Christmas

== Controversies ==
{{Main|Christmas controversies}}
{{further|Persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union|Kirchenkampf|Antireligious campaigns in China}}
[[File:Bezbozhnik u stanka - Run along, Lord, 1931, n. 22.jpg|thumb|upright|A 1931 edition of the Soviet magazine {{transliteration|ru|[[Bezbozhnik (magazine)|Bezbozhnik]]}}, published by the [[League of Militant Atheists]], depicting an Orthodox Christian priest being forbidden to take home a tree for the celebration of [[Christmastide]], which was banned under the Marxist–Leninist doctrine of [[state atheism]].<ref name="Harper1999">{{cite book |last1=Harper |first1=Timothy |title=Moscow Madness: Crime, Corruption, and One Man's Pursuit of Profit in the New Russia |url=https://archive.org/details/moscowmadness00timo |url-access=registration |date=1999 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=978-0-07-026700-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/moscowmadness00timo/page/72 72] }}</ref>]]

Christmas has at times been the subject of controversy and attacks from various sources, both Christian and non-Christian. Historically, it was prohibited by [[Puritans]] during their ascendency in the [[Commonwealth of England]] (1647–1660), and in [[Colonial New England]] where the Puritans outlawed the celebration of Christmas in 1659 on the grounds that Christmas was not mentioned in Scripture and therefore violated the [[Reformed theology|Reformed]] [[regulative principle of worship]].<ref name="puritans-uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.timetravel-britain.com/articles/christmas/ban.shtml|title=Marta Patiño, The Puritan Ban on Christmas|publisher=Timetravel-britain.com|access-date=February 24, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301212323/http://www.timetravel-britain.com/articles/christmas/ban.shtml|archive-date=March 1, 2011}}</ref><ref name="puritans-usa">[http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1868506_1868508_1868518,00.html Christmas in the Colonies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111225064533/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1868506_1868508_1868518,00.html |date=December 25, 2011 }} ''Time''. Retrieved December 25, 2011.</ref> The [[Parliament of Scotland]], which was dominated by [[Presbyterian]]s, passed a series of acts outlawing the observance of Christmas between 1637 and 1690; Christmas Day did not become [[Christmas in Scotland|a public holiday in Scotland]] until 1871.<ref name="scotland-1871" /><ref name="Daniels89">Daniels, Bruce Colin (1995). Puritans at Play: Leisure and Recreation in Colonial New England. Macmillan, p. 89, {{ISBN|978-0-312-16124-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Roark|first1=James|last2=Johnson|first2=Michael|last3=Cohen|first3=Patricia|last4=Stage|first4=Sarah|last5=Lawson|first5=Alan|last6=Hartmann|first6=Susan|title=Understanding the American Promise: A History, Volume I: To 1877|year=2011|publisher=Bedford/St. Martin's|page=91|quote=Puritans mandated other purifications of what they considered corrupt English practices. They refused to celebrate Christmas or Easter because the Bible did not mention either one.}}</ref> Today, some conservative Reformed denominations such as the [[Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland]] and the [[Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America]] likewise reject the celebration of Christmas based on the regulative principle and what they see as its non-Scriptural origin.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Regulative Principle of Worship|publisher=Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland|access-date=April 12, 2022|url=https://www.fpchurch.org.uk/about-us/how-we-worship/the-regulative-principle-of-worship|quote=Those who adhere to the Regulative Principle by singing exclusively the psalms, refusing to use musical instruments, and rejecting "Christmas", "Easter" and the rest, are often accused of causing disunity among the people of God. The truth is the opposite. The right way to move towards more unity is to move to exclusively Scriptural worship. Each departure from the worship instituted in Scripture creates a new division among the people of God. Returning to Scripture alone to guide worship is the only remedy.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Minutes of Session of 1905 |url=https://archive.org/details/minutesofreforme1905refo/page/130/mode/2up |access-date=December 25, 2023 |publisher=Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America|date=1905|page=130|quote=WHEREAS, There is a growing tendency in Protestant Churches, and to some extent in our own, to observe days and ceremonies, as Christmas and Easter, that are without divine authority; we urge our people to abstain from all such customs as are popish in their origin and injurious as lending sacredness to rites that come from paganism; that ministers keep before the minds of the people that only institutions that are Scriptural and of Divine appointment should be used in the worship of God.