Len Hanley: Who really stole Christmas — The Grinch or Santa Claus?

To The Daily Sun,

"How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is popular this time of the year, and though both the Grinch and Santa Claus wear the red outfits, that is where the similarities stop, but not in the way readers may be thinking. The Grinch repented and gave back what he stole, Santa Claus has not.

For over 200 years, Santa Claus has stolen Christmas from its dictionary defined and one and only reason it is celebrated. The Cambridge dictionary puts it best, defining it as "A Christian holy day that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ." In other words, it is a religious holiday and that means it should only be celebrated by the particular religion. No other religion has to be inclusive on their religious holidays.

Any Nativity display in public has to have secular beside it because "people should not feel forced to participate in religious activities." Who is forcing them to participate? The secular, including Santa Claus, makes up 90% or more of the holiday merchandise, advertising, and radio songs. That's not seeking inclusivity, that's seeking to seize control of it, by 35% who celebrate it non-religiously.

The 201,720,000 Christians in the U.S. do not need anyone's permission to display a Nativity the way they choose, and feel like we have to be inclusive, only the government has to. Christians have rights on Christmas. We can refuse to buy any of the secular items, costing them in sales and taxes on the unsold merchandise. We can wear Nativity clothes and hats, and say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Birthday Jesus." We should do something. The ones who hate Jesus will try and stop us from doing these things if they can. The question is, will Christians let them or will they stand up for Jesus?

Len Hanley

Barnstead