Christmas can be nothing but exclusively Christian - notice the identical first syllables? To whom do they refer?

You are entirely correct in that the modern Euro-American traditions surrounding the Feast of the Nativity include symbology adopted from older cultures that occupied the same ground - the process is called syncretism and when practiced deliberately is a useful tool to ease the supplanting of one religion or culture by another (on the other hand, when it occurs from the bottom up, orthodox heierarchs of the newer faith call it "backsliding" and often attempt to suppress it). Neither is it an accident that the date coincides with the millennia-old observation of the Solstice, as does the approximate date of Channukah. However, to wrap all such celebrations into a neat generic package labeled "Christmas" not only further cheapens the Christian holy day but is as intellectually dishonest, as you put it, as is "keeping Christ out of Xmas" (as my mother likes to say).

I took no delight in your dilemma, ed, although I cannot deny the hope that you will gain knowledge from the viewpoint of a religious minority. Let me remind you once again, however, that the context of your original lament was the public schools, where one may not, by Constitutional law, give the appearance of establishment of religion.

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If I had a wish for this season (and all seasons) other than true Peace on Earth and Good Will To Men, it might be to magically remove the phrase "politically correct" from the vocabulary - especially yours. It was coined by bigots as a tool of misdirection by ridicule, to take public attention away from examining their bigotry. What you and others like you call "PC" is an attempt to achieve a linguistic compromise: to remove hide-bound xenophobia and prejudice from the habits of common speech so that those who come after will not perpetuate expressions of hatred, purposefully or not. There is very little 'political' about it, except perhaps in the eyes of those who obstinately refuse to entertain the idea that they may, after all, have been wrong...

An objection to granting the proper respect and consideration due to equals of other faiths, cultures, appearances or points of view - especially on the specious ground of 'tradition' - is not only intellectually but morally bankrupt. Applying the Moebius concept to this thread: Ebenezer Scrooge's redemption from moral bankruptcy comes at the realization that all of Mankind are his equals, and that his treatment of them must be in accord.

Not all the world has learned that, yet.

E'