Santa...Will he be a thing of our past ?

" Disillusioned by a growing list of rules imposed by recruiting agencies and shopping centres to guard against litigation, men who have brought smiles to the faces of thousands of young for decades are reluctantly deciding to call it quits. - They can't hand out candy, they can't pat children on the head because of religious beliefs, they can't put children on their laps unless they get permission from parents and they can't have photographs taken with youngsters unless their hands are in full view.
So frightened have some Santas become of being sued that they are demanding extra helpers to act as witnesses just in case a complaint is made. Santas are even being told not to go around saying 'Ho, ho, ho' because they may frighten children. One Santa said, he walked through a shopping centre in silence because he was worried he'd be fired, if he appeared too jolly. The plight of Santa's highlighted a worrying trend around the world of political correctness gone mad. It is important society find the right balance between political correctness and what some people saw as acceptable behaviour. The ones who did the job because they loved doing it and wanted to keep a child's dream alive are no longer working because of the stupid rules.There are still Santas in stores, but the heart has gone out of them. The rules are getting ridiculous. How can you stop a child running up to you and leaping into your arms? Do you just drop them and say: Sorry, against the rules ? Kids run and cuddle Santa because they love the guy in the red suit. The day will come when Santas would no longer be a part of the Christmas spirit..... Soon, Santa's in shopping centres and public areas would be shielded behind glass screens, away from children. Santa can't even be portrayed as a fat, jolly old fellow any more because it's not politically correct."

Christmas With-out... Christ ?

MSNBC.com:"Is there a war against Christmas? The ACLU and a lot of other people have been trying to take Christ out of Christmas for years. At this time of year, many people believe that that's a real concern. Newport News, Va., 8,000 people are expected to show up for the town's Christmas celebration, except they are NOT..Calling it that. They're calling it Hollydazzle.... And instead of lighting the 40-foot Christmas tree, they are calling it....Get this!! The tree of illumination.

The events are also going to include, of course, Frosty the Snowman, make-your-own-snow globes, and that traditional Christmas fair, Mr. And Mrs. Mouse.

Many Americans are fed up with public celebrations that are taking Christ out of Christmas, and they believe that their faith is under attack, but is it the proper thing to do? The country was founded on a document that specifically separates church from state, that's the United States Constitution. Where does it say that in the Constitution?...The First Amendment.

I would like, however, to be able to go to Mall, and not be told that I need to spend more money, because its Christmas, over the loud speaker all the time, or, indeed, go into Wal-Mart or Target or, what ever store and not have an incessant one-party state month of permanent Buy-Me More.. Music and guilt-propaganda. I think that's annoying and offensive. I promise only one thing. This to me is ugly, vulgar, boring and makes me hate this time of year more every time it comes around.

People are starting to speak-up, because they are tired of this onslaught against Christmas & Christ. They are tired of the trend of the ACLU and others that force, views that simply want to eliminate God and religion from the public eye. And I think it is symbolic of what's happened to take a Christmas tree and rename it to something other than a Christmas tree.

To me.. What does Christmas mean? It's suppose to be about - Remembering the birth of Jesus, the son of God. Instead of a cake to share, with candles. We put up a tree and use lighting & ect. To show our joy, for the birth of all man-kind, here on this earth..we live on. And the reason we give gifts, I believe because all humans are the children of God, and we re-joyce in our birth thru him (Jesus) on this day because of what he did for us...Born into this world in hopes to make it a better place to live for all. If we loose that from our memories, then we become nothing more, then animals in the chain of life here on earth. Is that what humans want to go back to? "