The important difference between Christmas in Japan and Christmas here in the United States is that in Japan they are allowed to call Christmas trees Christmas trees whereas here we have to call them holiday trees, or some such nonsense. Christmas is both a religious holiday and a secular holiday. That shouldn’t be a problem, but due to odd concepts of political correctness currently in vogue it has become one. Japan is only 4% Christian, but they know a good holiday when they see one.

First, let’s take care of the notion that Christmas is “really” a religious holiday, and that therefore pressing non-religious celebrations is fundamentally wrong. The Christmas Story in the Bible is set in the Spring. The holiday was celebrated in winter to merge coincide with the more ancient celebrations of the shortest day of the year. It is logical to celebrate the shortest day, especial when people lived outside a good deal more than they do today. the days lengthen gives promise of spring even as the weather gets colder. Christmas in all likelihood would have been celebrated had Christians never come along, though it would be called Saturnalia or something else.

Santa Claus, reindeer, sleigh bells, Christmas trees, greeting cards, candy canes, and Alvin and the Chipmunks are not featured in the Bible, although they may be alluded to metaphorically in some of the lesser-known passages. You can never be sure about that. There is too much secular tradition to claim that Christmas is really a Christmas. If one is adamant that it is entirely religious, then all of the First Amendment objections to government preferring a particular religion are valid. Because Christmas in both a religious and a secular holiday, the objections are not valid.

Note that New Year’s is a religious holiday for Buddhists. At midnight, temple bells toll the 108 sins of man. Other than wondering what all those sins we haven’t thought of are, most of us non-Buddhists do not care that New Year’s is a religious holiday for Buddhists. Nor should non-Christians care that it is a religious holiday for Christians.

I went on an atheist web forum and asked if atheists there objected to saying Merry Christmas. This is not a scientific poll, but anyone who has been to political or religious forum on the web knows that people who frequent such places are not the shrinking violet types. The response was overwhelmingly in favor of Merry Christmas, perhaps 80 or 90 percent. Some of those objecting were upset about evil capitalism having taken root in gift-giving, nothing to do with religion.

So if atheists are willing to go with Merry Christmas, where are the objections coming from? The examples of objections are numerous. The ACLU sued a public school in Colorado for offering an optional program of traditional Christmas carols in the school in the evening. They lost, but the objection was absurd. Arch-atheist Richard Dawkins is an open fan of Renaissance church music.

The objections come from people who cherish the opportunity to pretend to be offended, even though they are not. In other words, what offends them is being politically incorrect according to the rules of political correctness they have derived. They want to punish the heresy of ignoring their rules, and have no motivation beyond that. The motivation is the joy of being morally superior to those who flout the sacred rules of political correctness.