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Group wants end to 'Happy Holidays'
Maine Today ^ | December 04, 2004 | GARY REMAL

Posted on 12/04/2004 12:13:54 PM PST by yonif

AUGUSTA -- "Happy holidays!"

Bah humbug, says Maine Christian Civic League Executive Director Michael Health.

It's "Merry Christmas," says Heath, who recently kicked off a campaign in Maine to bolster traditional greetings in lieu of more politically correct salutations.

"Tired of the secularist scrooges who are taking over Maine's cultural landscape? So are we," Heath wrote in a recent message to league members. "That is why we are teaming up with the Alliance Defense Fund to fight Scrooge-like secular intolerance this Christmas season."

Heath said he wrote the message as his part of the national Christian group's campaign. The Alliance Defense Fund is looking for cases to test in court and Heath asked his members for examples.

"There is increasing hostility toward Christians that is expressed outside the church publicly. It's something that seems to be increasing, and increasingly American people are being asked to push expressions of Christ to the margins or out of view, and this is part of that," Heath said. "Our point is, people can say 'Merry Christmas' in schools or wherever."

Heath said Friday that he received a complaint from a member alleging a teacher -- at a school he declined to identify -- had instructed students not to use "Merry Christmas," suggesting "happy holidays" instead. He said he was sending that information to alliance lawyers.

The issue has struck a nerve among Christian Civic League members, judging from their reaction to a new Alliance Defense Fund lapel pin which says: "Merry Christmas Believe It. Say It."

"They gave us 500 pins and we handed them all out in just two days without any advertising on our part, so there's a lot of concern about this," Heath said.

Some of Heath's past campaigns have been controversial. In the past year, he was criticized for suggesting Gov. John Baldacci may have "one of those imaginary gay genes" and was suspended for a month when he began an effort to identify gay legislators and state officials.

"We've got to represent diversity and be tolerant of everything except, I guess, Jesus at Christmastime," Heath said. "I see it as the opposite of that; they're being tolerant of everything except Christianity or Christ."

The Christian Civic League director said legal challenges by the American Civil Liberties Union and others over use of religious symbols in public places are the most visible assaults on Christian Christmas. And he said Christians feel increasing pressure to avoid symbols of their faith.

"Over time, they've been radicalizing this. We started with freedom of religion. Now we're to the point where the default is you keep quiet about your deeply held beliefs," Heath said.

"They need to back off and the ACLU needs to back off and stop pushing so hard against anything that includes Christmas carols and those kinds of things, just like a scrooge."


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: Maine
KEYWORDS: christmas; morality
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1 posted on 12/04/2004 12:13:54 PM PST by yonif
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To: yonif

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!


2 posted on 12/04/2004 12:15:38 PM PST by MisterRepublican ("I must go. I must be elusive.")
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To: yonif

Good; its a nauseating phrase considering why it is use.


3 posted on 12/04/2004 12:15:44 PM PST by Aetius
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To: MisterRepublican

MERRY CHRISTMAS!


4 posted on 12/04/2004 12:16:04 PM PST by blackeagle
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To: yonif

Good for him. The rest of us need to do the same thing.


5 posted on 12/04/2004 12:16:22 PM PST by texasflower (Liberty can change habits. ~ President George W. Bush 10/08/04)
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To: Aetius

Good; its a nauseating phrase considering why it is in use.


6 posted on 12/04/2004 12:16:27 PM PST by Aetius
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Comment #7 Removed by Moderator

To: Aetius
Pretty soon, they'll find "holidays" too religious to pass Constitutional muster, and that word also shall be banned, excluded from free speech as an obscene affront to freedom from religion. How shall we replace it? Shall we just not celebrate Christmas, or not celebrate the Solemnity on New Years'? Go to work or school through the traditional winter break? Eternally forbid Christmas trees, and most importantly, Christmas shopping and gift-giving? Where does this go?
8 posted on 12/04/2004 12:20:24 PM PST by dufekin (Four more years! Liberals, learn: whiners are losers every time.)
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To: yonif
MERRY CHRISTMAS

9 posted on 12/04/2004 12:23:00 PM PST by G.Mason (A war mongering, UN hating, military industrial complex loving, Al Qaeda incinerating American.)
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To: All

"That is why we are teaming up with the Alliance Defense Fund to fight Scrooge-like secular intolerance this Christmas season"... The Christian Civic League director said legal challenges by the American Civil Liberties Union and others over use of religious symbols in public places are the most visible assaults on Christian Christmas. And he said Christians feel increasing pressure to avoid symbols of their faith... "They need to back off and the ACLU needs to back off and stop pushing so hard against anything that includes Christmas carols and those kinds of things, just like a scrooge."


