Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus

Every time I read this editorial (and I have seen it from time to time now for close to 60 years), what captures my sentiments is "He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy." We live together for however brief a time in this world, in this nation, in our individual communities and families -- surely tis useful to be reminded that generousity of spirit exists.... and embraces everyone of us, regardless of our political persuasions --

on a more mundane note, the christmas spirit in dickens literature had more to do with caring for the poor needy unfortunate etc ....... kinda like what jesus did........ to me, whether or not the government has issues with specific religious specific words in public spaces is stupid (we had carols, decorations and the like, along with the paternoster and pledge of allegiance when I grew up, no biggie, but I attribute my disappointment in the current state more to my own nostalgia than whether these things are the most important things in life) but does not take away from me the meaning of generosity of spirit... and does not matter if one is jewish, christian, muslim, buddhist, hindu, atheist, agnostic, or whatever else spices our multicultural stew -- what matters is the spirit -- which I think if one has faith one has to believe can transcend all of our temporal angst

terralin of MA 4:49PM December 28, 2010

With “Merry Christmas” disappearing from shops, Nativity scenes and carols banned from the public square, “Savior”, “God” and “ holy” being removed from school "Holiday” programs, and Christmas Tree diluted to the more inclusive, “Holiday Tree”, there's no doubt that Christmas is under fire from the p.c. crowd.

Maybe we need a visit from Marley's Ghost and it appears I have the job - I just hope it's not permanent.

When Dickens wrote, “A Christmas Carol”, Scrooge took timeless form as a lonely, greedy, antisocial, sacrilegious, tightwad. He wouldn’t give a farthing to feed the poor or help a family with a crippled child - Christmas just a lot of humbug.

Our current crop of Ebeneezers not only see Christmas as humbug, but as divisive, culturally insensitive and intolerant humbug. Progressive humanists and relativists, who, like Scrooge, often see things that aren’t really there and ignore others that are.

For instance, they see a Constitution that excludes Christmas carols or displays on public property, but includes the right to kill the innocent, unborn. They fret and litigate over the most trivial environmental pollutants, but care nothing about the degrading pollution that pours out of the glowing tube and into the hearts and minds of our children. They worship the environment, but never it’s creator. The condition of their body is paramount, but they think nothing of the condition of their soul. They revel in the glitzy facade of our society and notice not the stench of moral decay beneath.

And, like miser Scrooge, well heeled secularists have amassed the "stuff" of life - rather than the essence of living.

To these modern day “humbuggers” God has become irrelevant. His absolute morality and eternal truth inconvenient and threatening to their agenda. They would like to see God consigned to the history's dustbin or at least, confined to the margins of society - shut away in the same dark closet where we once kept immorality and pornography before it came to prime time.

To them, Christmas has become an uncomfortable reminder - a specter from Dickens - pointing an empty sleeve to what is to come should they not mend their ways. But unlike Scrooge who merely turned away, squirming beneath his bedding, wishing the ghosts gone, they seek relief from their fears through force of government, denial and judicial whimsy.

As the bells toll midnight one easily imagines them muttering, “God is simply a subjective personal deity, different morality and values for each of us. Nothing absolute or eternal about Him. God is merely whatever I perceive him to be. No, no, this specter of God - He can’t be real... little things effect the senses, a slight disorder of the stomach, an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. I’ll just pull these covers over my head and call the American Civil Liberties Union - they’ll make Him go away.”

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

R.L. Schaefer of CA 2:42PM December 25, 2010