Happy melodies chiming about roasting chestnuts while you shop... Gorgeous and gaudy ornaments dazzling from every corner of a store... The gentle jingling of money dropping into the till... Yeah, you guessed it... It's Christmastime again.
Doesn't it seem like that time of year comes earlier and earlier? November 1st rolls around and suddenly everyone and their dog is decked out in winter merchandise, calling out, "Thank you, and Happy Holidays!"
Well, that's how it should be, anyway.
I'm sure you remember the tales of Christmasses past; the so-called "War on Christmas," the "Christmas Controversy," or "Censoring Christmas" because apparently Jesus is the "Reason for the Season" (as though he personally called out and said, "Yeah, so, I wasn't born in December, but don't worry, you all can lay claim to this month. It's not like the other religions out there matter, anyway." Which we all know would be completely silly.)
According to the AFA, companies out there aren't doing enough to celebrate Christ through their advertising. That's basically the gist of it. They have a web page where AFA fans can submit stores to be entered into their Naughty or Nice list, which basically ranks companies based on whether or not they are "Christmas-Friendly" or if they are "Censoring Christmas."
Laughing yet? I'm serious, check it out.
Now, I recognize that not all Christians out there are crazy sensitive about whether or not Jesus is being celebrated enough through the word of companies trying to sell their merchandise, but the ones who have an issue with this at all are the ones who need to be pointed out here.
Not only are they absolutely loony for trying to get others to boycott certain stores, but the ones who are actually doing it? Wow.
The AFA is currently calling on their followers to boycott the Gap, Old Navy, and the Banana Republic because of an advertisement The Gap recently put out. They say it's necessary because
"The Gap is censoring the word Christmas, pure and simple. Yet the company wants all the people who celebrate Christmas to do their shopping at its stores? Until Gap proves it recognizes Christmas by using it in their newspaper, radio, television advertising or in-store signage, the boycott will be promoted."
They even went as far as to include this little fact:
"Last year, Gap issued this politically-correct statement to Christmas shoppers: "Gap recognizes that many traditions are celebrated throughout this season and we feel it is important to display holiday signage that is inclusive to everyone.""
Doesn't that basically cover the "Until Gap proves it recognizes Christmas" thing? I mean, holiday signage that is inclusive to everyone--doesn't that cover Christmas? Or is the AFA removing themselves from everyone else, putting Christianity on a pedestal, and thumbing their nose at all those apparently lesser religions that celebrate holidays in December? Oh, that's right, here's what they had to say about the season:
"Christmas is special because of Jesus. It's not just a "winter holiday." For millions of Americans the giving and receiving of gifts is in honor of the One who gave Himself. For the Gap to pretend that isn't the foundation of the Christmas season is political correctness at best and religious bigotry at worst."
Yeah, sorry, forgot that you see other December holidays as apparently lesser "winter holidays" in lower caps. I'm sorry, let's define bigotry real quick:
| 1. | stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own. |
| 2. | the actions, beliefs, prejudices, etc., of a bigot. |
Yeah. Hmm. Sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it, my dear folks at the AFA?
Christmas, for Christians, celebrates Christ. It celebrates Jesus' birth and his sacrifice for all their sins. While there is "strong evidence" that Jesus wasn't actually born in December, he is still celebrated widely by a large percent of the world's population.
Chanukah, for Jewish folks, is known as the Festival of Lights. If my memory serves me well, it's not one of the "bigger" Jewish holidays out there, but got blown up and assimilated the gift-giving and decorating customs because of how close it is to Christmas. I apologise if I completely butcher the story, but if I recall correctly Chanukah is an 8 day long event celebrating the fact that despite there only being enough oil to light a temple menorah for 1 day, the oil lasted for 8.
For the Muslims, Hajj is the pilgrimage to the city of Mecca, and corresponds to the holy day "Id Iladha," which commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son because God said so. It's one of the five fundamental Islamic requirements (or pillars) that each Muslim is supposed to take part of at least once in his or her life.
Yule, for pagans (including Wiccans), is a winter festival celebrated on the winter solstice, which usually falls between Dec 20 and Dec 23 and is the shortest day of the year, the time when the earth is farthest away from the sun in orbit. Yule is celebrated as the returning of light, as the days will begin to grow longer. It is also seen as the rebirth of the God/The Sun.
And for African Americans, there's Kwanzaa. It was created in 1966 as the first specifically African-American holiday, and is a 7-day-long celebration featuring candle-lighting, feasting, gift giving, and more importantly, to "give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and history" according to Ron Karenga, the creator of Kwanzaa.
Despite that Christmas may be technically the most celebrated holiday, the fact that the AFA wants to step aside from all those other apparently lesser wintertime holidays and declare that because these businesses won't celebrate JUST Christmas, we are going to deem them "Naughty" and encourage everybody to boycott them is very unsettling.
I mean, the pagan customs celebrated by the Norse, the Celtic, the ancient Romans (during Saturnalia) have all been incorperated into current Christmas activities. Yes, the Yule Log, the decorated tree, and even going door-to-door for some good old fashioned caroling (also known as wassailing) can all be traced back to Norse origins. And yet the AFA wants to blow raspberries at the other religions out there, because apparently being lumped in with other non-Christian holidays is unacceptable, and yet they call the Gap bigots?
Yeah. I see how it is.
And a Happy Fuckin' Christmas to you too.
Oh, in case you're wondering, here's the Gap's commercial.
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