Christmas is a religious holiday for Christians.
Holidays are what everyone, including Christians, celebrate by eating cookies until they puke and shopping until the numbers are worn off their credit card.
Unfortunately, the commercial aspect of Christmas blurs the lines between the religious holiday and the secular holiday.
Christmas is about the birth of Jesus.
The Holiday is about getting lots of presents, spending lots of money and fattening retailers' bottom lines.
And yes, Virginia, the two can exist together without taking away from either.
What has driven many Christians to distraction around this time of year, is the insistence by atheists in having their point of view included as a counterpoint to any "Christmas" display set up in a public venue, particularly government buildings.
The atheist point of view is so nasty, negative and off-putting that it should not be indulged during a holiday devoted to love, joy, sharing and family.
Recently, a sign put up by atheists in the Washington State capital building said, "There is no God.
There is no Devil.
There are no angels.
There is no Heaven or Hell.
Religion hardens hearts and weakens minds.
" We all know atheists don't believe in God.
We all know they want to eliminate all references to God even to the point of eliminating churches and personal freedom to worship in the manner guaranteed by our Constitution.
They are entitled to their opinion, just like everyone else, but they do not have the right to put their view up at a Christmas display unless the display is truly religious in nature.
Rarely is a truly religious Christmas display put up in a public building.
Freegans should be the ones putting up the "opposing" view at most "Christmas" displays as these displays glorify over-the-top consumer consumption rather than Jesus.
Freegans espouse not buying anything.
Aren't they a more appropriate counterpoint to secular Christmas displays? Christians fleeing religious persecution in England founded the United States of America.
It was built on Judeo-Christian principles and our government was built on principles taken directly from the Bible.
"We the people" did not refer to atheists.
We the people were Christians.
And, that Christian tolerance has allowed atheists to express their opinions freely.
When our founding fathers drafted the Constitution, the idea of separation of church and state was to prevent the government from being a pawn of the church.
Back in 1607, when the first religious settlers came to Jamestown, the head of the Church of England was the King.
The King and the Church were one and the same.
All Englishman had to belong to the church and were ruled by the church doctrine.
The men and women who settled this country did not want the church and government so closely tied because the church didn't allow any dissension, and the government had the might to crush opposing opinions.
The early settlers didn't want any one person having that much power ever again.
Fast forward to today and you'll see this concept is being twisted to mean no one anywhere can display Christian heritage.
Christianity is part of the American culture just as Islam is part of the Arab culture.
Our government does not persecute people who practice other religions nor does it censor those who practice no religion at all.
We have separation of church and state.
We've done it very well for hundreds of years.
Now, back to the Christmas displays.
A Christmas tree is not a Christian symbol, neither is a Santa Claus, Mrs.
Claus, elves, reindeer, garland, lights, poinsettias, ornaments, wreaths, etc.
These are secular symbols that have absolutely no religious significance to any religion.
Search the Bible all you want and you will never see any of these secular symbols mentioned as being significant to the birth of Jesus.
Nor are they used in any religious rituals of the Christian faith.
Here's how can you tell a secular symbol from a religious symbol:

• "Merry Christmas" is what Christian individuals or businesses will say and display this time of year.
  
• "Happy Holidays" is what non-Christians, including atheists, say and display.
  
• Christian displays do not include Santa, Ms.
  Claus, snowmen, elves or any other people-like figures, other than Mary, Joseph and Jesus.
  
• The animals in the manger display can be secular or Christian depending on whether Jesus is present.
  If the baby Jesus is not present, it is not a religious display.
  
• A beautifully decorated Christmas tree is not a religious symbol, neither are the presents under it.
  
• Cheery lights, garland, wreaths, greenery, red bows, ornaments, candles, poinsettias, pine cones, fake snow, fake icicles and other winter appropriate decorations are for everyone, and are not religious in nature.
  
• Santa Claus and the "Christmas" tree are secular symbols and are not religious symbols, not even in Germany where they originated.
  Neither Santa nor the Christmas tree was present at Jesus' birth and neither is mentioned anywhere in the Bible as a Christian symbol.
  
• A religious display includes Jesus (baby or full-grown), the word(s) LORD, God, Yahweh, Jehovah or any other iterations of God's name, the cross, the virgin Mary with baby Jesus, the Jewish star or a Menorah (yes, these last two are used in Christian displays as Jesus was Jewish).
  

It's important to remember that most of the current Christmas traditions were either sanctioned by the Catholic Church to replace the pagan winter festival or by retailers to sell more stuff, not to celebrate Christ's birth.
Feel free to celebrate the winter season with abandon, but don't confuse the religious part of Christmas with the Holiday part.
And, take time to celebrate the birth of Jesus during the Christmas season too.
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!