Editing Christmas (section)

== Controversies ==
{{Main|Christmas controversies}}
{{further|Persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union|Kirchenkampf|Antireligious campaigns of the Chinese Communist Party}}
[[File:Bezbozhnik u stanka - Run along, Lord, 1931, n. 22.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|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 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}}</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=Should Christians Celebrate Christmas?|publisher=Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland|access-date=February 3, 2025|url=https://www.fpchurch.org.uk/about-us/how-we-worship/no-christian-festivals/should-christians-celebrate-christmas/}}</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}}</ref> Celebrating Christmas is banned in the [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], as the Governing Body believes that Christmas is originally pagan and again that it is without basis in Scripture.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 29, 2009 |title=Witnesses: Jehovah's Witnesses at a glance |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/witnesses/ataglance/glance.shtml |access-date=December 3, 2024 |publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref> Christmas celebrations have also been prohibited by [[State atheism|atheist states]] such as the [[Soviet Union]]<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-07-mn-5892-story.html|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 |work=American Center for Law and Justice |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 of the Chinese Communist Party|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}}</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 |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|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>