As the Right’s yearly tradition of waging a one-sided campaign against the non-existent “War on Christmas” gets underway, the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property has released a handy guide for students on “10 Ways to Celebrate Christmas on Campus.”
Among TFP’s innocuous recommendations such as visiting the sick or writing a letter to the troops are other, more confrontational ones, such as “Send a Christmas card with a religious message to your most liberal, leftist professor [and] mention that you will pray for him/her.”
But its top recommendation is that students never, ever use the hated phrase “Happy Holidays”
Never use the “H” words: Never say “Happy Holidays.” The secular term means nothing and only serves to erase the memory of Christ from Christmas and the Holy Season we celebrate. Avoid “X-Mas” too. Wherever you go, make it a point to wish others a Merry Christmas: at the supermarket, in class, in the cafeteria, on the phone, in e-mails. You’ll be surprised. Many people will appreciate your Christian convictions. Warning: A few may not appreciate it. Just ignore them.
The phrase “Happy Holidays” has long been used as shorthand for “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year” or as an inclusive way to express best wishes to all, regardless of what they celebrate this time of year.
But to the Right, the use of the phrase is nothing more than a secular plot to “erase the memory of Christ from Christmas” and, as such, is to be avoided at all costs.
