December 23, 2022

Decades ago, when I was a liberal Democrat, I bought into the fallacy that saying “Merry Christmas” was wrong. But back then, I also thought murdering a baby in the womb was right. As (my husband and) I slowly morphed into Reagan Democrats and then finally abandoned the now Marxist-leaning Democrat party to register as Republicans, I realized that celebrating Christmas is fundamental to the United States remaining a beacon of freedom in the world. Commemorating Christmas guarantees freedom of religion for all Americans.

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Think about it. If a nation where about 80 percent of its population is Christian is denied its own religious beliefs (“Merry Christmas” morphing into “Happy Holidays”), what chance do smaller religions such as Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. have for celebrating their holidays? If woke Marxists can remove the nativity scene from Christmas and replace it with Santa Claus, it’s even easier to remove the Hanukkah menorah and replace it with Liberace’s candelabra.

My story

December approached along with Bill O’Reilly’s nightly commentary about ridiculous liberal attacks on Christmas and how many stores were quickly going along with the woke agenda. The silent majority griped about it, but many grudgingly accepted the woke mandate that “Christmas” was bad, but “holiday” was good. Family and friends said, “Merry Christmas,” but didn’t complain when shopkeepers put the two joyous words in the history bin. These were the days before the Tea Party and MAGA movements, back when some conservatives erroneously believed that, if we just gave in to this madness, maybe those nutty progressives would leave us alone.

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At the same time, I noticed that many Southern California stores had started featuring small Hanukkah displays. Having grown up in Bayside, Queens (which was predominantly Jewish in the 1960s), it was nice to see reminders from my childhood.

Image made using Adoration of the Magi (1480-90), Menorah, and festive background.

However, I also noticed something very wrong with most stores’ festive décor and decided to do something about it.

Proudly showcasing my Star of David necklace, I checked out the store’s Hanukkah and Christmas displays. Then standing by the Hanukkah items, I asked to speak to the manager. Invariably, when the managers approached and saw a big smile on my face along with the Star of David, they quickly assumed it would be a friendly conversation. It went something like this:

Me: I want to thank you and (store name) for the small Hanukkah display. Being Jewish, I appreciate that you have it.

Manager: You’re welcome. We want to recognize all the holidays.

Me: But I have a question.