| Kudos to David Bright for his brilliant essay on Christmas (Dreaming of a nice day, Viewpoint, Dec 12-18, 2002). It ranks as the most well-written, interesting and sensible piece on the subject I've ever read. I also applaud the motivation behind his central thesis, which is that we should complete the secularization of Christmas. I think he's dead right to suggest that society would be better off if the virtues of Christmas (such as goodwill and gift-giving) trump concerns about religious inclusiveness and the fact that it's become another cause celebre for the politically correct.
But there are just a couple of problems with David's bright idea. First, it signals a total capitulation to consumerism, which is fine if you happen to own shares in Wal-Mart, but not so great if you're on a low income and find the whole gift-exchange thing stressful. The other problem is with the word "Christmas" itself, which is religiously loaded in a way that probably only non-Christians fully appreciate.
Still, I hope Santa Claus is good to Mr Bright this Christmas; his article was a gift to all of us.
Phil Hoffmann
DeVry Institute of Technology
Calgary
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