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Joe Fitzgerald's Jew Who Loves Christmas is back and she's mad

It's been a couple years since Joe Fitzgerald wrote about his house Jew, this woman in Brighton who so loves Christmas. This year, she's enlisted on the war on those nasty atheists who want to take the Christ out of Christmas.

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Comments

I think it was a nice story.

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But he drags her out almost every year (he hadn't run one in a couple years, though), and based on all his other columns, it's not to say something nice about the Jews so much as to support his Christian faith - basically to say, hey, lookit out how great Christmas is - even the Jews support it! Well, OK, this one Jewish lady I know, at any rate.

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Christmas?

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People who enjoy Christmas should knock themselves out. People who still remember it's actually a religious holiday and go to midnight mass and all that, well, bravo for them.

What annoys me is a) the cloying repetition of running the same basic column all the time (I can't stand Shaughnessy in part because of the same thing) and b) trying to use a member of another religion to bolster your own. Is Fitzgerald that insecure in his faith that he needs to find somebody outside that faith to proclaim its wonderfulness?

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Plenty of people I know, including myself, grew up celebrating a seccular Christmas. There's nothing wrong with it and in fact it's great because it excludes no one and includes everyone.. Please don't bash it.

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Who is bashing that? And where?

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Um... if you can't figure that one out then I don't know what to tell ya!

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The only ones bashing secular Christmas are the "Christ in Christmas" crowd, as far as I can see.

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Neighbor Jack Cunningham said Martin's father was a runner but had been injured and didn't run the marathon. --Obituary of Martin Richard --

Adam are you keeping score of all columnists or just conservative Joe Fitzgerald? Perhaps more than any other local columnist, Fitzgerald embraces --and occasionally calls out-- all religions including his own. I'm still waiting for the Globe sycophants to call out Kevin Cullen.

You know, the "courageous cop Sully" "great firefighter Fitzy" etc. Nothing trite there. Media "critic" Dan Kennedy called Cullen "the voice of the city" during the Boston Marathon bombing and aftermath, notwithstanding Cullen's sensational claim (that his firefighter friends allegedly told him) that little Martin Richard was killed after rushing out onto Boylston to greet his father who had just crossed the marathon finish line. After that had gone worldwide, a family spokesman was forced to come out and say that the father hadn't run the marathon. The story was bogus. The Globe still won a Pulitzer. Keep after Fitzgerald though.

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To know that I used to criticize Cullen and other Globe columnists (especially McGrory and Walker) a lot, so cut the smirking dogwhistling to your conservative friends.

That I got out of the habit of reading them when they were completely paywalled online is another matter.

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Adam, I look at it this way. I don't care who doesn't like Christmas. I'll put up as many lights and wreaths as I want to. I'm a Christian and I love being a Christian. This is a special time of year to us; sacred if you will. If we as Christians wish someone a Merry Christmas, whether they are a Christians or not, we sincerely want them to have one. Whether they celebrate it or not, it's still coming, it's a federal holiday as well as a Holy day, so they had better get used to it instead of getting all stressed out when they see a Nativity scene. Anyone who has a problem or gets offended when wished a Merry Christmas really does have issues and may need professional help. So, Merry Christmas to all; like it or not...

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No one cares. The war on Christmas is a fiction and the only people offended are Christians who want everyone to pretend Christianity is the only thing that matters.

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Is the "War on Christmas" thing. Christians who think there's a real war on Christmas should convert to Judaism or Buddhism or some other religion for a week - they'd quickly realize our entire culture is marinated in Christmas.

That Fox News has come up with this phony "war" to keep its viewers angry and tuned to Fox for the latest bulletins from the front lines is sheer genius, but anybody who is not a Christian will tell you Christmas's place in American culture is in no danger whatsoever.

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Brighton is awash in Christmas, both the secular expressions such as trees and lights, and religious (we have this big honking Catholic hospital in the middle of town. How can you avoid it?!?)

And this atheist put a wreath up on her door the day after Thanksgiving.

It would be interesting for someone else to interview this woman and find out if she's really in favor of putting mangers up in front of every government building and demanding people attend Mass on Christmas. I find the commandment of religion to be just as chilling as she apparently finds the suppression of it.

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I particularly love melt-downs over the use of "Xmas" (which isn't irreligious at all).

