Christmas controversy refers to publicized controversy surrounding the public acknowledgement or celebration of the Christmas holiday in media, advertising, government, and other secular environments. Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday that marks the traditional birthdate of Jesus of Nazareth. ...

In past centuries, Christmas–related controversy was mainly restricted to a public focus on secular Christmas themes such as Santa Claus rather than what was glorified as the "reason for the Season"—the birth of Jesus. A symbolic issue from these former controversies was usage of the term "Xmas", which many allege is a conscious attempt at removing the term "Christ" from Christmas. Interestingly the Greek letter Chi or "X" is actually an alternative means of referring to Christ, although this use is no longer at all common except in theological circles. A Santa Claus doll. ... Adoration of the Shepherds (1535-40), by Florentine Mannerist painter Agnolo Bronzino The Nativity of Jesus, or simply the Nativity, refers to the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, although it is also used for the birth of Mary, especially in iconography. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This page is about the title or the Divine Person. For the Columbia University physics professor, see Norman Christ. ...

In present–day United States and Canada, it is often suggested that mention of the term "Christmas" in public venues such as government, media, and retail, is being strenuously avoided and replaced with a generic term, usually "holiday" (which, ironically, comes from the words "holy" and "day"), while at the same time, specific, though non-religious Christmas customs such as Santa Claus and Christmas trees are often prominently showcased. Supporters of this effort often claim that the goal of this euphemistic terminology is to not offend non-Christians, while opponents report that since 80 percent of non–Christian US citizens celebrate Christmas^[1][2], and a total of 96 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas^[3], usage of the term "holiday" instead of "Christmas" is an effort to avoid connotations with Christianity or Jesus, rather than to "include" non–Christians. A Santa Claus doll. ... A Christmas tree in a German home One of the most popular traditions associated with the celebration of Christmas, the Christmas tree is normally an evergreen conifer tree that is brought in the house or used in the open, and is decorated with Christmas lights and colourful ornaments during the... A euphemism is an expression intended by the speaker to be less offensive, disturbing, or troubling to the listener than the word or phrase it replaces, or in the case of doublespeak to make it less troublesome for the speaker. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Christianity. ... // Possession of Citizenship U.S. citizens have the right to participate in the political system of the United States (with reservations for prisoners, ex-prisoners, and naturalized persons), are represented and protected abroad by the United States (through U.S. embassies and consulates), and are allowed to reside in the... This article is becoming very long. ... Jesus (8–2 BC/BCE to 29–36 AD/CE),[1] also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity. ...

The term often associated with the most recent controversy is "the War on Christmas", a term that was popularized in conservative media in 1999, but is now just as popular in mainstream media. The American Conservative magazine. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

The Puritan-led first War on Christmas

A fact rarely mentioned in the news media is that the first "War on Christmas" was led by Christans, and began during the Puritan era, under Oliver Cromwell's brief rule in England in the middle 17th century^[4]. Cromwell and other English Puritans (including those who fled to America) sought to remove the remaining pagan elements of Christmas (listed below). § Oliver Cromwell (April 25, 1599–September 3, 1658) was an English military and political leader best known for making England a republic and leading the Commonwealth of England. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... The Puritans were members of a group of radical Protestants which developed in England after the Reformation. ...

Protestantism

Prior to the Victorian era, Christmas in the United States was primarily a religious holiday observed by Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, and Lutherans. Its importance was often considered secondary to Epiphany and Easter. As was the case with other Christian holidays, it borrowed elements from pagan peoples, including the Advent period, gift giving, yule logs, decorations such as candles, holly, and mistletoe. Christmas trees were also sometimes seen as originally pagan. During the various Protestant reformations, these (really or supposedly) paganizing elements were a source of controversy. Some sects, such as the Puritans, rejected Christmas as an entirely pagan holiday. Others rejected certain aspects of Christmas as paganizing, but wanted to retain the "essence" of the holiday as a celebration of the Christ's birth. This tension put in motion an ongoing debate about the proper observance of Christmas.^[5] Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Ascension to the Throne, 20 June 1837) gave her name to the historic era The Victorian Era of Great Britain marked the height of the British industrial revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ... Eastern Orthodox icon depicting the Epiphany Epiphany (Greek: επιφάνεια, the appearance; miraculous phenomenon) is a Christian feast intended to celebrate the shining forth or revelation of God to mankind in human form, in the person of Jesus. ... Easter, also known as Pascha (Greek Πάσχα: Passover), the Feast of the Resurrection, the Sunday of the Resurrection, or Resurrection Day, is the most important religious feast of the Christian liturgical year, observed between late March and late April (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity). ... Advent (from the Latin Adventus, implicitly coupled with Redemptoris, the coming of the Saviour) is a holy season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ, also known as the season of Christmas. ... Yule was the winter solstice celebration of the Germanic pagans. ... A collection of lit candles on ornate candlesticks A close-up image of a candle showing the wick and the various regions of the flame. ... Species Ilex ambigua - Sand Holly Ilex amelanchier - Swamp Holly Ilex aquifolium - European Holly Ilex bioritsensis Ilex buergeri Ilex canariensis - Small-leaved Holly Ilex cassine - Dahoon Holly Ilex centrochinensis Ilex ciliospinosa Ilex colchica Ilex collina Ilex corallina Ilex coriacea Ilex cornuta - Chinese Holly Ilex crenata - Japanese Holly Ilex cyrtura Ilex decidua... Families Santalaceae(Viscaceae) Loranthaceae Mistletoe is the common name for various parasitic plants of the families Santalaceae (in the section of the family formerly separated as Viscaceae) and Loranthaceae. ... A Christmas tree in a Danish home. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... The Puritans were members of a group of radical Protestants which developed in England after the Reformation. ...

