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"I'm touched and relieved that Rall will still allow "individual and private displays of religiosity" in his New World Order. Thanks, RallGrinch! Would it be OK if we said a Griswald-esque prayer or two to The Great Spirit in his Heavenly Area Up There?
Rall is correct when he says the U.S. is a secular nation. Duh. I think we all get that. As to whether or not Christmas is a federal holiday - who cares? We (private industry at least) don't determine the days we work (or don't work) according to whether or not it's a federal holiday. For example, Columbus Day is a federal holiday. So is Martin Luther King Day. But most of us don't have those days off, and we don't really much care.
Perhaps the government is clinging to a tradition it doesn't quite have enough moxie (or votes) to dismantle. It's worked hard at disassociating itself from religion in every other way. Then again, maybe it's because government employees like paid holidays every bit as much as the rest of us. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Human Sacrifice Day .. who cares, it's a day off! And one has to look no further than the riots in Greece to know public sector employees can get pretty darn feisty if you try and take something away from them.
So as a homage to our Puritan heritage, hearkening back to a day when Christmas and Thanksgiving still meant something outside of the commercial aspect, perhaps we should keep those holidays around. A majority of us still mouth appreciative noises about Christmas, whether or not we profess Christianity or have ever (or ever will) darkened the door of a church. Thanksgiving has no direct correlation with Christianity; Pilgrims gave thanks to God Almighty, the Indians to the god (or gods) of the Harvest. I doubt the Indians and the Pilgrims wasted a lot of time quibbling over theology.
Our government is supposedly about doing the will of the people, and if the majority of us still likes Christmas, I think it should remain a government holiday. If you're an atheist, or advocate of another faith, no problem. We certainly won't complain if you want to stay late at the office Thanksgiving Day, or work through Christmas. We won't create any special holidays for you, but we'll happily hold the door open if you want to leave for another country that will."
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