}}</ref> Christmas celebrations have also been prohibited by [[State atheism|atheist states]] such as the [[Soviet Union]]<ref>{{cite news|url= http://articles.latimes.com/1991-01-07/news/mn-5892_1_russian-christmas-traditions|title= A Russian Christmas—Better Late Than Never: Soviet Union: Orthodox Church Celebration Is the First Under Communists. But, as with Most of Yeltsin's Pronouncements, the Holiday Stirs a Controversy|last= Goldberg|first= Carey|date= January 7, 1991|work= [[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date= August 11, 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151222093318/http://articles.latimes.com/1991-01-07/news/mn-5892_1_russian-christmas-traditions|archive-date= December 22, 2015|url-status= live}}</ref> and more recently majority Muslim states such as Somalia, Tajikistan and Brunei.<ref name="christmas2015bans">{{cite news|last1=Woolf|first1=Nicky|title=Christmas celebrations banned in Somalia, Tajikistan and Brunei| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/23/christmas-banned-somalia-tajikistan-brunei|access-date=August 10, 2016|work=The Guardian|date=December 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826052214/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/23/christmas-banned-somalia-tajikistan-brunei|archive-date=August 26, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some Christians and organizations such as [[Pat Robertson]]'s [[American Center for Law & Justice|American Center for Law and Justice]] cite alleged attacks on Christmas (dubbing them a "war on Christmas").<ref name="ACLJ">{{cite web |url=http://aclj.org/christmas-laws |title=ACLJ, Christmas laws |publisher=Aclj.org |access-date=December 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225163554/http://aclj.org/christmas-laws |archive-date=December 25, 2013 }}</ref> Such groups claim that any specific mention of the term "Christmas" or its religious aspects is being increasingly [[censorship|censored]], avoided, or discouraged by a number of advertisers, retailers, government (prominently schools), and other public and private organizations. One controversy is the occurrence of Christmas trees being renamed Holiday trees.<ref name="MCC">{{cite web |last1=Aliweiwi |first1=Jehad |title=A Christmas Tree or a Holiday Tree? |url=http://www.muslimcanadiancongress.org/20051128.html |website=Muslim Canadian Congress |access-date=December 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051231172900/http://www.muslimcanadiancongress.org/20051128.html |archive-date=December 31, 2005 |date=November 28, 2005}} (previous title: "Christmas controversy article")</ref> In the U.S. there has been a tendency to replace the greeting ''Merry Christmas'' with ''Happy Holidays'', which is considered inclusive at the time of the Jewish celebration of [[Hanukkah]].<ref>Feder, Don, [http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/feder121300.asp "In the culture, Christmas morphs into holiday"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412151751/http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/feder121300.asp |date=April 12, 2010 }}, ''Jewish World Review'', December 13, 2000.</ref> In the U.S. and Canada, where the use of the term "Holidays" is most prevalent, opponents have denounced its usage and avoidance of using the term "Christmas" as being [[political correctness|politically correct]].<ref>{{cite news |title= The Brits Have It Right: Forget Happy Holidays, Just Wish People Merry Christmas |url= https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/22/better-to-say-merry-christmas-or-happy-holidays |work= [[The Guardian]] |location= London |date= August 11, 2016 |access-date= December 11, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161221105842/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/22/better-to-say-merry-christmas-or-happy-holidays |archive-date= December 21, 2016 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= Is Saying 'Merry Christmas' Politically Correct? Who Cares? |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauljankowski/2014/12/19/is-saying-merry-christmas-politically-correct-who-cares/ |work= [[Forbes]] |date= August 11, 2016 |first= Paul |last= Jankowski |access-date= August 22, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170807030050/https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauljankowski/2014/12/19/is-saying-merry-christmas-politically-correct-who-cares/ |archive-date= August 7, 2017 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= If We Can't Say 'Merry Christmas' in Canada, Multiculturalism Failed |url= http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/christopher-stuart-taylor/saying-merry-christmas_b_4490555.html |first1=Christopher Stuart |last1=Taylor |work= [[HuffPost]] |date= August 11, 2016 |access-date= August 11, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160929182951/http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/christopher-stuart-taylor/saying-merry-christmas_b_4490555.html |archive-date= September 29, 2016 |url-status= dead }}</ref> In 1984, the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] ruled in ''[[Lynch v. Donnelly]]'' that a Christmas display (which included a Nativity scene) owned and displayed by the city of [[Pawtucket, Rhode Island]], did not violate the First Amendment.