The People News, a free newspaper serving Cleveland Tennessee (TN) and Bradley County Tennessee (Tn).





Of Bradley County Tn.

DECEMBER  2013

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Christmas Past


by Alexandra Edwards

December 25, a date given to mark the birth of Jesus Christ, has been a major public holiday celebrated for hundreds of years by millions of people across the globe. Christmas, a word derived from Christ's mass, is not only celebrated by Christians, but also in countries whose populations are mainly non-Christians, either due to former colonial rule, Christian minorities, or foreign cultural influence.

In fact, according to Wikipedia.com, those countries in which Christmas is not a formal public holiday include; Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Cambodia, China (excepting Hong Kong and Macao), Comoros, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Yemen. Japan, however, has adopted some of the secular aspects of Christmas, such as decorating Christmas trees and gift-giving.

Alexandra Edwards


Why is it then, that America, a country made up of various nationalities and founded on Christian beliefs, is all of a sudden concerned about "offending" somebody by use of the word Christmas?

For the past several years, around what is now referred to as "the holiday season," there have been news reports of school principals refusing to have Christmas songs sung at their, what they now wish to refer to as, Winter concerts.

Sending Christmas cards, which has served as a way of annually 'keeping in touch' with far away family and friends, is now becoming a thing of the past. Those like myself that do wish to continue the tradition of sending cards will find it difficult to actually find the word Christmas printed on them.


In the past, Christmas festivities and events began way after Thanksgiving. Christmas trees were decorated maybe a week or two before Christmas, as was shopping for presents. There were no "black Fridays."


Gift-giving used to be merely part of traditional Christmas festivities, when families would sit around the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve and exchange presents. Some families chose to wait until Christmas Day for that ritual. Presents were mainly useful, every-day items, chosen carefully and lovingly with the receiver in mind. Shoppers were not driven by merchants fliers and early sales encouraging the purchase of ultra expensive electronics or jewelry.


People would greet each other with a hearty "Merry Christmas" and there would be a genuine feeling of good will in the air. Hearing Christmas carols sung or played in the streets and seeing a display of the Nativity set up outside public buildings, only brought more joy to the hearts of passers by. Why then has this suddenly changed?

Today, Christmas is said to officially begin the day after Thanksgiving, when shoppers get up in the early hours of the morning for tempting shopping deals on what has become known as Black Friday. Seems now, though, many retailers cannot wait to rake in the dollars of over-commercialized "holiday shopping" and are now opening their doors at one minute past midnight. Some merchants are even extending Black Friday or starting their sales earlier. Pretty soon it could be Black December.


American values and traditions can be preserved as long as the public pays attention and don't fall into the trap of the mainstream media's political correctness and the over commercialized retail merchants.

In an attempt to preserve Christmas traditions, Former Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin has just released a book titled, Good Tidings and Great Joy; Protecting the Heart of Christmas.

According to publisher HarperCollins, "Palin calls for bringing back the freedom to express the Christian values of the season. She asserts the importance of preserving Jesus Christ in Christmas in public displays, school concerts, pageants, and our expressions to one another other and laments the over-commercialization and homogenization of Christmas in today's society."


Always remember the real meaning of Christmas. Feel the old fashioned warm fuzzy feelings of love and share that joy with family friends. Get a lump in your throat and a tear in your eye watching the old fashioned Christmas classics like, " It's a Wonderful Life, "A Christmas Carol," or "Miracle on 34th Street." Listen to the words of carols and sing along to them and feel the spirit of Christmas. Most importantly, if someone greets you with "happy holidays," just smile and return their greeting with a hearty "Merry Christmas." Those you know to be of Jewish faith, then "Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah" will suffice. Hey, that's the way it was in Christmas past and nobody seemed to be offended.


Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all our readers.

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