19th century

According to historian Ronald Hutton, the current state of observance of Christmas is largely the result of a mid-Victorian revival of the holiday spearheaded by Charles Dickens. In A Christmas Carol, Hutton argues, Dickens sought to construct Christmas as a family-centered festival of generosity, in contrast to the community-based and church-centered observations, the observance of which had dwindled during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The holiday, remade as a family-centered rather than community-centered festival, carried its own set of contradictions: the practice of gift-giving created the possibility of commercialization, and the shift from community to familial focus further eroded the traditions of communal religious observance.^[6] Ronald Hutton is Professor of History at the University of Bristol and is an occasional commentator on British television and radio on the history of paganism in the British Isles. ... Dickens redirects here. ... A Christmas Carol (full title: A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas) is Charles Dickens little Christmas Book first published on December 19,[1] 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ...

Historian Stephen Nissenbaum contends that the modern celebration in the United States was developed in New York State from existing Dutch traditions in order to re-focus the holiday from one where groups of young men went from house to house demanding alcohol and food into one that was focused on the happiness of children. He notes that there was deliberate effort to prevent the children from becoming greedy in response. ^[7]

Early 20th century

In the early twentieth century, Christian writers such as C. S. Lewis had already noted a distinct split between the religious and secular observance of Christmas. In Xmas and Christmas: A Lost Chapter from Herodotus, Lewis gives a satire of the observance of two simultaneous holidays in "Niatirb" (Britain backwards) from the supposed view of the Greek historian and traveller. One, "Exmas", is observed by a flurry of compulsory commercial activity and expensive indulgence in alcoholic beverages. The other, "Crissmas," is observed in Niatirb's temples. Lewis's narrator asks a priest "why they kept Crissmas on the same day as Exmas?" He receives the reply: Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an Irish author and scholar. ... Bust of Herodotus Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: , Herodotos Halikarnasseus) was a Dorian Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC - ca. ... 1867 edition of the satirical magazine Punch, a British satirical magazine, ground-breaking on popular literature satire. ... Bottles of cachaça, a Brazilian alcoholic beverage. ... Roman Catholic priests in traditional clerical clothing. ...

"It is not lawful, O Stranger, for us to change the date of Crissmas, but would that Zeus would put it into the minds of the Niatirbians to keep Exmas at some other time or not to keep it at all. For Exmas and the Rush distract the minds even of the few from sacred things. And we indeed are glad that men should make merry at Crissmas; but in Exmas there is no merriment left." And when I asked him why they endured the Rush, he replied, "It is, O Stranger, a racket. . . "^[8]

The December 1957 News and Views published by the Church League of America, an organization co-founded in 1937 by George Washington Robnett^[9] attacked the use of Xmas in an article titled "X=The Unknown Quantity." The claims were picked up later by Gerald L.K. Smith who in December 1966 claimed that Xmas was a "blasphemous omission of the name of Christ" and that "'X' is referred to as being symbolical of the unknown quantity." Smith further argued that Jews introduced Santa Claus to suppress the New Testament accounts of Jesus, and that the United Nations at the behest of "world Jewry" had "outlawed the name of Christ."^[10] Such claims are made in the face of documented centuries-long history of use of Χ (actually a chi) as an abbreviation for "Christ" (Χριστός). This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Gerald Lyman Kenneth Smith (February 27, 1898–April 15, 1976) was considered a demagogue by many. ... A Santa Claus doll. ... The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, and social equity. ... Chi (upper case Χ, lower case χ) is the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet. ...

