Politically Correct in Suburbia

My daughter's school (somewhere in Northern Virginia), had their version of the Christmas paegant on Wedenesday. The program was called "A Hot Cup of Cocoa" and reeked of compromise, spinelssness, and obvious political correctness.




Here is the program:

Advanced Orchestra

Chanukah Oh Chanukah
Fantasy on Greensleeves
Let is Snow

(orchestral pieces)




Advanced Band

Holiday Array (note: all secular Christmas songs)
O Come, Little Children (never heard of it)
Holiday Sleigh Ride

(Band arangements, with strong percussive sound effects, such as jingling bells, hoof clops, etc.)

Main program: "A Hot Cup of Cocoa"

Narrated bits:

Holiday Shoppers (like it sounds)
Ramadan (which took place two months ago)
Channukah (feast of light)
Nativity Paegant (the only time the word "Jesus" is uttered during the entire program) (Miss Anne was a good Mary)



Kwanzaa

Musical Numbers, with chorale (the big finish)

Holiday Rush (a song about shopping)



Lights of Hannukkah
Stille Nacht (Silent Night in German, the only Christmas Hymn in the program)
Kwanzaa Kwanzaa
Hot Cup of Cocoa
Frosty the Snowman (with skit)
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (with skit)

I know, kids are silly and they like Frosty, Rudolph and all that garbage. But they also like Joy to the World, Hark the Herald Angels sing, Away in the Manger and etc. I was appalled that we had to make the tent so broad just to show how hip, diverse and multicultural we are. It's no secret that we shoehorn hannakuh in to Christmas in the hopes of creating a PC tagalong holiday that's acceptable within the Jewish community. The TRUTH is, it's probably the least important Jewish holiday behind Rosh Hoshana and Passover, and likely wouldn't celebrated at all if it weren't for its proximity to Christmas. And Ramadan... Ramadan was over in October this year, wasn't it? How did that get to be a "winter" holiday all of a sudden?

I don't want to increase my faith at the cost of someone else's faith, and I don't claim to have all the answers in that department. I AM tolerant enough to live and let live... if someone wants to go on about their own holiday, that's their business. AS LONG AS I CAN CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS PUBLICALLY. Simple enough for everyone?


Follow up:
Steve called me on this statement (see comments), and he is quite right. I HAVE the right to celebrate Christmas. Nobody's holding a gun to my head and denying me the right to worship, or bugging my phones (I think). I just find the consolidation and homogenization of Hannukah, Ramadan, and Kwanzaa into Christmas to be artificial and a bit ridiculous. Christmas is what it is.. a major holiday for a major religion in America... one of many religions. I don't like the idea that somehow it's "fair" to make all holidays that occur somewhere near each other on the calendar to now be magically the equivelant of each other. Holidays mean "Holy Days" and they mean different things to different faiths. It's a disturbing trend to try to reinvent them.