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Someone with limited space to fit the entire name of the holiday probably isn't being snarky or sarcastic. Some folks, however, go out of their way to say "Xmas" and "Xian" because they have no respect for another person's beliefs and they know it will get a rise out of those people. In that case, it most certainly IS irreligious.

Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

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The "X" in Xmas is actually the Greek letter chi.

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Again, though, I'm not arguing that the usage is incorrect. What we're talking about here is whether such usage is irreligious; that is, hostile or indifferent to religion. And, again, if it is used in a sarcastic or snarky manner, the grammatical correctness of it does not matter a whit. It is then, by definition, irreligious.

Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

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Certainly some use it that way, but the majority of uses of "Xmas" aren't to tick off Christians.I'm more amused at those Christians who get offended because they have no idea about the origins of the chi.

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Well , I never heard it before. To me , it might be no surprise to anyone here , being a white Irish Catholic , it is just about a non me being nice about my stuff. I do not go around ripping down Festivus poles ect. If that's what floats your boat , Festivus up my man. I just hope there is at least more than one person of the Jewish persuasion like this woman, seeing that we are talking about this ethnicity. How could anyone not like lights and such . You don't have to learn the Rosary to enjoy them. Shalom , haver !

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How many festivus poles have you seen? No, don't lie --it's zero, isn't it? And that is to the point: it's all Xmas, everywhere. Xianity so completely dominates the religious landscape in this country, it's a mystery why its adherents feel the need to advertise it so heavily for a month every year.

Incidentally, while John Hancock might not have been allowed to distribute books of Xmas carols in Soviet-era Lithuania, there is nothing at all stopping it from doing so here, so Fitzgerald has propped up a straw man as part of his nativity scene. It's pretty smarmy of him to exploit this old immigrant lady's ignorance about how American Constitutional freedoms work, for his own ends.

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Merry Christmas, reddit!

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Up to this point, nobody has even mentioned reddit, so I'm not sure what you are trying to say here.

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P man ,
I know of Festivus from Seinfeld reruns. I do not keep track of the many varied religions , like the church of what's happening now ect that may or not be cults. This X word , I had to look it up , Christianity , well there are a lot of us , that's why the exposure .i guess we are just celebrating, you can join in , don't have to learn or recite the Rosary. Goodwill to man ,,Peace on earth , that's the mantra. But when you are cashing your paycheck , unless you are a Russian spy on socialist payroll, welcome to capitalism , which benefits greatly from the season. So you are in the game, no " hosanna in the highest " necessary , no secret handshake. But we also build hospitals , usually they were in areas that we were at one time predominate , like the Carney South Boston then to Dorchester , or St. Elizabeth's in Brighton.But to A- man , lighten up . I remember going throw Mattapan years ago , seeing the discontinuity of no Xmas lights , and accepted it as the difference of cultures. I wasn't offended , just happy in my own ethnicity. We also have the right of return to Ireland, but bashing my Xmass lights or trees or hospitals or schools won't trigger it. Just chill out , non X'ers , groove on the lights and happiness. And don't mess with the Guinness either .

An tsíocháin , εἰρήνη , שלום עליכם ,

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Ah, the nostalgia! Those were the days, when any story in the Globe that cast a shadow on the RCC caused a flurry of letters accusing the paper of "Catholic bashing." Odd how the pederast-priest thing pretty much ended that...

Hint: making observations about the complete dominance of Xmas and its trappings is not "bashing." Your religion has won. There is no war on Xmas; there is no risk at all that it's going to be supplanted by something else within your lifetime. It's not the rest of us who need to chill.

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P- man , hint ? Bash, lament , pick a verb. This train of comments was sparked the A man , the boss , not liking a fluff piece on Iris Koltoniuc ect. Now we are up to my religion won. If the decorations annoy you , don't put them up or look at them. They are for the children, it's not a catch phrase. When the internets come alive , then you will have your new world order, we will be out !

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There's a discourse that exists in sources like the Herald of a supposed "war on Christmas," and it's complete bull because Christmas is not at risk of disappearing. That's what "p-man" was pointing out.

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Testify, brother or sister!

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i guess we are just celebrating, you can join in , don't have to learn or recite the Rosary. Goodwill to man ,,Peace on earth , that's the mantra.

