The birth of the Messiah is something Christians believe in, the same way Jews believe in the Hanukkah miracle: imagine the reaction if people suddenly stopped depicting the menorah, and instead began to display "Hanukkah bushes."
I would ask you also to envision the reaction if Muslim icons were replaced by secular ones, but it suddenly occurs to me that there are none. I do not believe that secular icons are evil, but I think it is irresponsible and disrespectful to ignore the religious background of the biggest holiday in America. Nor do I believe that Santa is necessarily a danger to Christmas; instead, Santa Claus is a pawn, being manipulated by those of whom I have spoken, and being ignored by people like Jeffrey Andreoni.
Mr. Will Johnson's letter on Thursday was much more to the point, and I must say the engaging activity at the end was also quite enjoyable. And yes, Mr. Johnson, I can see it all quite clearly now: Christmas is about sweaters, eggnog is traditionally served at every "Fun-time" everywhere, Jesus finds green to be a positively sacred color, and, contrary to the views of Linus van Pelt, Santa is an icon of the true meaning of Christmas. Duly noted.
By the blatant absurdity of the whole thing, "a satirical, cleverly written letter to God, which also manages to be mildly entertaining," the author, Jeffrey Andreoni, attempted to dismiss the idea that Christmas is in danger.
Well, Mr. Andreoni can parody the matter until he is blue in the face, but his letter does not even begin to address the problem. Instead, he exacerbates it. One reason for this is that Mr. Andreoni doesn't believe there is a problem to begin with, which ironically is a part of the problem: the oblivion and ignorance of the public.
How do the people fight against a movement they cannot see? Somehow, perhaps because of religious differences or a lack of any faith at all, Andreoni does not understand exactly what the censorship of a religion means to its adherents.
The birth of the Messiah is something Christians believe in, the same way Jews believe in the Hanukkah miracle: imagine the reaction if people suddenly stopped depicting the menorah, and instead began to display "Hanukkah bushes."
I would ask you also to envision the reaction if Muslim icons were replaced by secular ones, but it suddenly occurs to me that there are none. I do not believe that secular icons are evil, but I think it is irresponsible and disrespectful to ignore the religious background of the biggest holiday in America. Nor do I believe that Santa is necessarily a danger to Christmas; instead, Santa Claus is a pawn, being manipulated by those of whom I have spoken, and being ignored by people like Jeffrey Andreoni.
Mr. Will Johnson's letter on Thursday was much more to the point, and I must say the engaging activity at the end was also quite enjoyable. And yes, Mr. Johnson, I can see it all quite clearly now: Christmas is about sweaters, eggnog is traditionally served at every "Fun-time" everywhere, Jesus finds green to be a positively sacred color, and, contrary to the views of Linus van Pelt, Santa is an icon of the true meaning of Christmas. Duly noted.