pated in his elementan’ school’s “hohdayrnconcert.” h: his school system, the greatrnmajorih’ of students are white and Christian,rnet onK’ two Christmas carols werernsung, and one of them was “Feliz Navidad.”rnThis small concession to Christmasrnwas more than outweighed by therntwo Kwanza songs, the two f^anukkahrnsongs, the Ramadan song, and the ChinesernNew Year song the children alsornperformed. (I suspect that all the non-rnChristmas songs are recent concocHons,rnwritten for such drear- occasions as contcmporar’rnpublic school “winter concerts.”)rnAnother illustrahon of the multicrdturalrnmadness came from a friend whoserndaughter attends public school in anotherrnsuburb that is oyerwhelmingly whiternand Chrishan. She brought home an exerciserndesigned to help the children learnrnto tell time. The exercise featured thernfollowing “holiday schedule” for a “winterrnholida’ part) “:rnMake Kwanzaa mkekas: 12:00rnnoonrnMake Chrishnas cookies: 12:30rnp.m.rnLi.sten to a story about Ramadan:rn1:00 p.m.rnPla- the dreidel game: 1:30 p.m.rnBreak a pinata: 2:00 p.m.rnMake Diwali powder designs: 2:30rnp.m.rnCo on a Chinese New Year parade:rn3:00 p.m.rnThe sheer inanit)’ of these examples (andrnof the countless others that could havernbeen included) is striking. But the mostrnimportant thing about the transformationrnof Christmas to “holiday” is how needlessrnit was, and how it was the product not ofrn”tolerance,” but of hatred, resentment,rnand eny.rnThe transformation was needless becausernthe formerly exuberant AmericanrnChristmas inflicted real harm on no one,rnwhile giving jov to many. Christmas inrnAmerica was never marked b’ pogromsrnor expressions of hatred but by countlessrnacts of charit}’ and kindness. Much of thernpublic celebration of Chrishnas was capablernof being enjoyed by non-Christiansrnas well as Christians, and almost everyonerndid enjo}’ at least some of it. I knowrnnon-Christians who enjoy Christmas specials,rnChristmas movies, Christmas music;rn1 do not think these people arernimiqnc.rnI’he multiculturalists justify their assaidtrnon Christmas by claiming that thernpublic celebration of Christmas causesrnnon-Christians to feel “left out.” I amrnskeptical of this claim; I suspect mostrnpeople arc not overwhelmed by thernknowledge diat others do not always believernas they do. But even if the multiculturalistsrnare right, how much shouldrnwe worry about those who feel left out byrnthe public celebration of Christmas? Werncannot forever shield non-Christiansrnfrom die rcalit}’ that they are a minorit)’ inrnAmerica, and suppressing the observancesrnof the majorit)’ seems a high pricernto pa’ to allow overly sensitive souls tornlive in a comfortable delusion. Ofrncourse, children shoidd not be requiredrnto participate in school activities of whichrntheir parents disapprove, and local controlrnof schools means that districts withrnlarge populations of non-Christians willrnprobably have different December activitiesrnthan districts that reflect the Americanrnnorm. But a child who does not participaternin a Christmas concert is nornmore excluded than a child whose parentsrndo not allow him to go on a field triprnor take a role in a school play. Wc do notrnrespond to one form of exclusion by banningrnfield trips or plays; we should not respondrnto the other by banning Christmas.rnThe multiculturalists, though, respondrnto the phony problem of exclusionrnby trying to ban Christmas because banningrnChristmas is what they arc all about.rnThey arc animated by a hatred of Christianitv’,rnor of the West, or by sheer envyrnand resenhnent of the glories of a holidayrnthey despise. If Christian children benefitrnfrom learning about klanukkah andrnKwanza and all the rest, shouldn’t non-rnChristian children benefit even morernfrom learning about the holiday most ofrntheir countrymen observe? But, ofrncourse, the trend has been to load eurricidarnwith references to formerly obscurernfestivals, while assiduously minimizingrnand even eliminating references tornChristmas.rnThe malice of the midficulturalists isrnrevealed in the way they present the alternativernholidays they so evidcntiy prefer.rnKwanza, Hannkkah, and all the rest arcrnpresented as faux-Christmases, even anti-rnChristmases, in order to compete with,rndiminish, and ultimately efface Christmas.rnIf Hannkkah customarily fell in October,rnwoidd anyone other than observantrnJews even nofice it?rnIndeed, the versions of Kwanza andrnHannkkah now being taught to millionsrnof schoolchildren are fabrications.rnKwanza, of course, is completely phony,rnthe 1966 invention of black nationalistrnMaulana Karenga. But Hanukkah’s contemporaryrnincarnation is a fabrication,rntoo—the “Jewish Kwanzaa,” as FredericrnSchwarz observed in last December’srnAmerican Heritage magazine. Traditionally,rnHannkkah was a very minor festival,rnprimarily for children, overshadowedrntheologically not only by the High HolyrnDays and Passover but also by SimchatrnTorah, Shavuot, and Sukkot, and surpassedrnby Purim as an occasion for celebration.rnTeaching children about Kwanza,rnrather than about the Christmasrncarols and spirituals developed by blacks,rnincrdcates negative lessons about whitesrninstead of positive ones about blacks.rnTeaching children about Hannkkah,rnrather than the beliefs that actually sustainedrnJews on their sometimes tragicrnand timiultuous historical journey, inculcatesrnncgati’C lessons about Christianit)’,rnnot positive ones about Judaism,rnNor, despite the nudticulturalists’rnclaims, are the anti-Christmases even remotelyrnequal to the real thing. In theologicalrnterms, Chrishnas is the secondrnmost important feast in the Christian calendar.rnIn practical terms, it has been thernprincipal holiday of the world’s most creativerncivilization for over a millennium.rnIt has inspired a profusion of art, architecture,rnliterature, and music; a love ofrnChristmas can lead to a deeper love ofrnour whole civilization. Ciotto neverrnpainted a Kwanza scene. Bach did notrnwrite a Hanukkah Oratorio, and Dickensrndid not pen A Ramadan Carol. And nornone comparable to them did, eiflier. Ultimately,rnwe should be free to celebraternChristmas publicly and joyously, becausernit is a great holiday, and because itrnis our holiday—one of the crowning gloriesrnof the Western culture fliat gave birthrnto America and sustains us still.rnDespite the undeniably depressing naturernof the continuing and expanding assardtrnagainst Christmas, I have not lost allrnhope. Most Americans still cherishrnChristmas, just as Chambers rememberedrnChrishiias with fondness even duringrnhis time as a Communist. The truthrnset Chambers free from communism,rnand the trntii can set us free from multicidturalism.rnIf we summon the couragernto stand up for our beliefs, the words ofrnthe carol beloved by Dickens will oncernmore ring true:rnNow to the Lord sing praises.rnAll von within this place.rnDECEMBER 2001/49rnrnrn