Teaming up with the ADF is an excellent idea. You can join the fight against the ACLU and their ilk by becoming involved with and supporting the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) - http://www.alliancedefensefund.org and the following organizations:

American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) - http://www.aclj.org

Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) - http://www.thomasmore.org

The Rutherford Institute - http://www.rutherford.org/

Stop the ACLU Coalition - http://www.stoptheaclu.org


Here are just a few recent examples of how two of those organizations are fighting back:

ADF Contacts Over 3,600 School Districts Over Attempts To Censor Christmas

ADF: 700 lawyers ready to fight ACLU lawsuits

ADF: Pentagons' Warning About Boyscouts Is Absurd

Thomas More Law Center: Town of Palm Beach Pays $50,000 In Attorney Fees Apologizes To Women In Nativity Lawsuit


Additional information:

The ACLU must be destroyed: Joseph Farah supports Boy Scouts, urges Americans to fight back

Citizens mobilized to stop ACLU (seeks to consign group to 'ash heap of history')

ACLU fulfilling communist agenda

Revealing FACTS on the ACLU from its own writings

See how YOUR Senator or Representative ranks with the ACLU

10 posted on 12/04/2004 12:30:51 PM PST by EdReform (Free Republic - helping to keep our country a free republic. Thank you for your financial support!)
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To: yonif; american colleen; sinkspur; Lady In Blue; Salvation; narses; SMEDLEYBUTLER; redhead; ...

Keep Christ in Christmas!

Catholic Ping - please freepmail me if you want on/off this list


11 posted on 12/04/2004 12:31:02 PM PST by NYer ("Blessed be He who by His love has given life to all." - final prayer of St. Charbel)
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To: yonif

>in lieu of more politically correct salutations>

Why are we afraid to just be honest about it and call it "Communist correct"?


12 posted on 12/04/2004 12:32:33 PM PST by Paperdoll (On the cutting edge)
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To: yonif

I'm not personally religious.

But Happy Holidays has always struck me as a wimpy way out.

I say "Merry Christmas!"

And to all a good night.

D


13 posted on 12/04/2004 12:32:37 PM PST by daviddennis (;)
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To: dufekin

Oh they certainly won't forbid or discourage the shopping.

The merchants would nail their collective hides to the barn door.


14 posted on 12/04/2004 12:33:39 PM PST by tiamat ("Just a Bronze-Age Gal, Trapped in a Techno-World!")
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To: yonif; Grampa Dave; MeekOneGOP; milford421; TexasTaysor; Liz

BTTT


15 posted on 12/04/2004 12:33:47 PM PST by EdReform (Free Republic - helping to keep our country a free republic. Thank you for your financial support!)
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To: G.Mason

16 posted on 12/04/2004 12:34:38 PM PST by farfromhome (Not tested on animals... That means they're testing it on you!)
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To: Aetius

Good; its a nauseating phrase considering why it is use.


So is that statement!


17 posted on 12/04/2004 12:38:18 PM PST by loboinok (GUN CONTROL IS HITTING WHAT YOU AIM AT.)
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To: EdReform; NYer

MERRY CHRISTMAS

18 posted on 12/04/2004 12:40:19 PM PST by Liz
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To: MisterRepublican
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!

And Happy Hanukkah to all our FRiends who celebrate that event.

19 posted on 12/04/2004 12:41:12 PM PST by Freebird Forever
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To: yonif

The other day I was at a certain store and the clerk bid me a HAPPY HOLIDAYS and I stared her in the eye and said..."No, you mean MERRY CHRISTMAS"!!! HA! She smiled and went about her business!


20 posted on 12/04/2004 12:42:10 PM PST by RoseofTexas
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