From The Dennis Prager Show | December 24, 2014
by Dennis Prager | Contributor
As a practicing Jew, I extend my wishes for a Merry Christmas to my fellow Americans.
Not “Happy Holidays.” Merry Christmas.
I refer to “my fellow Americans” because, as highlighted by a Pew Research poll released just last week, nine out of ten Americans celebrate Christmas.
Many seem to have forgotten that Christmas is not only a holy day for Christians but also a national holiday in America. Just like we greet each other with a “Happy Thanksgiving” or “Happy Fourth of July,” we should likewise wish our fellow Americans a “Merry Christmas.”
No matter your religious or ethnic identity, Christmas in the United States is as quintessentially American as apple pie. This is why some of the most iconic and cherished Christmas songs were composed by, you guessed it, Jewish artists.
“White Christmas” was created by Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Baline).
“Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was penned by Johnny Marks.
“Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” was written by Jule Styne, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn.
“Silver Bells” was a collaboration between Jay Livingston (Jacob Harold Levison) and Ray Evans (Raymond Bernard Evans).
“The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” was composed by Mel Torme and Robert Wells (born Robert Levinson), both of whom are Jewish.
“Sleigh Ride” featured lyrics from Mitchell Parish (Michael Hyman Pashelinsky).
And this list goes on.
The idea that non-Christians feel excluded is simply ludicrous.
Those who perceive themselves as “excluded” have chosen to feel that way. While it’s their right to feel excluded, no one is compelled to observe any American holiday. However, attempts to erase Christmas from public life are harmful to society. It would be similar to Jehovah’s Witnesses trying to eliminate public celebrations and references to Independence Day because they do not celebrate national holidays.
Why are these efforts harmful? Because the entire community—Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists, and Christians alike—gains from the joy and goodness that the Christmas season brings.
My Orthodox Jewish family never thought twice about enjoying this season. It was a tradition in our household to watch the Christmas Mass from the Vatican every Christmas Eve (unless it fell on a Friday night, when we would observe the Sabbath and refrain from television). If you visited our home, you would have found my mother—and my father, brother, and I—all wearing kippot (Jewish skullcaps) while watching Catholics celebrate Christmas.
My brother, Dr. Kenneth Prager, an Orthodox Jew, never hesitated to sing Christmas songs as a member of the Columbia University Glee Club. He gladly sang not only secular Christmas tunes but also religious songs centered on Christ.
So when did this misguided notion that public celebrations of Christmas “exclude” non-Christians arise?
It is a harmful byproduct of the cultural shift that began in the 1960s and ’70s, when the left gained significant influence in many societal areas.
One method the left has employed is “multiculturalism,” which divides Americans by religion, ethnicity, race, and national origin.
Another has been the goal of secularizing America, which chiefly aims at removing Christian references from public life.
The left routinely ridicules the notion of a “war on Christmas,” regarding it as a fabricated concept, often presented in quotation marks, as though it were an unfounded claim.
The most prevalent and noticeable instance of this supposed war is the replacement of “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays” throughout society. Most retail employees are instructed not to say “Merry Christmas.” Consequently, in much of America today, wishing a stranger a “Merry Christmas” has become an act of bravery.
Additionally, many, if not most, public schools have prohibited Christmas trees and the singing of Christmas songs that allude to Christianity. For instance, last week, the choir at Ralph J. Osgood Intermediate School in Long Island sang “Silent Night” with altered lyrics. “Holy infant,” “Christ the savior,” and “Round yon virgin, mother and child” were all omitted.
To conclude where I started: speaking from my perspective as a Jew.
Most Jews actively working to eliminate Christmas from society—like Mikey Weinstein, the anti-Christian activist (who also shows a preference for Islamists) behind the campaign to remove the nativity scene from Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina—are generally not religious Jews. Their motivations stem from either or both of two sources: one is leftism, which often serves as a substitute for religious belief in Judaism (and for many non-Jews, Christianity). The other is a psychological urge to see Christianity suppressed; many individuals with little or no religious belief resent those who do.
According to Fox News, Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation was “alerted by an undisclosed number of Airmen who said they were emotionally troubled by the sight of [the nativity scene].” That statement should be rephrased. Those who claim to be distressed by the presence of a nativity scene are not distressed by the nativity scene itself; they are simply emotionally troubled.
