Tea and Vitriol

The Christmas season is upon us again. And Hanukkah. Both are religious holidays. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, whom all Christian faiths regard as mankind's savior. Hanukkah celebrates the purification and rededication of Solomon's temple after it was defiled by the Hellenizing actions of the Seleucid Empire. As such, the proper greeting this time of year would be "Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah." Especially in years like this one, where the holidays overlap. Yes, both holidays feature gift-giving and as such a great deal of commercialism. But still, it is a happy time of year for most people, who will still use the greeting "Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah" when they meet people. It takes us back to an earlier, less complicated time when people were less apt to take offense at everything, when such greetings produced a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. I am referring to the days before progressive liberalism sought to pervert traditio