Pass it on. �Merry Christmas.� Don�t say it too loud because you might upset someone within earshot. And don�t say it in school. Or the city hall. Or, if the American Civil Liberties Union has anything to say about it, anywhere. And, while you�re at it, pal, get rid of those you-know-what trees and decorations. And that cr�che with the Baby Jesus.

Pardon me, but I am really angry with those folks who want to exorcize Christmas from the way we have been celebrating this�yes�Christian holiday for a very long time. Christmas is so much fun, they even put up decorations in Tokyo and, the last time I checked, those folks are Shinto Buddhists!

Not content with banning Christmas, the same ACLU types also, of course, want to rid the courthouse plaza of the Hanukah menorahs, symbols of a victory over paganism by Jews who restored a synagogue long ago.

Last year, in the same schools where I grew up, the superintendent of schools banned the playing or singing of any Christmas carols. The outcry was national in scope when the word got out and one wonders if he will go this route again.

A group called the Alliance Defense Fund (www.saychristmas.org) has been doing battle with the ACLU and, last year, in conjunction with the New Jersey Family Policy Council, informed the local superintendent that his decision was legally unfounded. Last year the ADF contacted more than 6,700 school districts nationwide to deliver the same message.

What makes this war on Christmas even more interesting is the fact that it is a national holiday!

The good news is that the ACLU has backed down and has lost some of its legal cases to eliminate �Christmas� from our vocabulary. In August of this year, the Bossier Parish School District in Louisiana shut down an ACLU attack and in July a panel of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit unanimously ruled that a woman who brought a suit against Christmas displays in Cranston, Rhode Island, had no standing to bring her claim. There are a score of other victories that the ADF has had throughout the nation.

Some folks just don�t seem to �get it� when it comes to celebrating Christmas, a holiday that evokes the theme of �Peace on earth, good will to all men.� There could hardly be a more ecumenical expression of the universal desire of all people of good will. However, it seems to offend some folks who are hell-bent on making sure that no one is offended by a holiday celebrating the birth of the central figure of Christianity, a religion shared by well over a billion people.

We know what�s going on here. It�s not about Christmas. It�s about the public celebration of any religion. That�s the bottom line for the ACLU which is always wailing about �separation of church and state.� 

The clich� is true. In America, you are guaranteed freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. If that were the case, every church, synagogue and mosque would have to be hidden from view. How you choose to express your spiritual beliefs is your business and, yes, you are free to put up Christmas decorations if you want and so is your school district, your town fathers can decorate the square, local businesses can display wreaths, and if someone doesn�t like it, too bad.

No school child of any faith will be harmed because a few Christmas carols are sung. No city, suburb or little town is going to experience riots as the result of some festive Christmas decorations.  And everyone benefits from being reminded that �Peace on earth, good will toward men� is a very good idea.

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Alan Caruba writes a weekly column, �Warning Signs�, posted on the Internet site of The National Anxiety Center, www.anxietycenter.com.

� Alan Caruba, November 2005