Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Don't Let The Grinch Steal Your Christmas

Dear Friends,


The Grinch ain’t stealing MY Christmas!!  How The Grinch Stole Christmas is a Dr. Seuss book turned into a family movie. The Grinch steals all the Christmas presents and decorations from the village of Whoville in order to ruin Christmas for the Whos. To the Grinch’s surprise, instead of the people crying that their gifts were stolen, they are holding hands and singing! The Grinch discovered the true spirit of Christmas is family love and the joy that we have within each one of us. The real meaning of Christmas is revealed to be the goodness of each person and their love for others. Really? That’s what Christmas means? It’s not about the birth of Jesus?

Maybe a more accurate title of the book and movie would be How The Grinch Stole Christmas From Christians! Christmas comes from “Christ Mass” – meaning a mass or a service celebrating the birth of Christ. But for those who love the celebration of Christmas and are offended by Christ, the Grinch has become an acceptable symbolic substitute. We see Grinches on greeting cards, in retail store displays and in mailers.

Decades ago, people worked hard to make large plywood cut outs of the Nativity that they handpainted and dis-played in front of their house. But we seldom see Nativity scenes to-day. We see front yards with huge inflatable Grinches, Santas and snowmen. We see red and green lighted Grinches clinging to an LED lighted wire tree to convey the “true” meaning of Christmas.

The symbol of Christmas in America is still the Nativity. But the “grinches” in today’s society who are trying to secularize Christmas, have adopted the Grinch as a symbol of their redefined American “holiday.” And is it just me or does the Grinch look evil and demonic? Do I see little green horns? Hmmm. So let me understand this. Some retailers, liberal politicians and educators want to redefine Christmas and replace Christ with something that looks like a demon?

But the Grinch ain’t going to steal my Christmas! I love it when I go places during Advent with the girl I hang out with. Every time a clerk wishes us “Happy Holidays,” she will always immediately respond with “Merry Christmas.”  And each time she has done so, there was a look of relief on the clerk’s face and they said “Merry Christmas” back to her.

According to a Gallup poll, 96% of the people in America celebrate Christmas. Among the four percent who don't are Jewish, Muslim or Atheists and it’s only the Atheists who have become highly offended by the mention of Christ and Christmas. And all over America, Christians are being told they must say “Happy Holidays” in order to avoid accidently offending an Atheist? If Christians in America are becoming too timid and too fearful to wish each other a “Merry Christmas” is that why a smile is beginning to appear on the Grinch’s face?

Don’t let the Grinch steal YOUR Christmas! America celebrates Christmas. Every time you wish someone “Merry Christmas,” you are giving them permission to say it out loud themselves. Be bold and daring. Be a rebel. Go tell someone “Merry Christmas” today!
Amen?