Christmas observances (at least the overtly religious kinds) were banned in the Soviet Union and under certain other Communist regimes, and played down in all of them. Certain Christian religions, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses and some fundamentalist churches, continued to reject the holiday as well, citing its pagan and/or Roman Catholic origins. This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... // In comparative religion, fundamentalism has come to refer to several different understandings of religious thought and practice, through literal interpretation of religious texts such as the Bible or the Quran and sometimes also anti-modernist movements in various religions. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...

As the 20th century progressed, the use of the more neutral term "holiday season" (or "holidays") gained increasing popularity in the United States, as a way of extending inclusion to other end-of-year holidays and observances such as Hanukkah, Ramadan, Kwanzaa, New Year's Day, Yule, and Thanksgiving. Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights or Festival of Rededication, is an eight-day Jewish holiday that starts on the 25th day of Kislev, which may be in December, late November, or, while very rare in occasion, early January (as was the case for the Hanukkah of 2005... The fourth pillar of Islam which is fasting is also called Ramadan (in Arabic: رمضان, Ramadhan) – or Ramzan in several countries – and it is the ninth month of the Islamic (Hijri) calendar, established in the year 638. ... Kwanzaa (or Kwaanza) is a week-long Pan-African secular holiday primarily honoring African-American heritage. ... For the movie, New Years Day, see New Years Day (film). ... Yule was the winter solstice celebration of the Germanic pagans. ... Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is an annual one-day holiday to give thanks, traditionally to God, for the things one has at the close of the harvest season. ...

Avoidance issues

Charges of "avoidance" or "censorship" of Christmas

A graphic from Old Navy's web site promoting a generic "holiday" theme.

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In 1999, VDARE.com founder & editor Peter Brimelow is credited for first coining the term "War on Christmas", or "War Against Christmas", and the analysis of this issue became a prominent piece of conservative cultural criticism in the United States. VDARE.com hosts an annual "War Against Christmas Competition" which has an extensive compendium of alleged "anti-Christmas" incidents. Image File history File links NavyXmas. ... Image File history File links NavyXmas. ... Old Navy is a brand of clothing and chain of stores owned by Gap Inc. ... Peter Brimelow founder of VDARE VDare. ... Peter Brimelow Peter Brimelow is a British-American financial journalist. ... Peter Brimelow founder of VDARE VDare. ...

The phrases "Season's Greetings," or "Happy Holidays" as opposed to "Merry Christmas," have become a particular concern to many people.^[11] The phrases are used on many postcards (as, for example, those sent out by the American Library Association), and formerly by door clerks at Wal-Mart and other major stores. Don Feder, president of Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation stresses that it should be okay to say "Merry Christmas", and complained about "politically correct purging of Christmas from our culture." [2] Rabbi Daniel Lapin believes that "saying Merry Christmas is NOT Offensive" and complains that "We see obsequious regard for faiths like Judaism and even Islam, while Christianity is treated with contempt". [3] Further, Lapin says that "Nationwide, Christmas Nativity scenes are banned from city halls and shopping malls but Chanukah menorahs are permitted. (They are only cultural symbols, not religious, you see.)" and concludes that "Religious Freedom is for Everyone - Not Just Minorities" [4]. The American Library Association (ALA) promotes libraries and library education in the United States and internationally. ... Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ... Daniel Lapin (born 1950?) is an American Orthodox rabbi living in Mercer Island, Washington, and the founder of Toward Tradition (a conservative Jewish-Christian organization). ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the Quran, its principal scripture, whose followers, known as Muslims (مسلم), believe God (Arabic: الله ) sent through revelations to Muhammad. ... Hanukiah, Chănukkiyah (×—Ö·× Ö»×›Ö´Ö¼×™Ö¸Ö¼×”, חנוכייה) is a 9-branched candelabrum for Chanukkah. ...

The idea of a war on Christmas in America gained prominence following extensive coverage on the Fox News Channel. The channel's commentators Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity first spoke of a "war on Christmas" in the months leading up to the 2004 holiday season, and picked up the topic again in late 2005. In particular, they cited certain school decisions and municipal codes that supposedly singled out Christmas observances for special restriction. The Fox News Channel (FNC) is an United States-based cable and satellite news channel. ... Two notable people are named Bill OReilly: For the anchor of The OReilly Factor, see: Bill OReilly (commentator) For the Australian cricketer, see: Bill OReilly (cricketer) This is a disambiguation page—a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961, in New York City, New York) is an American conservative talk radio host, an executive producer of Fox News Channels program Hannity & Colmes, and the author of two books. ...