<ref name="Lynch">{{cite web|website= Belcher Foundation|url=http://www.belcherfoundation.org/lynch_v_donnelly.htm|title=Lynch vs. Donnelly|year=1984|access-date=April 12, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060216143728/http://www.belcherfoundation.org/lynch_v_donnelly.htm|archive-date=February 16, 2006|url-status=live}}</ref> American Muslim scholar [[Abdul Malik Mujahid]] has said that Muslims must treat Christmas with respect, even if they disagree with it.<ref>Mujahid, Abdul Malik. "[https://www.soundvision.com/article/treating-christmas-with-respect Treating Christmas with respect]", ''[[Sound Vision]]''. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405171239/https://www.soundvision.com/article/treating-christmas-with-respect|date=April 5, 2017}}.</ref>

The government of the People's Republic of China officially espouses state atheism,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dillon |first1=Michael |title=Religious Minorities and China |url=https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/old-site-downloads/download-140-Religious-Minorities-and-China.pdf |access-date=December 25, 2023 |date=2001 |publisher=Minority Rights Group International}}</ref> and has conducted [[Antireligious campaigns in China|antireligious campaigns]] to this end.<ref name="BuangChew2014">{{cite book|last1=Buang|first1=Sa'eda|last2=Chew|first2=Phyllis Ghim-Lian|title=Muslim Education in the 21st Century: Asian Perspectives|date=May 9, 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-81500-6|page=75|quote=Subsequently, a new China was found on the basis of Communist ideology, i.e. atheism. Within the framework of this ideology, religion was treated as a 'contorted' world-view and people believed that religion would necessarily disappear at the end, along with the development of human society. A series of anti-religious campaigns was implemented by the Chinese Communist Party from the early 1950s to the late 1970s. As a result, in nearly 30 years between the beginning of the 1950s and the end of the 1970s, mosques (as well as churches and Chinese temples) were shut down and Imams involved in forced 're-education'.}}</ref> In December 2018, officials raided Christian churches prior to Christmastide and coerced them to close; Christmas trees and Santa Clauses were also forcibly removed.<ref name="BBC2018">{{cite web |title=Alarm over China's Church crackdown |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-46588650 |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=December 18, 2018 |quote=Among those arrested are a prominent pastor and his wife, of the [[Early Rain Covenant Church]] in [[Sichuan]]. Both have been charged with state subversion. And on Saturday morning, dozens of police raided a children's Bible class at Rongguili Church in Guangzhou. One Christian in Chengdu told the BBC: "I'm lucky they haven't found me yet." China is officially atheist, though says it allows religious freedom. |access-date=January 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105171647/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-46588650 |archive-date=January 5, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Santa Claus won't be coming to this town, as Chinese officials ban Christmas |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2178532/santa-claus-wont-be-coming-town-chinese-officials-ban-christmas |newspaper=South China Morning Post |date=December 18, 2018 |quote=Christmas is not a recognised holiday in mainland China – where the ruling party is officially atheist – and for many years authorities have taken a tough stance on anyone who celebrates it in public.{{nbsp}}[...] The statement by Langfang officials said that anyone caught selling Christmas trees, wreaths, stockings or Santa Claus figures in the city would be punished.{{nbsp}}[...] While the ban on the sale of Christmas goods might appear to be directed at retailers, it also comes amid a crackdown on Christians practising their religion across the country. On Saturday morning, more than 60 police officers and officials stormed a children's Bible class in Guangzhou, capital of southern China's Guangdong province. The incident came after authorities shut down the 1,500-member [[Beijing Zion Church|Zion Church in Beijing]] in September and [[Chengdu]]'s 500-member [[Early Rain Covenant Church]] last week. In the case of the latter, about 100 worshippers were snatched from their homes or from the streets in coordinated raids. |access-date=January 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190112085857/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2178532/santa-claus-wont-be-coming-town-chinese-officials-ban-christmas |archive-date=January 12, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>