Think Progress

The war on Christmas explained.

By Nico Pitney on Dec 20th, 2006 at 9:01 pm

The war on Christmas explained.

It’s a giant cash cow for the religious right.

UPDATE: Fox News surging forces in the war: “FNC will present a three hour primetime O’Reilly Factor Christmas Marathon beginning on Monday December 25th at 8PM EST,” a Fox News release states. Also, Sean Hannity will host a one-hour special, “A Nashville New Year with Sean Hannity,” from the Palace Theater in Nashville, Tennessee.



40 Responses to “The war on Christmas explained.”

  1. ForTruth says:

    Drop kick me Jesus,
    through the goal post of life…


  2. Juan C says:

    That is the breaking news of O´Reilly. He went to Iraq to see how the soldiers were doing in his war on Xmas.


  3. Zooey says:

    I knew there had to be a way they were making money on this stupid shit.

    These people would sell advertising spots for the crucifixion.


  4. John Gilpins says:

    I would buy one of those bumper stickers if the message was: MARY CHeney instead of MERRY CHristmas.

    “Merry Christmas” is not only a cash cow, but MARY CHENEY is the daughter of a cash cow. Talk about a cash cow; Dick Cheney has MILKED the system for big bucks.

    Fundamentalist Christians are MILKING the system for big bucks, too. What’s so wonderful and unique about having a “Merry Christmas” bumper sticker? Whomever thunk that up was a genius. Very original and clever!!!! Sure!!!!

    I say: buy MARY CHENEY bumper stickers. Mary and Heather Poe need the money, too. Their child may starve to death–poor kid. Heather is a ranger and that job doesn’t pay very well, and Mary sold all of 13 copies of her great book.

    Well, Merry Christmas or Mary Cheney to you all.
    Happy holidays!

    Peace,
    John


  5. GSD says:

    Baa…baaa…..Morons and their money are soon parted.

    -GSD


  6. foxxynews says:

    Of course it’s all about money. The religious right has a been one of the biggest corporate powerhouses in this countries economy since the beginning. Look at how rich Farwell and Robertson have gotten. Disgusting.
    BTW, if you want to laugh about the War on Christmas, check out Jill O”Really on foxxynews.com. She’s really funny.


  7. Beth says:

    ohhhhhhhh so the new cash cow – after the clintons and gay marriage is the war on christmas. always a new schtick these people!


  8. AkaDad says:

    The War on Christmas is an excellent training tool for me, to further wage my secular progressive jihad on America.


  9. JPark says:

    #8 Hehe, yup, we secular progressives know how to throw one hell of a holy war.


  10. paul says:

    I’m conservative on most issues, but this war on christmas is a little ridiculous. I often part with people this time of year with a ‘happy holidays’. ‘happy holidays’ seems pretty simple and inclusive to me. Although I have many conservative values, I have a faint recognition that I am not the only person on the planet that has a right to believe what I believe.. I am tired of Christians firing back a discontented ‘Merry Christmas’ like I have somehow tread on their holiday. I love Christians, I love Christ; but I believe badgering people to respect your beliefs (and only your beliefs) this time of year is probably not something Jesus would condone.


  11. JPark says:

    Thanks paul. I remember when I could say happy holidays (even when I was a Christian) without getting nasty looks.


  12. Gregor Samsa says:

    The funniest aspect of all is that, for those buttons to be sold at $7 for a 10-pack and still turn a profit, it is very likely they are made in China. Yes, that godless, communist China.

    Should I even point out how these so-called Christians have no compunctions about prostituting their own religion in their pursuit of the all-mighty dollar?

    Ah, the irony of it all.

    The minions, of course, are blissfully unaware and in denial.


  13. Zooey says:

    I love Christ; but I believe badgering people to respect your beliefs (and only your beliefs) this time of year is probably not something Jesus would condone.
    Comment by paul

    Thanks paul. I remember when I could say happy holidays (even when I was a Christian) without getting nasty looks.
    Comment by JPark

    What ever happened to manners? People are so self-centered today, that they are capable of scowling at someone who is greeting them in a friendly manner. That’s Bill O’Reilly’s ontribution to society. Incivility.


  14. Zooey says:

    That’s Bill O’Reilly’s ontribution to society. Incivility.

    I realize that statement is a bit of a stretch for me, but pretend like I have some credibility on the issue, and it works. :)


  15. ForTruth says:

    Zooey, it worked for me.


