in shoppers was at a NYC department store in 1900.
So what does that mean today? Basically, it means that there is no historical “truth” to any of the familiar observations we’ve come to embrace, whether we’re talking about the pagan celebrations or the religious ones. They are all made up. Not much sense in fighting, or fretting, over any of them if you ask me.
No One Has Taken The Christ Out Of Christmas. He’s still there if you want Him to be, but it never has been His private domain. What’s the problem? The Church snaked on the pagans to begin with, and it was a pretty successful strategy. Today, more people around the world practice the Christian traditions than ever before. Isn’t that enough? Remember, the Romans tried for about 1,000 years to make Christmas a purely Christian holiday and all they did was divide and antagonize the millions of people for whom it means something different. Don’t make the mistake that old Cromwell made. Go ahead and have it your way, it’s a beautiful tradition. But, let everyone else enjoy it their way.
Yes, Christmas Is Also About the Money. And for those who shake their heads with disgust about the commercialization of it, you guys need a quick reality check. Christmas shopping is the single most significant economic cycle in America. Hundreds of thousands of businesses rely on if for their very existence. From a commercial health point of view, if it didn’t already exist, someone would need to invent it. The money that gets spent around Christmas, for everything from twinkley little lights to airline tickets and pretty new cars is the fuel that keeps our economy plugging along all year. Forget the new homes, it’s the HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of dollars spent at