You really need to learn about your own religion if you believe this. Christian theology doesn't have room for people to just "join in" without buying into the whole belief system.

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I do know a Jewish guy who loves Christmas more than any Christian I know (I really do)

How dare you wage your unholy war on Fitzgerald. (/snark)

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Your anger at this situation and use of the phrase "house Jew" is hilarious and offensive, respectively.

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He comes from a long line of field Jews

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And much of my lineage comes from people who fled the pograms in czarist Russia, so, yes, I'm touchy when people in the US think they're being persecuted because some people say "happy holidays" - if that's your idea of religious persecution, you really have no idea what you're talking about (and no, I don't object to people who wish me a "merry Christmas" - I reply "thank you, same to you," they mean well and why shouldn't I reply just as cheerfully?).

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IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/lGrUGkx.jpg)

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I say "Merry Christmas". I send out Christmas cards that say "Merry Christmas". That's because I'm a Christian and that's what I believe and celebrate.

BUT whatever someone else says in a well-meaning way, or in celebration of their belief, God bless them. Thanking someone, for wishing you happiness, is the only reasonable response.

Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

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...and not dictating to other people exactly what their response should be? That's what I really hate about that cute little graphic. If the rule makes sense for you, as a guide to your own conduct, well and good -- but people use it as a yardstick (and a bully stick) to try and regulate others' response. It's not "here's what I do", it's what "here's what you should do (and here's my license to tirade about you if you don't)". Don't should on other people, ok?

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Essentially, by making a big deal with people wishing you a happy this-or-that, you are exposing yourself as being a sour puss. People are just trying to be nice.

Just say thank you, and move on.

This reminds me. I have to send my "holiday" wishes to a friend who is Jewish. We see each other occasionally, and we parted company last week without doing such. I want to get in my wishes before Hanukkah begins.

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Essentially, by acting like you're the boss of what is and isn't nice, you are exposing yourself as being a selfish inconsiderate person. Either people do what you want, or they're not "nice"? You really think a lot of yourself and not so much of others, don't you?

(see how unpleasant it is when someone else judges your character? Yeah, I don't like it either, so how about we don't do that? Don't say people aren't "nice" because they don't see things your way)

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Society is. And when society says that I am being out of line, I am.

Remember that moron from Harvard everyone was making fun of last week. The right thing to do was to point out the error on the website, accept the apologies and refund, acknowledge the fact that the menu would be put down, and leave it at that. Instead, well, you know.

So, sure, raise a stink when someone is trying to be nice to you. That stink could grow and grow. If it is online, it may grow viral. At the end of the day, people will say "why didn't you just say thank you and leave it at that?"

Seriously, is it so tough to be nice?

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That's where the trouble tends to start.

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The Jewish friends I send cards to realize that I'm a Christian. It's not some secret I've been keeping from them.

They also realize that my intent is not one of proselytism. I am only attempting to share some of my joy of the season with them, with a nice card, pretty colors, etc., being part of that. I am remembering them as my friends, at a time of year when one does such things.

They send me cards, too, generally, some of which say "Merry Christmas", some of which say "Happy Holidays" or something else. I received a "Chappy Chanukkah" card once and I didn't freak. I knew the intent was friendly. If more of my Jewish friends wish to send me Hanukkah cards, no problem.

Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

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which are very true. She came from a country that did not allow the freedom she desired. So she arrives in the US in 1989 and experiences that wonderful feeling of freedom.

Part of living in a free country, such as ours, is the freedom to practice whatever belief you want. Not everyone one believes that a baby, purported to the be savior of the world, was born in a manger and that three wise men visited with gifts. This goes beyond whether one is a Christian, Jew, non-believer. In a public setting, such as a school, there are now, generally, many more different races and beliefs, to hand out little caroling booklets (which I remember!) that just include Christmas carols (while harmless on one hand), has had its day.

If she removes herself from the Bill O world where the "War on Christmas" exists, she will see that it really does not exist. Folks are still putting up their Christmas trees and singing Christmas carols.

Being PC, if one wishes to use that term, has everything to do creating an environment where all races and beliefs, including agnostics and atheists, can worship or choose to non-believe in peace and harmony. That is what our country, once upon a very, very long time ago, inspired to be like.

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You come across as a little overly sensitive, and no, I'm not deliberately or even subconsciously trying to be condscending by making this statement.