  16. Zooey says:

  17. Bill Orally says:

    Oops! I sat on my loofah again! All falafel down!


  18. steve says:

    I actually get a more acknowledging response with “baw humbug” or “Ho Ho Ho”


  19. Exley says:

    Merry Christmas!!!!!



  20. little birdie says:

    That`s right!! Si Byl had nothing to do with the postings.I did it.For one simple reason.unbelievable needed to be exposed for the little lying brat that she is.Since she has been exposed and refused to apologize to the board.The postings have now ceased because of one Zooey had asked me very kindly to stop.Her wish has been granted.

    Unbelievable,you seem to sweep what your lying words mean to people as you sweep crumbs off the shelf right into the garbage can.You have no need for anyone but yourself.No details necessary.You have shown your ass.To me.To others.
    To all the posters on this board.You have shown your real you.It is a very dark and very ugly person that you are.
    I trust you`ll be having no problems with posters here in the future.
    And try not to play the victim in this when you are anything but.

    signed,

    Pissed Off Ex Poster little birdie


  21. Melanie says:

    I sent a bunch of Fox News links to a few progressive blogs including Think Progress to show the Fox News ‘Secular Progressive’ Hypocrisy. As they did last year, they are again showing which side of the ‘War on Christmas’ that Fox News is on and that they are a bunch of Jesus-haters. Here it is published on Americablog:

    Tell FOX News to stop the war on Christmas

    For the love of God, why does FOX News hate the baby Jesus?

    ON FOXNEWS.COM RIGHT NOW:

    FOX NEWS: HELPING OUT THIS HOLIDAY SEASON By E.D. Hill

    FOX NEWS: HOLIDAY SURVIVAL STRATEGIES: TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

    FOX NEWS: AVOIDING HOLIDAY HANGOVERS

    FOX NEWS: REALLY LAST MINUTE HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS AND STOCKING STUFFERS

    FOX NEWS: HOLIDAY SALES TO INCREASE 5%

    FOX NEWS: HELPING SANTA – We were able to help a good deal of people who were looking for hard to find HOLIDAY gifts

    FOX NEWS: MIRACLE DIET PILL TO DROP THOSE DREADED HOLIDAY POUNDS!

    FOX NEWS: GIFT TIPS: Tips to keep yourself and your belongings secure while making HOLIDAY PURCHASES (video, lower right)

    FOX NEWS: HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

    FOX NEWS: INSURING HOLIDAY GIFTS MEANS PEACE OF MIND

    FOX NEWS: HOLIDAY PARTIES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE FUN…BUT BEHAVE YOURSELF

    FOX NEWS: PLAYBOY ‘GIRL NEXT DOOR’ KNOWS WHAT WOMEN WANT FOR THE HOLIDAYS

    FOX NEWS: GIFTS FOR MEN – The guy’s guy is back, so invest your money in macho and make this HOLIDAY SEASON the season of the man (video, half way down)

    FOX NEWS: HANDLING THE HOLIDAYS (video, lower right)

    FOX NEWS: HAPPY HOLIDAY RECIPES

    FOX NEWS: HOLIDAY TROOP SHOUT OUTS!

    FOX NEWS: HOLIDAY BEAUTY (video, lower right)

    FOX NEWS: HANDLING THE HOLIDAYS
    Don’t let the holidays stress you out! Expert tips and survival strategies.

    ..and a link on many of the Fox News webpages:

    • CLICK HERE FOR FOXNEWS.COM’S HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE: example

    http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/12/tell-fox-news-to-stop-war-on-christmas.html

    *


  22. don myers says:

    when one reads this kind of right wing hypocrisy he/she has to wonder if Christ would be a member of any of their churches


  23. Komodo_Dragon_Jesus says:

    I’m coming:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6196225.stm

    My mother’s a virgin, I’ll be born in some cave probably, at around Christmas Day… and remember next year is not 2007 AD, it is year 0 AKDJ.

    But here’s the deal for now – I need a bunch of shepherds or zookeepers or whatever to drop by this weekend and you can’t leave till I am born. Any wise men out there? If you haven’t started your journey to Chester, England, yet… start hauling ass.

    Soon after I’m born, I’ll be needing 12 dudes to follow me everywhere. Trust me, it’ll be fun – anyone not called Judas can apply. Also, I’ll need four official biographers. And unlike the orginal team-Jesus – please get your stories straight. You got the internet now, so no excuse not to fact-check.

