Christmas time always brings surprises, but not all of them are wrapped in fancy paper. This year, we’re being treated to a truly bizarre dish: self-styled “conservative Christian Americans” espousing the long debunked, supposedly liberal fallacy that “If the government does not explicitly support me, it thereby discriminates against me.”

The warm-up round was the campaign against one company’s attempt to be nice to all its customers by wishing them “Happy Holidays,” recognizing the simple fact that not all their shoppers are Christian. And thank God we do not live in a country where everyone is required to be. History has taught us that ignoring Jesus’ warning not to confuse Caesar with God inevitably has dire consequences for both religion and the state.

Then came the White House greeting cards, and the game began in earnest. I did not receive one (perhaps because I recently moved) but I understand that they, too, were sent to folks of many faiths and wished them all well at the holiday season. And that’s what it is, after all. While my family celebrates Christmas, friends are celebrating Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the winter solstice, or perhaps just a few days off work.

I do not believe Jesus would have shunned or condemned them for this. So I feel no compunction to, either. But a good many people claiming to be his followers have raised quite a clatter over these little cards, claiming they should have been explicitly and exclusively “Christmas” cards. Perhaps they simply can’t tell a president from a pope, and maybe these days the confusion is understandable.

The latest dust-up came here in Peachtree City, where Mayor Steve Brown was raked over the coals like a chestnut for calling his city’s illuminated evergreen “The Grand Tree,” even after publishing a lengthy apology assuring his critics that the name had absolutely nothing to do whatsoever with any rumored attempt to be sensitive to the feelings of non-Christians. Heaven forbid.

Of course, it wasn’t phrased that way. Instead, the dreaded dragon of political correctness was trotted out for re-slaying (although I can’t help notice it has grown a sizable right wing of late). Yet citizens e-mailed, phoned, even stopped their cars in the street to tell Brown he’d lost their vote by fumbling an opportunity to have their government endorse their religion, even in the form of a once-pagan symbol adopted by the expanding Christian community in Europe some centuries after Jesus taught his two great commandments: to love God with all that is in us, and follow the golden rule.

Meanwhile, the churches remain un-ransacked. Family and friends gather openly to sing carols, light candles, and offer prayers and praise. We do not need our government’s endorsement (or Wal-Mart’s) to do this, only precious freedom to be do it on our own.

So what if our kids don’t sing “O Holy Night” in public schools? It doesn’t seem to me that that’s why they’re there in the first place.

We can all calm down. It is simply not true, not even logical, that local, state, or federal entities can “steal Christmas” by allowing us to worship as we see fit, and sticking to their secular responsibilities, which, by the way, includes protecting the rights of people of all faiths.

On the other hand, the department stores who haul out the Christmas marketing before Halloween, I’d say they have a decent stab at it.

Paul Farr
Peachtree City, Ga.

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