U.S. communities fail to keep 'Christ' in Christmas

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Is America ready for C-----mas?

Christmas has been sanitized in schools and public squares, in malls and parades where Santa's OK, Jesus Christ is not. "Jingle Bells" rocks, but forget about "Silent Night."

Some hope to assure the nation that it's all right to say "Merry Christmas."

Champions of creches, live Nativity scenes, Christmas trees, greeting cards and salutations offer compelling evidence that December 25 is still a religious holiday -- not a violation of separation of church and state.

They are ready to rumble.

"Those who think that the censoring of Christmas is a blue-state phenomenon need to consider what happened today in the Wichita [Kansas] Eagle," said William Donahue of the New York-based Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.

The Kansas newspaper ran a correction, he said, for mistakenly referring to a "Christmas Tree" rather than a "Community Tree" at the Wichita Winterfest celebration.

"It's time practicing Christians demanded to know from these speech-code fascists precisely who it is they think they are protecting from dropping the dreaded 'C-word'" Mr. Donahue said yesterday.

Some are particularly irked by public bans on Christmas carols.

"The fact is, 96 percent of us celebrate Christmas. For a small minority to force their way and their will on the public majority is unconscionable," said Greg Scott of the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund (ADF).