It’s a holiday tradition that has become as predictable as airings of It’s a Wonderful Life on television: The annual Christmas culture war. On one side, mostly conservative Christians say the government and businesses are conspiring to take the religion out of Christmas; on the other, a pro-diversity crowd argues that public Christmas displays constitute unacceptable attempts to push Christian beliefs on others. So, how is 2010’s “War on Christmas” shaping up? Here’s a timeline of this year’s battles so far:
- On Dec. 17, representatives from the Federal Reserve ordered a bank in Perkins, Oklahoma to remove crosses, bibles and “Merry Christmas, God With Us” buttons from the premises, claiming that overt expressions of religion violate part of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. “This is an all-out assault on the faith, values and rights of the bank, its employees and the people of Perkins they serve,” Senator James Inhofe said in a “pointed letter” co-written with Senator Frank Lucas, to Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. Under mounting pressure, the Fed quickly reversed its decision, and the Christian decorations were back in a flash.
- On Dec. 13, in an attempt to appeal to more kids, a New York City YMCA replaced its Santa Claus with Frosty the Snowman at a popular holiday luncheon — and children had to “suffer the icy embrace of a talking snowman and his sidekick, an anonymous penguin,” says the New York Post. “If they can’t celebrate Christmas, then they should check out. What a bunch of cowards,” says Bill Donohue, the oft-aggrieved president of the Catholic League.
- On Dec. 8, Dallas megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress launched a website called Grinch Alert, which compiles user comments and complaints to help “show[case] businesses that do not show outward signs of supporting Christmas.” These establishments are put on the site’s “Naughty” list.
Check out the entire timeline, which goes back to Nov. 23
