I created Christmasrapping.com with the help of several web designers in the spring through December of 2005. The opinions expressed are solely mine. No organizations are represented or involved. It will be updated regularly.
This interactive web site is for people who enjoy Christmas regardless of views on religion, commercialism, or "The American Way". Some are already concerned that, as Christmas continues to evolve and accommodate cultural shifts, it should keep it's name in the public arena. Others are unaware that there is cause for concern or take the holiday for granted. I will be discussing "holidayization" in the essay that follows with the goal of encouraging courses of action to counter it.

Now, in 2007, Christmasrapping is in it's third year. I read over the essay and realize that many subtle changes have occurred since I first wrote it. Many passages seem filled with a sense of frustration and doom in the face of an almost insurmountable task. I'm happy to say I feel more positive this season about how Christmas is fairing than I have for several years and the task seems less unsurmountable. It's hard to appreciate the historical sweep of Christmas when we only live one year at a time, but Christmas is a surviver. For a description of some of these positive changes go to "Take Action". For a description of fresh versions of some of the same old problems for this year go to "Christmas Ban."

You are more then welcome to send to me an e mail with ideas or suggestions, so that I may post them on the site. Email to us

Christmas is a glittering, happy time, the quintessential American family holiday, and probably our most multifaceted observance, being both sacred and secular. It is one of mankind's great experiences and has a rich and ancient heritage. Like Halloween and St. Patrick's Day, Christmas as we know it is a re-invention of American culture.

References to it in the songs, stories and film of our popular culture would fill an encyclopedia.Some will find that scenes and songs of the nativity are the key - it wouldn't be Christmas without "Silent Night". Others are more swept away by the excitement of Santa, shopping or the euphoric strains of Johnny Mathis singing "Sleigh Ride". Yet as holidays go, Christmas sometimes seems to have become an underdog. Even though the observance enjoys the largest following, it has been consigned in the public arena to a position of least favored status by some. This is best exemplified by the trend of replacing the word "Christmas" with "Holiday". It happened because criticism came from the few about how Christmas dominates December and has greater visibility than other holidays. Over several decades this captured the public's imagination and inflated into a controversy. A movement to systematically remove Christmas from the public arena ensued with many Christmas observers censoring the name of their holiday and suppressing public signs of it. Some were persuaded the criticism was valid and volunteered to do this, while many others felt pressured to conform to what was eventually alleged to be a new standard of chivalry and political correctness. I call this phenomenon "holidayization" after the key role the word "holiday" plays in it. A holidayization homily goes something like this: "Christmas shouldn't dominate December. The name "Christmas" shouldn't be used in public because it is divisive, robbing other holidays of their fair share of recognition. We used to assume that everyone celebrated the same holiday. Now everything is different. There are so many different kinds of people living here and we are more enlightened and recognize our cultural diversity. The word "holiday" reflects our new cultural sensitivity and should replace "Christmas". Specific names don't matter. The most important concern in December is that everyone should feel included. It's a time of year when everyone is celebrating something very special with the old year coming to a close". The homilies and platitudes are recited, parrot-like, by extollers of holidayization, who never seem to ascertain that holidayization is necessary. Instead, it is based on hearsay. Holidayization finds expression in two ways: removal of the sight and mention of Christmas, and emphasis of other holidays. Together this is the holidayization formula.The movement has instilled into the seasonal life of December a precept that minor holidays should have freedom of expression and Christmas shouldn't. A careful observation will confirm how pervasively this double standard rules in the public arena. To read actual examples for 2007 of how this trend has effected the Christmas season, go to the bottom of the "Christmas Ban" page. A misunderstanding has developed that there are many holidays in December that should be acknowledged. In fact, there are very few other observances. The result of holidayization is that a greater appreciation of all holidays isn't achieved. The few other December holidays (primarily Chanukah) don't make a public show in December because their concerns and interests are limited to small subcultures, and Chanukah itself does not have images that can be used for public decoration. The inflated persona of Chanukah is an invention spurred on in a spirit of competition with the size and proximity of Christmas, not because of any intrinsic qualities that would make it popular. Many Jews now feel that holidayization undercuts their holiday because Chanukah is looking more and more like Christmas. As it becomes more apparent how strictly the double standard has been applied, people who were complacent and willing to conform, now see the suppression of Christmas as an imposition or as silly. We are at the beginning of a backlash as a result of this awakening, religious conservatives being the most outspoken. People of other ideologies are beginning to feel that holidayization rings false for a variety of reasons. In Christmasrapping I will take a close look at the trends in thinking and the forces that have shaped holidayization. I would like to help break the stereotype that only people of a certain ideology want to keep Christmas in the public arena.

You are more then welcome to send to me an e mail with ideas or suggestions, so that I may post them on the site. Email to us