I'm not Jewish. I grew up Catholic, am as an adult firmly Agnostic. In my life I have never encountered anyone in my (large) immediate and extended family who had or had condescending attitudes towards Jewish people or the Jewish faith. I have no friends (that I'm aware of) with such attributes. I've never met anyone in my entire life who got upset by the sight of a Menorah in public or on private property. I grew up around many Jewish people and institutions and simply accepted such sights because there were many Jews in the area I lived (and live today), just like when you are in predominantly black neighborhoods you see many examples of southern Baptists and other Christian fundalmentalism.

Yeah, I agree somewhat with you, that Fitzgerald's writing on the Christmas subject, and using this woman as an example to trot out, is hackneyed; but what isn't hackneyed about our holidays (and Holy Days)?

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There's a lot more to not having "condescending attitudes towards Jewish people or the Jewish faith" than simply refraining from complaining at the public display of a menorah. For one thing, it's more than a little condescending to believe that by allowing the public display of a menorah, you've made everything right. Menorahs equal Christmas trees and nativity scenes, right? Because Hanukkah equals Christmas, right? Um...

No. I hate to say it, because you sound like a sincerely well-intentioned person, but the very assumption of these equivalences is condescending in and of itself. Maybe not intentionally so, but it is.

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If it were not for the massive advertising campaign that is Christmas, would Jews feel any urge whatsoever to put up giant Menorah?

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No doubt some of the motivation for lighting big menoras in public places comes as a reaction to all the Xmas displays. But the nature of the ritual of menora lighting is to publicise the miracle of Hanuka. Even when we light in our own homes, the menoras are supposed to be visible from the street, and lit at a time when there still would likely be passers-by to see them. So maybe some people would still be motivated to light big menoras in public places even without the competition from Xmas.

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It's funny how liberals just can't handle that we are a secular country but a christian nation. Come the holiday season they start frothing at the mouth when the national character comes out.

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Can't understand that nobody disputes that most Americans are Christian and get all bent out of shape when somebody objects to a column like this and assumes somebody like me is trying to singlehandly smite all the Christians.

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something Bill O'Reilly parrots endlessly to get rightie dimbulbs all frothy, since getting frothy about the state of the world and how young people don't have no respect no more, like Dana Carvey's Grumpy Old Man, is their preferred mood, and their viewership is what keeps Bill in clover.

Nobody gives a shit whether you celebrate Christmas or not. Politicians, on the other hand, have a good reason -- called the Constitution, specifically its separation of church and state principle -- to not be seen endorsing a religion with publicly-funded holiday displays and messages.

If somebody says "Happy Holidays" to you, it's not because they hate Christmas: it's just that they recognize that not everybody in the US is a Christian anymore.

So what I want to know is: why do people who wail about the War on Christmas hate the Constitution?

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"not everybody in the US is a Christian anymore"

Exactly when was this time when EVERYBODY in the US was a Christian?

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And those that were not were at least sympathetic to judeo-christian civilization rather than hostile to it as we see today.

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Would you say you have Fox News on in your house?

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brought up in that great Judeo-Christian tradition, and utterly baffled by putzes who believe it's somehow "under attack". We remain an egalitarian society with unmatched freedom to practice our respective faiths.

The only threat to that is from dumbasses who missed the part of our history where we got our start by people who risked their lives to flee from having a state religion imposed on them.

The Founding Fathers could not have foreseen a country with significant populations of Hindus, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Shintoists, Scientologists, animists, agnostics, atheists, and so on, but they correctly saw the danger in a would-be democratic society that favored one religion over anything else. Honor the Pilgrims and the Framers, and study the Constitution, good citizen.

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And brooked no dissent, as Roger Williams and others found out. Oh, the irony.

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Massachusetts was founded as a theocracy (take a look at Article III of the original state constitution). We've managed to overcome that.

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John Winthrop actually strongly advocated for separation of church and state. Part of the reason why they left England.

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supported a theocracy in Massachusetts Bay Colony. Part of the reason he left England was that he felt that the ideals of the Reformation were being watered down, what with Charles I marrying a Catholic and all.

Read about Anne Hutchinson. Or just watch the Drunk History version of the story. No separation of church and state there.

