HERE & THERE COLUMN

                            Merry Christmas Is The Correct Saying

    The baby in a manger.....the chorus of angels......the group of stunned shepherds.......the bright star.....the wise men......a stable.....a Savior......these are God moments and Christmas is full of them.
    It's that time of year again. Time to say "Merry Christmas".  We live in a greatly diverse country, so checkered with individuality that anyone can celebrate what they want, when they want and how they want to.
    So it is perfectly understandable why saying "Merry  Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays" is the preferred choice of holiday greetings by Christians.     Then of course comes the standard acceptance of saying,..... look it's a Christmas Tree.....it is not a Holiday tree.......it is a Christmas Tree and Christians throughout the world this month are not celebrating the birth of a Holiday.....they are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
    Many community tree lighting events during the month of December have been just that .....tree lighting events.......they are trying to be "politically correct" instead of displaying the real meaning of Christmas for Christians.......which of course is the Nativity Scene.
     In the commercial market some retailers avoid any mention of Christmas and even some merchants banned employees from using the greeting "Merry Christmas." A strong backlash against some large retailers brought them to their knees when sales dropped and their policies changed to adding Christmas to their advertising and their employees greeting customers with Merry Christmas.
     We are in the full-swing of the Christmas season .....and I think the last time I looked on the Calendar it does say that  December 25 is Christmas.
     Also the last time I looked I believe that Christmas is a national holiday but who knows the way things are going that someone or some organization will petition our government to remove this date as a national holiday.
     We certainly do not have anything against the Christmas tree and  lighting ceremonies that include this tree and the lighting of the Menorah which is a major part of the Jewish Chanukah holidays.
     One of the oldest symbols of the Jewish faith is the menorah and this religious symbol is a symbol of the nation of Israel and their mission to be "a light unto the nations," (Isaiah 42.6).      But, again, why do we not see The Nativity Scene included in our many ceremonies. The Nativity Scene displaying the birth of Jesus Christ is the true symbol for Christians during the Christmas season.
    Community tree lighting ceremonies censor this Christian symbol as a part of what is called "insensitive to the many people of different faiths."
     Recent surveys shows that a majority of Americans want us to say "Merry Christmas" and that 69 percent of us prefer the traditional greeting over a generic "happy holidays." which garnered a mere 23 percent of the vote.
     We are proud to say "Merry Christmas" and believe its time to repair the damage that has been done by groups and organizations to take "Christ" out of Christmas.
     So I say to each and everyone of you......have a Merry CHRISTmas and may God Bless you.