In several cases, the news items mentioned on Fox were denied by the persons involved. For example, O'Reilly said that the township of Saginaw, Michigan "opposes red and green clothing on anyone." The town supervisor responded that "O'Reilly's comments are flat-out not true...the township hall has red and green Christmas lights adorning the building at night."^[12] Nevertheless, these reports bolstered the view that Christmas was being attacked by the political left. This was, and is, widely discussed on the Internet, especially in the blogosphere. Saginaw redirects here. ... Blogosphere is the collective term encompassing all blogs as a community or social network. ...

Best Buy uses "holiday" in this ad instead of mentioning "Christmas".

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A Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll for November 29–30, 2005 found that 42% of respondents believe that "there is a War on Christmas in the U.S. today," with 48% in disagreement.^{[citation needed]} Media Matters for America, a watchdog group critical of conservative media, reported that from Monday, November 28, to Friday, December 2, Fox News aired 58 different reports, interviews, and debates about the War on Christmas. ^[13] Many print and television media outlets are skeptical, calling it a conspiracy theory or a deliberate attempt to further a conservative Christian agenda. ^{[14] [15]} Image File history File links M9_shippingddlines_2006. ... Image File history File links M9_shippingddlines_2006. ... For the defunct chain of catalog showrooms see: Best Products. ... Screenshot from Media Matters for America (Jan 6, 2006) Media Matters for America is a non-profit organization founded by former journalist David Brock. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... November 28 is the 332nd day (333rd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... December 2 is the 336th day (337th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... A conspiracy theory attempts to explain the ultimate cause of an event or chain of events (usually political, social, or historical events) as a secret, and often deceptive, plot by a covert alliance of powerful or influential people or organizations. ...

Regarding the phrase "Season's Greetings," as opposed to "Merry Christmas," O'Reilly argued: "Every company in America should be on their knees thanking Jesus for being born. Without Christmas, most American businesses would be far less profitable," O'Reilly said on a Fox News program. "More than enough reason for business to be screaming 'Merry Christmas'." Critics, however, point out that attempting to include non-Christians in Christmas by generalizing the holiday is a wholly capitalistic method of increasing profits — the more people affected by marketing, the more people will come out and purchase. In 2006 however, Wal-Mart resumed the use of "Merry Christmas" in their advertisements after a sharp decline in their 2005 holiday sales. Critics say that this was a result of some 96% of Americans who celebrate Christmas objecting. ^[16] Jesus (8–2 BC/BCE to 29–36 AD/CE),[1] also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity. ... This box:      Capitalism generally refers to an economic system in which the means of production are mostly privately or corporately owned and operated for profit, in which investment is determined by private decision, and in which distribution, production and pricing of goods and services are determined in a largely free...

Several retailers began incorporating the term "Christmas" after public outcry in 2005.

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While the controversy over the phrase "Season's Greetings" strongly echoes Robnett's concern about the phrase "Xmas," the "War on Christmas" idea, however, differs from earlier discussions of the secularization of Christmas in two important regards. First, it treats many of the (really or supposedly) paganizing elements of Christmas observance as if they were essentially Christian symbols, so that, for example, Saginaw's purported ban of red and green clothing is an anti-Christian act. This is in contrast to many earlier critics of Christmas, such as the Puritans or the Jehovah's Witnesses: by them, the removal of Christmas trees, yule logs, and so forth would be viewed as pro-Christian. Some contemporary conservatives advance this line of thought as well, arguing that the "Christmas" that's allegedly under attack is a secularized, commercialized corruption of the Nativity to begin with. Image File history File links Kmart_Holiday. ... Image File history File links Kmart_Holiday. ... For the Nativity of Jesus, see Nativity of Jesus. ...