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Winthrop certainly was an asshole and creepy weirdo (especially to Anne Hutchinson) but his diaries are clear about the concept of separation of church and state. Essentially Winthrop didn't want the state interfering with church affairs, so instead of being punished by the state, you'd have clergy at your door. The core about Hutchinson seems to be his personal grudge against her and her husband as well disagreement of the concept of a womens' prayer group being witchcraft. However as governor he did hold a totalitarian sword towards those he personally disagreed with.

The concept is a little unclear early on seeing as the population at the time was essentially the one congregation, and pretty much declared war on the Catholics that came to Watertown.

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The Puritans weren't fleeing religious oppression so much as they WERE religious oppression. They were much like the 12-year-old-marrying nutjobs who get their koolade-drinkers all living on a compound in the middle of nowhere. The difference was that the Puritans were more off the grid and thus under the radar.

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Not being allowed to take over publicly-owned spaces with your personal belief as to how a religious holiday should be celebrated is not the same as being prevented from celebrating that holiday.

The war on Christmas is an enormous strawman in a red fur-trimmed suit.

It isn't like all Christians celebrate the same way, either, and yet these buffoons fixate on the most crass consumerist manifestations of Christmas that they can when whining about not everyone practicing Christmas like they do. Happy Holidays isn't even necessarily multicultural - we get New Years in the bargain, too!

I was shocked to see nativity scenes on public property when I first moved here. That's not because atheists said anything, but because the state I grew up in was very much split into many different denominations. A number of those found displays distasteful or forbade them, and didn't want them on public property. It was Christians who sued to have religious displays removed from public property, because they didn't want tax money or public property used for things that they found blasphemous and offensive.

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... were perfectly fine things to say / write on cards etc, for many, many decades (since the 30s at least) -- until ultra-right-wing Christians began throwing a fuss about these inoffensive greetings -- and invented the "war on Christmas" their political agenda.

Of course, the real "war" on Christmas was corporate America's fairly successful effort to turn a combination religious celebration and good-time (almost) secular holiday into an orgy of marketing and buying.

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Secularists started to use "happy holidays" as a cudgel against the reason for the season. Admit it, you want to erase the Christ fro Christmas.

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The Establishment erased Christ's 'fro, and even the fact that he was African, long ago. It's tragic.

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... to _before_ the start of the 20th century -- and made _very_ popular when used as the title of a 1942 film. Yep, definitely a plot by modern secularists....

And -- BTW - "Seasons Greetings" also dates back to the Victorian era.

I love right wingers -- supposedly conservative and traditionalist -- and don't (in fact) know a thing about history.

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I blame Andy Williams.

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The only sane comment in this thread.

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Secularists started to use "happy holidays" as a cudgel against the reason for the season. Admit it, you want to erase the Christ fro Christmas.

You are an idiot.

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You can have all the Christ you want in your Christmas as long as you get it out of my face. I claim the right to not have to endure your religious proselytizing in public spaces.

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How casually you and other dismiss the many documented cases of bias against Christians.

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Please provide details of recent cases in the United States where Christians have been persecuted for celebrating Christmas.

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Looks to me like it is more a matter of Christians persecuting other Christians who don't agree with them. Much of the commercialism AND the religious displays surrounding Christmas that you scarecrow recyclers want to force on everyone is patently offensive to those Christians who find them appalling and blasphemous for religious reasons.

When was the last time that Boxing Day and Epiphany were holidays in the country? How about the Lucia festival? Those are Christian traditions, too, but I don't see any whining about that aspect - the shutting out of Christian traditions for Anglicans, Lutherans, and Orthodox faiths.

My Grandfather, a Presbyterian Elder, would have sneered at your lot privately as a "Papists" who were trying to take the focus off of Christ at Christmas, as would many other old-school Protestants. The Jehovah's Witnesses, who have made the most noise as they ARE persecuted by other Christians who want to force faith into public life (ie enforced flag worship, public school Christmas pageants), but that doesn't mean that other Christians did not support them in faith and deed and spirit.

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Bias against Christians. Interesting. By whom? Where? Where are these documents? Please link.

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It's all laid out in the Protocols of the Elders of Anon. First they war on Christmas, then they impose Mariah Law, then comes the Intermission.

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If you try to force me to listen to this song my ears will stage a die in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXQViqx6GMY

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Try this one , it's more better ,
http://youtu.be/dSJ4EWeHyE4

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Protocols of the Elders of Anon. I hope I'm not the only one who laughed.

