Merry Christmas…can we say that?<\/p>\n
Both religious and secular news sources have repeatedly reported on the perceived “war on Christmas,” in which organizations (primarily retailers) have chosen to say (or not say) Merry Christmas<\/em> or Happy Holidays<\/em>, or some other variation on the theme.\u00a0 For retailers, it is a business decision, whether good or bad, in which they attempt to appease one group of consumers or another.\u00a0 What they do probably has an impact on their sales figures, but influences little else.<\/p>\n Another question revolves around\u00a0what is permissible for government officials.\u00a0 Lawsuits and controversy have erupted over Christmas (or “holiday”) displays (like in Wisconsin<\/a>).\u00a0 Even President Bush has been taken to task\u00a0for the White House Christmas Cards that don’t mention Christmas, but do contain Old Testament Bible verses that reference the Messianic prophecy.\u00a0 Military Christians, then, have a confusing cornucopia of examples to look at when trying to decide what is appropriate during the Christmas season.<\/p>\n Is there a right answer?\u00a0 What can military Christians do or say?\u00a0 <\/p>\n There are no explicit<\/em> rules on the recognition of religious holidays in the military.\u00a0 As always, officers should use discretion, wisdom, and sensitivity in what they do and say.\u00a0 That said, military Christians are free to wish a Merry Christmas<\/em> to their fellow officers, superiors, and subordinates.\u00a0 They may also display Christmas cards or decorations on their desk, in accordance with local rules regarding all<\/em> memorabilia.\u00a0 These statements are in line with public policies and regulations.<\/p>\n With regard to commanders and the decision to have Christmas displays in a unit, it is best to seek the advice of the local\u00a0Chaplain.\u00a0 This is not due\u00a0to prohibitions but\u00a0political sensitivity.\u00a0 Legally, there is no reason for a unit not to have a Christmas party or a Christmas tree in the lobby (or a Hannukah celebration and a Menorah in the lobby).\u00a0 More often than not, however, military units have opted for “holiday” parties to avoid negative public perceptions.\u00a0 Wisdom says that just because we can<\/em> do something, doesn’t mean we should<\/em>.<\/p>\n Saying Merry Christmas<\/em> is unlikely to offend most honest Americans.\u00a0 For one thing, while Christmas began as a\u00a0uniquely Christian celebration, its place in the American culture trancends religious boundaries.\u00a0 When non-Christians hear (and say) Merry Christmas<\/em>, they may think of Santa Claus and “peace on earth, good will toward men,” but few are offended by its religious connotation.\u00a0 There are still some, however, who argue not that such a greeting is offensive, but that a government representative who says it or otherwise supports the celebration is violating the Constitution.<\/p>\n Acknowledging a religious observance, whether Christian or not, does not “establish” religion nor show favoritism for it.\u00a0 Rather, it demonstrates a sensitivity to the deeply held values of our co-workers, subordinates, and fellow citizens.\u00a0 That is why the President and the military leadership have gone out of\u00a0their way to acknowledge Islamic religious celebrations; they have attempted to demonstrate sensitivity for all faiths.\u00a0 President Bush’s “Ramadan Mubarak” in his Ramadan message<\/a> no more established or showed favoritism for Islam than a military Christian’s “Merry Christmas” does Christianity.\u00a0 The President’s participation in an Islamic meal<\/a> ending Ramadan does not favor Islam, nor does his (or a military Christian’s) attendance of a Christmas meal.\u00a0 Thus, acknowledging and participating in religious celebrations is Constitutionally permitted, even for Christians in the military.<\/p>\n The final issue is fairly unique to the military and the source of most recent controversies: the potential undue influence of a superior on a subordinate with regard to religion.\u00a0 The previous examples (“Merry Christmas,” Christmas trees, etc.) are generic enough that they would not present the appearance of religious coercion.\u00a0 Some might argue, however, that a superior that takes a more direct role (say, proactively inviting a subordinate to a Christmas service) might have the potential to be perceived as coercive.\u00a0 In cases such as that, it would again be best to work with the Chaplains to ensure that everyone was\u00a0aware of their opportunities for religious worship over the Christmas timeframe.\u00a0 (The same logic does not necessarily apply if a subordinate proactively asks about Christmas services.\u00a0 Each situation varies, and the Chaplain is the best source for advice.\u00a0 For more on the professional relationship between superiors and subordinates, see the evangelism section of this article<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Christians should\u00a0feel free, too, to\u00a0wish their Jewish friends and co-workers a\u00a0Happy Hannukah.\u00a0 (For those that want to be even more multi-cultural,\u00a0Ramadan is over, and Kwanzaa is a ‘cultural celebration,’ not a religious holiday.)\u00a0 Religious celebrations are often an opportunity to learn more about the cultures that make up the military and America, and the discussions they spawn (which were explicitly permitted by the Air Force religious guidelines<\/a>) can be both an educational and evangelistic opportunity.<\/p>\n As in everything, Christians should demonstrate both their professional bearing and\u00a0the love of Christ in their words and actions.\u00a0 An almost adversarial defense of Christmas traditions may detract from the Christmas message rather than uphold it.\u00a0 Military Christians should not fear expressing their faith and their celebration of Christ’s birth, but they should do so with love and wisdom.<\/p>\n Merry Christmas, then, to everyone, especially those deployed in defense of our country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Merry Christmas…can we say that? Both religious and secular news sources have repeatedly reported on the perceived “war on Christmas,” in which organizations (primarily retailers) have chosen to say (or not say) Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, or some other variation on the theme.\u00a0 For retailers, it is a business decision, whether good or bad, in which they attempt to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[134,5284,108,4,82,44,39,1193,2,80],"class_list":["post-136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","tag-air-force","tag-chaplain","tag-christmas","tag-churchandstate","tag-constitution","tag-islam","tag-jewish","tag-menorah","tag-military","tag-ramadan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}