Bah Humbug to War on Christmas

Yes, there are people who oppose Christmas out of fear of the government supporting one religion over another, and some absolutists want all religious references stripped from any governmental entity. So a Menorah next to a Christmas tree would still be offensive to extreme secularists. It is the silly season, since then we'd be bound to change Santa Monica to Monica, Santa Barbara to Barbara and San Francisco to Francisco. Reminds one of the Soviets changing St. Petersburg to Leningrad. Given the problems in our society, this is not a battle worthy of being fought.

As a Jew, I'm happy to wish people a Merry Christmas. I'm happy to hear the Christmas music. I once even went to a Messiah sing-a-long. Loved it. But what about all those Christian words? Why would I take them literally? After all, do I feel like a hypocrite for singing "Give me home where the buffalo roam" when I really don't want buffalo traipsing through my living room? I am not forced to be a literalist. I can enjoy the songs.

Besides many of our favorite Christmas songs are of Jewish origins: from White Christmas (Irving Berlin) The Christmas Song (Mel Tormé) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Johnny Marks) Silver Bells (Jay Livingston née Levinson) Let it Snow (Sammy Cahn & Julie Styne).

Our musical and cultural DNA are gloriously intertwined in this wonderful country. To try to pull our traditions apart is a fool's errand. We should start by respecting each other. I have no problem wishing my Muslim friends Aid Mubarak (Blessed Festival), my Jewish family Happy Chanukah, my Secular Humanist pals Splendid Solstice and my Christian friends Merry Christmas.