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Please. This is like the guy with the paper cut wanting to go to the head of the line in the ER.

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If somebody says "Happy Holidays" to you, it's not because they hate Christmas: it's just that they recognize that not everybody in the US is a Christian anymore.

Or they just understand the calendar and know that New Year's Day comes seven days after Christmas, so you may as well wish someone Happy Holdays, plural.

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It's funny how liberals just can't handle that we are a secular country but a christian nation.

Is that why Jesus is on our money?

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It's funny how Christian funnymentalists just won't rest until they've got a Taliban-style theocracy.

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Ah, the war on Christmas. My least favor part of the holiday season. The one question I have, that no one who think it's actually a thing has ever been able to answer is: who is it that is stopping you, in your personal life and on your personal property, from putting out a Christmas tree, or lights, or saying "Merry Christmas"?

And it's because the answer is: no one.

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I grew up largely in a moderately secular/blended Muslim country (Indonesia in the late 90s, West Java to be precise) and attended an American-run international school. About half the student body was Korean (some Christian but many Shinto/other/none), a lot of others were Muslim Javanese, lots of American/Kiwi/Aussie/Brit of every possible denomination...

To paraphrase a source I can no longer place: the Christians went to church and said "Merry Christmas," the Muslims went to mosque and said "Selamat Eid," and the atheists went to parties and said "Look out for that wall!"

It was just never a big deal. Even though lots of the buleh (whiteys) were missionary kids, they had their own parties to Jesus it up. Nobody was offended by the Jesusy types, we just saw no reason to engage. And again, this was in a Muslim country. Nobody cared what the Christians did at their own parties, nobody found normal carols (including moderately Christiany ones like Silent Night) offensive in the least.

Attn: American Protestants, you are so not being persecuted I can't even

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I looked around the table and commented on the fact that we had a wonderful representation of faiths; atheist, Christian, Muslim, Hindu...

And the three Indians at the table looked at me strangely because I found this such an unusual occasion.

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My boss is Muslim, his boss is Jewish (as is about 1/3 the staff), our admin is Eastern Orthodox. We also have Buddhist and Catholic and Mormon staffers, and we leave shoes at our office door after work on December 5 for treats.

This with only about 20 people in the office.

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Here however, the secularists make it a big deal. They cannot countenance the christians their holiday. To celebrate the christian faith openly is an affront to their sensibilities. Other religions get a pass. Islamists blow something up and the secularists fall all over themselves excusing it away. They make that day essentially a holiday. Perversity thy name is liberalism.

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Call me when you can prove that you've been beaten up because of your faith. I, an actual Jew, have. Granted, it was a long time ago, and granted, it was junior high school, but, no, any problems you have are not because of secularists. Go have yourself a merry Christmas and trust me: There are no secularists hiding in your closets waiting to pounce on you.

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A-Man , dude, I like you , but don't understand that Fox and the Herald seem to be referenced by you and others when you disagree with a point of view that conflicts with your opinion of the new and improved world order. I watch Fox , Maria has nice gams , but I watch ESPN too. And I read the Herald as well as other stuff. But I don't need these outlets to do my thinking for me. There was no Fox TV when they implemented forced busing, one issue that is still tender after all these years. I find no explanation for its failure that shows remorse for messing up a lot of people's lives while admitting it was a social experiment that went well beyond the camouflage of the lie that it was for leveling education. But I don't need Fox or the Herald to enlighten me. You are the boss here , but you started this thread about the rehash of the news article. Then it leads up to you getting beat up, and you have used this before , for being Jewish and in junior high. Now I don't know how that has anything to do with Xmass lights for the children , but in my own version of being an Irish Catholic, we have our own sensitivities about religious persecution. So maybe we put up lights to show our faith because our people before could not. So when you put start such a thread, you are smart enough to know you are going to instigate a whirlwind of opposing forces.

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And good for remembering my sad junior-high life (truth be told, that was only a small part of my junior-high-life - once we moved back to places where you didn't have to bring in a note to explain your absence on Yom Kippur, I had no problems with my religion).

But as long as somebody like Joe Fitzgerald keeps writing stuff like his Christmas Jew column, yeah, I'll post about it, and I'll take the lumps that come with doing so.

