War On Christmas

No one will deny or dispute the power of the Almighty to make such a communication if he pleases. But admitting, for the sake of a case, that something has been revealed to a certain person, and not revealed to any other person, it is revelation to that person only. When he tells it to a second person, the second to a third, a third to a fourth, and so on, it ceases to be revelation to all those persons. It is revelation to the first person only, and heresay to every other; consequently they are not obliged to believe it.
-Thomas Paine referring to religious texts and dogma in Age of Reason, Part One.

This controversy over the disbanding of the Christmas trees in Sea-Tac is such a false controversy in more ways than one. First of all Christmas, as a celebration of the birth of Jesus, would more accurately be celebrated in March or April. Religious scholars and historians agree that Jesus was actually born around that time. The Christmas Tree and Yule log are actually Pagan traditions started before the Roman invasion of the Barbarian lands. So, the Rabbi suing to put a Menorah next to a “Chrisitian” Christmas tree, which isn’t really Christian except in the confused minds over-commercialized populous who have been told it and believe it is so. Just like they were told Jesus was born in December and believe that is so also, when facts point out it is not. I’ve noticed facts don’t matter much to the religious though. All that matters is belief, and beliefs and dogmas inside of organized religion, are as easily misconstrued as the original message at the end of the child’s game of “telephone.”
Does it really matter if a Christmas tree is displayed? Even if we assume that Jesus really was born in December on the Gregorian calendar, and that the tree is really now, and always has been a Christian tradition, is that still what it really means? Aren’t the original enemies of Christmas profiteerism and commercialization? Weren’t they the ones that transformed it into a meaningless Holiday enabled by the Christian majority in our capitalist society? It wasn’t the SP’s as Bill O’Reilly likes to call them in his ridiculous war on Christmas. So maybe Mr. O’Reilly should first ask for the Christian capitalists to restore the religious meaning to their own holiday, then, maybe it might lend credibility to the cause against SP’s railing against this holiday that really has lost all its religious meaning. After all, I am a very cynical atheist and I celebrate Christmas as a joyous holiday family and giving. I guess I celebrate the American watered-down version.