Today is "Black Friday." Retailers, most of which refuse to say the name Christmas, are having huge sales to entice customers to shop in their stores. Some of the sales started at midnight. Rather than thinking about the idea of remembering the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the focus is on materialism.

Christmas should be a rememberance of God's greatest gift to us. God the Father sent His Son to earth to eventually suffer a brutal Passion and die in order to give us the opportunity (but NOT the guarantee) to enter Heaven after death.
Retailers depend on gift giving for Christmas. But they take it a step further. Beyond taking the focus away from Jesus by pushing materialism, they refuse to even recognize the name Christmas. Instead, the word "holiday" is used. Holiday is a CATEGORY. It is not the name of a specific day. The very word "holiday" comes from the term "Holy day." Holy days are special days reserved for religious celebrations or observances.

The excuse typically given for removing all references to Christmas is the alleged need to be "inclusive." While this argument is offensive to Christians, it is also highly offensive to NON-Christians. Using this excuse automatically implies that NON-Christians are bigots. Are non-Christians really going to refuse to tolerate the mention of a religious celebration that does not take place in their own religion? Frankly, I simply don't believe that is the case.

Failing to mention Christmas takes everyone's minds off Jesus (especially Christians). It becomes a secular celebration. When references to God are removed over and over again, people will think less and less of living according to God's Will. The Dictatorship of Moral Relativism mentioned by former Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) continues to take a foothold. Frankly, considering the roots of the word "holiday," I find it surprising that "holiday" is the word used in place of Christmas.

Let us pray during this Advent season that people begin to remember the real reason for Christmas. It is not a celebration of materialism; it is a celebration of our Heavenly Father's greatest gift to mankind: His Son and our Savior.