Yesterday's Washington Post reported on yet another installment in the battle over public holiday celebrations. The White House has sent out 1.4 million cards wishing friends a happy "holiday season", just as conservative groups are complaining about the elimination of the word "Christmas" from commercial ads and from governmentally sponsored seasonal tree displays. The card does, though, carry a verse from Psalms. Susan Whitson, Laura Bush's press secretary explained: "Certainly President and Mrs. Bush, because of their faith, celebrate Christmas. Their cards in recent years have included best wishes for a holiday season, rather than Christmas wishes, because they are sent to people of all faiths."
Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, said, "Sometimes it's hard to tell whether this is sinister -- it's the purging of Christ from Christmas -- or whether it's just political correctness run amok. I think in the case of the White House, it's just political correctness." He continued, however, "It bothers me that the White House card leaves off any reference to Jesus, while we've got Ramadan celebrations in the White House. What's going on there?" And Catholic League president William A. Donohue said, "They'd better address this, because they're no better than the retailers who have lost the will to say 'Merry Christmas'." [Thanks to Get Religion for the information.]
A copy of the card is available on the Americans United website. [Thanks to No Left Turns for this lead.]
