Well true believers, the leaves are turning red, and the war on Christmas has begin. Noted falafal-enthusiast Bill O'Reilly was heard today praising the merits of Sammy Alito, as follows:
The Founding Fathers didn't want all mention of Christmas stricken from the public arena." That's what Alito will do. He's a traditionalist. He's going to rule that way.
This, aside from being classic Wingnut schtick, great for whipping the unwashed masses into righteous frenzies of indignation, is ahistorical malarky. As
Media-Matters tells it, the founding-fathers weren't nearly as fond of the Christian feast, as O'Reilly thinks:
According to HistoryChannel.com, celebration of Christmas in America prior to the Revolution depended largely on where one lived. In Jamestown, Virginia, one could celebrate the holiday freely. In Boston, celebration of Christmas incurred a fine of five shillings. Following the Revolution, Christmas was eschewed as "English customs fell out of favor." HistoryChannel.com noted that "Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under America's new Constitution." The holiday remained unpopular for years, and Christmas was not declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.
Wow. So the Torah-True non-Jews and the Torah True Jews share a hallucination: Both groups insist their own personal views and opionions are perfectly in line with the views and opinions of earlier generations. And both groups are out to lunch.