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A-Man , not to rub salt into your wound , I remember in grade school the whole class early release marching up to Catecism with the good nuns. The few that remained got to water color paint, they were Eastern Orthodox . I bet they can't do that today.

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So maybe we put up lights to show our faith because our people before could not.

They could not, because electricity wasn't invented? When, in this country, could you not show your faith? And what does forced busing have to do with Xmas -- was that the opening shot in the War on it, or what?

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You derailed off the tracks dude , you didn't get any of it . Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain faoi Mhaise Duit !

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So answer the question, because I don't get it either.

Alternately, admit that you HAVE no point and are just trying to make a false equivalence, between your alleged persecution as a Christian and the situation of a non-Christian in a Christian-dominated society where the level of Christian fanaticism is rising.

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Here however, the secularists make it a big deal. They cannot countenance the christians their holiday.

Yeah, I know! You wouldn't even know it was Christmas unless you went into a church!!

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Courtesy of @iboudreau

We will stop the War on Christmas as soon as Christmas stops invading other seasons

https://twitter.com/iboudreau/status/529423978709135361

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You put it on the shelf, and then tell your kids if they act up all they're getting is Hannukah.

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The "War on Christmas" is my favorite, most enjoyable fake issue. I love watching it's soldiers faces turn red as they with no twinkle in their eyes seriously argue that there is a war on Christmas. I had feared that the "War on Christmas" was loosing it's steam and would slowly fade away like other Christmas anachronisms such as Ribbon Candy.

Thank heavens we have pioneers like Joe Fitzgerald to carry on the war. Remember before there was a Fox news, before there was a Rush Limbaugh and even back when Howie Carr was still alive, there was Joe Fitzgerald.

Joe gives voice to people who aren't really familiar with the Constitution, or interested in the challenges that the Bill of Rights presents to us as citizens or the decisions that our courts have arrived at interpreting those rights.

Joe offers a light patriotism that doesn't require much more than a junior high level of understanding and a nostalgic longing for a simpler past. If his audience is unfettered with any sense of the Constitution - contemporary or historical, they are left to wonder what fuzzy headed, dare I say moonbat fellow citizens would dare to challenge how things have always (or at least as long as I can remember), been done.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays :)

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On Greater Boston Friday night during the rant/rave section one of the panelists (Adam Reilly) said his rant was for Fox News/Bill O'Reilly for ramping up the annual "War on Christmas", red meat for their viewers but ridiculous and not newsworthy. Emily Rooney stood up for Bill O and remarked how she agreed with him that their was a war on christmas. It was odd, its no secret she is a cranky conservative like her dad, but I had no idea she was that delusional.

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Joe offers a light patriotism that doesn't require much more than a junior high level of understanding and a nostalgic longing for a simpler past.

...sorta like ISIS. Seriously.

"Once upon a time, there was the caliphate, a golden era..."

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Christmas is a bunch of bunk to a real Christian. Nobody is sure when Jesus was born and it's not significant. He was born; that's enough. The wise men, 3 kings or Three Stooges are just a prop added for decoration.

A real Christian puts Christmas to the side and instead ramps up the celebration for Easter. Jesus is nothing if he was not resurrected from the dead.

So Joe and Faux News, take your war on December 25th (which by the way, is the day Mithra was born for anyone who really wants to know why 12/25 is a big day, of course there is Saturnalia for ancient Romans and gee whiz, it's even Solstice) and fly it up the Festivus Pole. Us Real Christians know that Easter is the big one.

But I do have one HUGE complaint about how the "Christmas season" is conducted. For me this is where there is a genuine culture war. Colored lights versus white lights. If I want to see whites lights I'll look at the ugly LEDs that litter streets. Colored Christmas/Hanukkah/Solstice/Mithramass/Kwanzaa/Saturnalia etc. lights foreva!

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This being America, it can't get huge unless somebody can make money from it. You can bet they're working on it, though, along with Txgiving, Halloween, and probably Arbor Day.

The Winter Solstice is actually on Dec. 21st here. I don't know if it was the 25th in ancient times somewhere.

I am 100% with you on the colored vs. white lights. My wife likes the white ones, but I find them bland. This year, she did the tree all white, and my daughter and I did the bushes in the front yard mostly all colored. I think in our case, it may really be cultural; she's from the PRC.

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