Here’s the thing…Christmas is a Christian Holiday. There. I’ve said it. 20 years ago, this wouldn’t have been an Earth-shaking admission. (Actually, 20 years ago, it would have been a “no, DUH!” moment.) Today, however, we’ve gone from the secular humanists/atheists/liberal left cabal attempting to get the 10 Commandments and manger displays off courthouse lawns to a direct assault on the meaning of Christmas (nee: “Christ Mass”) itself.

Color me disgusted.

You don’t see Christians trying to ban Halloween (which was a blending of a Wiccan festival and a Christian one – the word “Halloween” comes from “All Hallowed’s Eve” – the day before All Saints Day). You don’t see test tube babies protesting Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day. And you don’t see welfare recipients protesting Labor Day. (Although, I suspect now that I’ve mentioned it, it’s only a matter of time.) So why can’t the loony left leave our holidays alone?

I have a theory about this. (I’m sure that takes all of you by surprise.) I’m not a conspiracy theorist, and I don’t see plots lurking behind every street lamp. However, when like-minded groups all work toward a common goal, it’s a little difficult to ignore the hand moving behind their messages.

In the past 30 or 40 years, our society has gone from one that took the “One Nation Under God” thing seriously, to one where a (very) vocal minority wants to strip our nation from any and all affiliation with a Supreme Being. It started with confrontational campaigns from the American Atheists and Madelyn Murray O’Hare, who sued in the courts to force a separation between church and state. (A common misconception, by the way, is that there is a Constitutional mandate that separates the two. Not so. The Constitution ONLY states that there shall be no State-sponsored or mandated religion. As long as the government doesn’t force one religion down our throats and simultaneously ban others, religion can actually play a part in government.)

From there, it moved on to groups lobbying to force retailers to switch from “Merry Christmas” to “Happy Holidays,” and schools encouraged to stage “Winter Festivals” instead of “Christmas Pageants.”

Now, their strategy has evolved into a straight-out marketing campaign. Forget the lawsuits. Forget the groups threatening to boycott stores. Now we have billboards and buses in the D.C. area that proclaim we should be good for the sake of altruism (always a popular motive on the left), as opposed to doing so because of a belief in – or fear of – God.

Frankly, this scares the Hell outta me. If this campaign – and campaigns like it – get the funding they need/want, this approach could actually make some waves. Never underestimate the power of an effective marketing campaign. It’s one thing to stridently yell at people to convince them of something they know in their hearts is wrong. It’s quite another to use the same techniques the serpent used on Eve in the garden to convince the public to take a bite out of that particular poisoned apple.

It’s an easy thing to convince people to be up in arms when their beliefs are under direct assault. It’s quite another, when a marketing campaign turns from confrontational and belligerent, to employ what almost seems like reasonable and rational arguments. Almost. Will Christianity mount a defense to this latest assault on our cherished holidays and core beliefs, or will it roll over and play dead? I hope that Christians will rise to the challenge. But marketing is a powerful tool, and has felled the strongest of foes.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 13th, 2008 at 8:45 am and is filed under marketing.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.