    Last thing… Human Jesus was treated like crap his whole life. Mainly because he was poor. So please, contribute generously to the KDJ anti-persecution fund. I know Human Jesus promised to save you from your sins if you believed in him. But it’s different this time – I landed a better contract with my Father. Capiche?

    Oh yeah, one last thing. It’s not Merry Christmas. It’s Happy Birthday.

    Laters.


  24. Dumb_Fox says:

    Not a surprise. The Pat Robertson’s of this world have profited greatly from Christianity already, and this is just more of the same.


  25. RantingTommy says:

    Xmas is a scam, religion is a scam.

    Xmas is shoved in your face EVERYWHERE.
    Every restaurant, every store, just about every station on tv is infected with this xmas crap.

    If there really was a war on christmas, it would be purely in self-defense.


  26. Horned Lizard Peter says:

    #25……
    Trying to track you down… is your Mom’s name Mary, and your spare Mom’s name Heather?


  27. PoliticalCritic says:

    Like everything else, it’s all about the $$$.


  28. Raven says:

    ” Merry Christmas – it’s Worth Saying”
    the operative adjective word is, of course:
    WORTH!
    As in, how much is it worth!


  29. Wayne A. Schneider says:

    As a liberal libertarian atheist humanist, I simply operate on the premise that if I don’t know which holidays in particular the person I’m addressing chooses to celebrate, I’ll wish them “Happy Holidays” and let them apply it as they will. And if, like me, they have no religious celebrations planned, at least they can take it to refer to the New Year’s Day holiday. I’m not trying to offend anyone, and I am honestly wishing them the joy they hope to get from their holidays. Of course, I will specify “Merry Christmas” if I know the person celebrates that, or “Happy Hannukah” if I know they’re Jewish. But, when in doubt, “Happy Holidays” is intended solely to be a sincere desire for holiday enjoyment. People who get offended by it really need to lighten up. Especially O’Reilly.

    So, may you all find peace and joy with family and friends through this holiday season, and best wishes to all for a happy, healthy, prosperous new year.

    (Is that such an offensive thing to wish on someone? Wouldn’t “Happy Holidays” be easier to say? I think so.)


  30. verse18 says:

    “What profit has not that fable of Christ brought us!”
    -Pope Leo X


  31. notimpressedwiththeUS says:

    F*ck Christmas!!!!!


  32. Bill O says:

    Speaking of cash cows… some people seem to think the War on Christmas is just an elaborate game.

    Well, now it is! War on Christmas for the X-Bot 1225 will be available worldwide on Dec. 24. You can preview it here.


  33. KikiD says:

    I was at a store the other day buying dreidels (long story, I’m not Jewish)and struck up a conversation with this guy and he was saying that someone wished him a Happy Hannukkah so he just responded “Same to you” and was saying how he wasn’t offended by it so I said, “I usually say ‘Happy Holidays’ just in case” and he was like, “Oh, I don’t know about that” and frowned and he turned fully around in line and I saw a huge cross on his neck and it was weird how his whole demeanor changed.

    I personally think that the CRAZY Christians should be required to wear a huge cross, preferably 10 lbs or more so we can tell them apart from the normal Christians. They’ll be the ones leaning over with the strain of it.


  34. June says:

    I usually just say:

    Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2007, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee. By accepting these greetings, you are accepting the aforementioned terms as stated. This greeting is not subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for herself/himself/others, and is void where prohibited by law and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wish.


  35. Wayne A. Schneider says:

    Comment by June — December 21, 2006 @ 1:15 pm

    Ha-ha. Are they still standing there by the time you finish? If so, are they still smiling? Thanks for the laugh and…

    …HAPPY HOLIDAYS!


  36. Whitey HermAphrodite says:

    Wait wait I thought geniuses like Muckdog and the oil company PR people he cites told us there was more money to be made on the War on Global Warming. I’m sure he has some website from a Holocaust denier to help prove theres no money to be made from the War on Xmas..


  37. Whitey HermAphrodite says:

    # 26. PROFESSOR LORD PETER TURDMAN- Phd Phd Phd. The Man with 3 degrees… well a thermometer has more degrees than you, and it, much like you, is something thats most helpful once inserted into someones rectum and not removed for awhile. And also like you, its usually got sh1t on it when it comes out. Your vapid, straw man armchair philosophy is utterly pathethic and indicates a desparate and unfullfilled hope that someone other than you, your mother and your poodle will find you worth listening to.

