Happy holy days to you, too!

Have you been following the cultural debate about how we are to refer to the big event coming up on December 25? Alleged attempts to censor the word Christmas out of the American vocabulary seem to be cropping up everywhere. In Boston, the white spruce tree erected on the Boston Common was identified on the city's Web site as a "holiday tree." In Washington, House Speaker Dennis Hastert came out in favor of reverting from "holiday tree" back to "Christmas tree" as the name for the spruce on the Capitol grounds. And retailers have come under fire for advertising "holiday trees" and wishing shoppers "Happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas."

I have to say, I haven't been able to work up much outrage over these alleged assaults on Christianity. I guess I don't care very much what we call the celebration of Jesus' birth. Truth be told, since I'm a Protestant, the derivation of the word Christmas ("Christ's Mass") probably ought to offend me more than it does. But I actually find the greeting "Merry Christmas" more troublesome. Merriment just doesn't seem to be the proper emotion for the coming of the Lord of Glory. Joy, gratitude, and humble repentance would be more appropriate, if you ask me.

Some folks, however, are deeply offended that the word Christmas might be expunged. My local newspaper, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, reported on this controvery this morning, and it quoted Diane DeVore of Roswell, Ga., who said, "I am tired of the subtle and not so subtle ways that are being used to persecute Christians for their beliefs." My goodness, are we really ready to call this cultural shift "persecution"? What would our brothers and sisters in the many parts of the world where Christmas cannot be celebrated (much less named) say to that?

Of course, the end of the story is as silly as the beginning. As Bill Murchison pointed out in an excellent column on Townhall.com this morning, the substitution of "Happy holidays" for "Merry Christmas" still leaves secularists in a bind. Why? Because of the derivation of the word holidays ("holy days").

GtG