VCU students say there is a war on Christmas, but it’s not what you expect

At an OMSA meeting 10 years ago, students said they believe there’s a “war on Christmas,” though they disagreed on what that meant.

Students gathered in the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs in the University Student Commons at noon Wednesday to discuss what they said is a commercial war on the Christmas holiday.

Ijuanzee Isom, an education support specialist for OMSA, facilitated the discussion, titled, “Is there a war on Christmas?” which is a part of the bimonthly OMSA Brown Bag Luncheon.

“Do you think there really is a war on Christmas?” Isom asked attendees.

“I think there is more a war on the commercialization of Christianity,” said Chelsea Gianniny, a freshman undeclared major.

During the discussion, students said the war on Christmas does exist, and the battles are mainly fought in the materialistic focus our culture has placed on the holidays, instead of focusing on the century-old traditions of the holiday rooted in the Christian celebration of the birth of Christ.

“It’s like a celebration of materialism,” said Jennifer Black, a first-year graduate student. “When Christmas comes around, you expect to be broke.”

One attendee said she saw evidence of the war on Christmas at her work at Wachovia. She said the bank decorates to the hilt with trees and wreaths, but she is not allowed to say “Merry Christmas” when interacting with clients. Instead, she must use the generic phrase, “Happy Holidays.”

“It’s almost like a corporate holiday now,” one female attendee said.

Many students said they celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday.

“Every year, my church has a church service on Christmas eve,” one female attendee said, adding that she always attends it with her family.

Black commented that many people celebrate Christmas but are not doing it for religious
reasons.

“Religion is becoming more commercialized,” one female attendee said.

Another attendee said Christmas had become less important as she has grown up. And one student said she does not celebrate Christmas at all.

“I feel that (Christmas) . is really misinterpreted,” Gianniny said. “It turns me off.”

Gianniny said it also bothers her every year that large quantities of trees are uprooted for the holiday, which is bad for the environment.

“I don’t like to kill things to celebrate,” Gianniny said.

From the CT archives