    I’m left wing, and I can honestly say that most of the positions you claim we hold are positions which are either taken to ridiuclous logical extremes, or held by a miniscule percentage of us. But since you’ve brought up the subject of hipocracy, lets look at some hipocracies the right wing hold.

    1) No big government. Except for the military, whose bloated budget is necessary should all the countries in the world, and also Mars and Neptune suddently decide to attack us all at once. Oh, and even though the government shouldnt be big, it should have the right to pry , snoop, investiage, and surveil anyone it chooses so long as Mr. “we know where the WMD are” thinks they might be terrorist sorts.

    2) The constitution is great. Except for that part about separation of powers, judicial review and congress having the sole right to determine when we are at war.

    3) Americans enjoy the presumption of innocence. UNless they arent an indicted republican. ( Oh, and anyone who Mr. “we know where the WMD are” says is “al-queda” not only doesnt enjoy the presumption of innocence, but is automatically guilty. )

    4) Its very important for politicians to be honest. Unless they feel we need to go to war, in which case using knowingly false evidence to convince the country to go along is acceptable.

    5) We are at war, and that requires sacrifice. EXcept from everyone but the soldiers.. for everyone else.. tax breaks! Paying less taxes is certainly a great way to sacrifice during wartime. That and shopping.

    6) Life should be protected at all costs. Unless its life that already been born. Then, its ok to bomb it and its family to death because Saddam is a bad man. Also, if its starving, thats ok, because its parents should have had the good judgement to make more money. Also, if its dying of AIDS because no one taught its parents about safe sex, thats ok too. As long as it made it out of womb ok, thats all that matters. We all know, the best years of a human beings life are the pre-natal ones.

    7) Homosexuality and pedophilia are bad unless you feel like joining the priesthood or running for congress.

    8) Helping dictators gas people is bad. Unless we’re helping him do it, until we dont like him anymore. Then its bad again.

    9) Religious freedom is of the utmost importance. Unless your a godless heathen, who wants something ridiculous, like, say a pentagram on his military tombstone.

    10) Tax and spend liberals are bad. The way to go is George Bush’s rubber stamp “borrow and spend” congress. Why should it come out of our pockets when it could come out of our children’s?

    11) Marriage is sacred, and needs to be protected from homosexuals. But adulterers.. they are ok..can;t pass any laws against them.. how many congressmen are going to pass laws targeting themselves, anyway?

    12) Using who your parents were to help determine whether you are accepted to a university is unacceptable… unless your parents went to the same school and your a legacy.

    13) Drugs are terrible.awful, and they are destroying our youth. THe one that causes the most violence, mayhem, and traffic related fatalities is, however, perfectly acceptable.

    14) Being addicted to illegal drugs makes you a terrible, awful person who doesnt deserve help. Being an overweight windbag addicted to prescription narcotics, on the other hand, is ok.

    15) We should repsect our military men to the utmost. Unless they are running against us. In which case we should use thier service record to attack them mercilessly.

    16) We should support our troops. By saying we support our troops. But things like giving them enough armor arent important enough to sacrifice our tax breaks. Rushing them into war is more important, because somewhere saddam has a notepad with a drawing of a mushroom cloud in it.

    17) We should listen to our generals, except when they grow enough balls to start disagreeing with us. THen we should just “go with our gut”.

    So take your 3 degrees in political science or basketweaving or fart sniffing or whatever vapid pseudo intellectual bufoonery you and your mom think is impressive and, in the words of your lord and saviour dick cheney, “go f#ck yourself”.

    Take some well needed advice pal, if your truly important, you won’t have to sing your own praises.. others will do it for ya…

    your cheap psuedophilosophical sarcasm is so self-paryodying I am truly mystified as to whether you are being serious or not.


  38. unbelievable says:

    I love Christians, I love Christ; but I believe badgering people to respect your beliefs (and only your beliefs) this time of year is probably not something Jesus would condone.
    Comment by paul — December 20, 2006 @ 10:40 pm

    Thanks Paul… Now if you could just convince the rest, we wouldn’t have these kinds of problems.

    These are the kind of “mob mentality” people the Founding Fathers had in mind when they made us a Republic…


  39. John says:

    Last thing people want in this so-called War On Christmas is for the Religious Right to boycott state lotteries for putting “Holiday” instead of “Christmas” on their holiday-themed scratch-off tickets.

    And if you ask me, Season’s Greetings and Happy Holidays have the same significance as Merry Christmas. And as the proverb suggests “Change is the only constant in the universe, and it’s good, too”.



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