This is the new normal in the Prozac Nation. Beefed-up police presence; lots of drugs to deal with holiday stress; watch-what-you-say; unbridled commercialism; guilt-tripping over the homeless bum population; and a lot of pretending that it's all about the holiday spirit.
Less effete cultures, however, still celebrate holidays like Christmas and actually enjoy it. This is even true in countries that are war-torn and not even predominantly Christian---like Syria. Santa Claus actually appeared in the ancient city of Homs---known in New Testament times as Edessa---along with RT News reporters to visit displaced children at a UNICEF shelter there. RT reported that "Santa ignited a festive mood in the crowded room as children were singing and dancing in an early celebration of what is set to become for Syria its sixth Christmas in wartime. The weather was also getting into the Christmas spirit, as snow began covering the roads."
We were unable to find any news stories of an American media outlet doing anything similar. However, many have banned the use of the word 'Christmas' as offensive.
Meanwhile, Fars News reported today that the Catholic community in the Al-Azizyeh District of Aleppo began setting up Christmas displays for the first time since 2012. This district was recently liberated by Allied forces from Al-Qaeda occupation. Like many US municipalities, Al-Qaeda had forbidden public Christmas displays.
The Fars News video shows Syrian Christians stringing holiday lights in the streets and re-opened businesses bringing out their Christmas ornaments.
And in Damascus this weekend, SANA reported that hundreds turned out for the annual Christmas Tree lighting at the Dama Rose Hotel. The ceremony was attended by Christian priests; featured a youth choir singing hymns and carols among other activities. In Damascus---and in the Syrian Arab News Agency---it is still acceptable to refer to this as a 'Christmas Tree'.
It's no wonder then, that the US Government-Media Establishment is calling for censorship and legislation to counter foreign propaganda. In a country where schools are banning Christmas and trying to establish progressive policies--- like disseminating homosexual propaganda in Kindergarten and organizing extracurricular Satanist clubs---it is outrageous to allow Russian, Iranian, and Syrian stories of delivering presents to orphans or worshippers thanking God that they weren't ethnically cleansed. And besides, portrayals of Russians and Arabs as human beings doesn't fit the exceptionalist narrative that our media hopes to convey.
People might start wondering, for example, how Syrian children manage to survive in orphanages in the middle of a civil war without Ritalin and safe spaces. And they might start thinking that faith has something to do with it.
Remember When American Schools Looked Like this at Christmas?
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