Second, earlier critics have usually seen Christian observance as coming under attack from generalized secular and capitalist trends. Modern critics tend to see Christmas as being specifically attacked by a conspiracy of secular forces, and are less concerned about the commercialization of Christmas per se. For example, John Gibson, wrote a book entitled The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought (ISBN 1-59523-016-5), which was published in October of 2005. Gibson and others claim the abolition of Christmas (War on Christmas) is part of a broader "culture war" waged by progressives. O'Reilly claimed that "it's all part of the secular progressive agenda ... to get Christianity and spirituality and Judaism out of the public square." He also went on to say that this larger agenda includes "legalization of narcotics, euthanasia, abortion at will, gay marriage." ^[17] In this alleged recent movement, Gibson has charged that a wide array of groups, including "liberals," "secular progressives," the ACLU, the Anti-Defamation League, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State are the forces behind the attack, while O'Reilly has focused more narrowly on the ACLU and billionaire financier George Soros. ^{[18] [19]} Look up Conspiracy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Conspiracy, as a legal term, is an agreement of two or more people either to commit a crime or to achieve a lawful end by unlawful means: see conspiracy (crime), and conspiracy (civil). ... John Gibson John Gibson is a television talk show host, hosting the weekday edition of The Big Story and The John Gibson Show on Fox News Radio. ... The term culture war (sometimes pluralized as the culture wars) has been used to describe ideologically-driven and often strident confrontations typical of American public culture and politics since the 1960s, but especially beginning in the 1980s. ... The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, is a non_governmental organization devoted to defending civil rights and civil liberties in the United States. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is an advocacy group in the United States which promotes the separation of church and state, a legal doctrine derived from the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. ... George Soros George Soros (pronounced ) (born August 12, 1930, in Budapest, Hungary, as György Schwartz) is a Jewish-American financial speculator, stock investor, and liberal political activist. ...

See also

• Bill O'Reilly
• Christian Right
• Christmas
• Christmastime greetings
• Robert Kearns (Loma Linda HOA President) - peace symbol wreath controversy
• Santa Claus for entry on the Christian opposition to Santa Claus

William James Bill OReilly, Jr. ... It has been suggested that Conservative Christianity be merged into this article or section. ... Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday that marks the traditional birthdate of Jesus of Nazareth. ... Christmastime greetings are a selection of greetings that are often spoken with good intentions to strangers, family, friends, or other people around the time of Christmas. ... Robert (Bob) Kearns is the President of the Loma Linda Homeowners association (HOA) in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. ... A Santa Claus doll. ...

Organizations

• American Civil Liberties Union
• American Family Association, led a boycott of Target stores in December 2005.

• Americans United for Separation of Church and State
• Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
• Center for Reclaiming America, led by D. James Kennedy and Gary Cass.

• Committee to Save Merry Christmas, led by Maneul Zamorano
• Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign, hosted by Liberty Counsel

The Anti-Christ Crazy Lunatics Union (ACLU) is a major American non-profit organization with headquarters in New York City, whose stated mission is to attempt to wipe Christianity from the face of the Earth. ... The American Family Association (AFA) is a retarded conservative religious organization founded in 1977 by Rev. ... Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1902 as the In 1962, the first Target store was opened in Roseville, Minnesota. ... Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is an advocacy group in the United States which promotes the separation of church and state, a legal doctrine derived from the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. ... Logo of the Catholic League The non-partisan Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights is nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization, with the mission of defending the civil and religious rights of Catholics in the United States to participate in American public life without defamation or discrimination. ... Dennis James Kennedy, Ph. ... Liberty Counsel is a legal organization dedicated to advancing its organizers conceptions of religious freedom the sanctity of human life and the traditional family. ...

References

Ronald Hutton is Professor of History at the University of Bristol and is an occasional commentator on British television and radio on the history of paganism in the British Isles. ... Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an Irish author and scholar. ... Morris Kominsky (September 28, 1901 — April 1975) was the author of The Hoaxers: Plain Liars, Fancy Liars and Damned Liars (1970). ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, 361st in leap years. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, 361st in leap years. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, 361st in leap years. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, 361st in leap years. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 30 is the 334th day (335th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 31 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, 361st in leap years. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 2 is the 336th day (337th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, 361st in leap years. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• How the secular humanist grinch didn't steal Christmas from Salon.com
• Concerned Women for America: Naughty and Nice list
• H. Res. 579
• Wal-Mart Sacramento "pro-Christmas" protest
• War on Christmas & ACLU
• Media Matters for America dossier on War on Christmas
• Staff Opinion: Merry Christmas, even to Scrooges by Michael J. Thompson in The Auburn Plainsman
• The War on Christmas, the Prequel. When the holiday was banned from Slate
• The Deadweight Loss of Christmas: Comment by Bradley J. Ruffle and Orit Tykocinsky
• The abolition of Christmas by Pat Buchanan at WorldNetDaily
• There is No War on Christmas argument diagram at HonestArgument.com
• The phoney war on Christmas by Oliver Burkeman, The Guardian, 8 December 2006: "There's only one problem with the 'PC campaign' against Christmas - it's pure nonsense."
• Why conservatives despise happy holidays from Slate.com