December 26, the day after.

The shimmer and glitter are gone, garland hangs askew, lights no longer twinkle, and a tilted tree has gone unnoticed. Santa is again jobless, storekeepers are home counting the take, while shoppers are broke and overdrawn. It looks like an economical battle lost, and surely a spiritual one.

Long before Thanksgiving Day we were hammered with Christmas commercials. We have listened, watched, bought, and surrendered to the power of commercialism. With passiveness and indifference, we watch mostly non-Christian and professed Christian businessmen rewrite the story line. “Xmas,” used by newspapers and advertisers to save costly space, is a true mockery.

Church pastors also add to the problem through church marques. Something will be missing in a church whose invite proclaims "Xmas" celebrated here. Christmas is “the celebration of Christ.” He suffered and hung on a cross for six painful hours, yet we refuse to take six seconds to write “Christ” instead of “Xmas” in our rush to have a happy but joyless holiday.

The usage, passed off as just semantics, is an attack on Christianity celebrated the world over. It is the ultimate offense to leave Christ out of Xmas—a violation to be undone by those called by his name who will stop using and accepting the Christ-less spelling and Christ-less Holy day. Take time to give him that honor.

Merchants provide what we accept, while avoiding the use of the word commemorating the Birth of Our Savior and using “Holiday” and “Dream Tree” instead. Can we not see it? We utter not a word in protest, but continue to mumble that feeble cry: “Christmas has gotten too commercial.” As Mark Twain once said: “Everyone complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it.”

In most cases, we speak not a word to our children about the true meaning of the holiday, passing it off as simply Jesus’ birthday.

We may have a “cute” Christmas program at church, fit between shopping sprees and Christmas parties, but if there is one at school it’s not likely to include a manger scene. Will your child bring home a picture of Jesus? No. It is considered illegal to worship the personage of this celebrated holiday named for him.

Is it a wonder the kids only speak of superheroes as Spiderman and Pokemon? Children can tell us more about the powers and wonders of these super heroes than they can about the One sent to a manger to “seek and to save they which are lost.” A babe in swaddling clothes has hardly the impact of a Savior, something his contemporaries thought he would appear as—a conquering hero to save them from the Roman yoke.

The story, if told, is more impressive than the feat of the red-suited miracle worker who flies, slips down fake chimneys, walks through doors, sees all and knows all, including whose names are written in the book of naughty and nice. Santa has become the patron saint of the Holy Day, stealing the glory from the True King of Glory.

Christ came to save mankind from more than the tyranny of an earthly kingdom, and a greater form of bondage—Satan and his yoke of sin and guilt. "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) “Whom the Son sets free, he is free indeed!” (John 8:36) Freedom not from sin only, but freedom from drugs, alcohol, perversion, fear, and loneliness, which is at its peak this time of year, as many see gloom rather than glitter.

Unlike Twain’s weather, we can “do something about it” by nurturing the true spirit of Christmas by putting Christ first, preventing Satan from stealing mankind’s greatest day. We are losing our Christian rights to worship freely in a nation Born Christian—not Muslim, not Jew. Founded on the Bible—not the Koran. Stand Up Christian, and be counted!

Invite some lone person as a Christmas visitor into your home and share the blessed day. Put Christ back in your Christmas.

Al Squitieri
Fulton