Christmas

Powerline has a few comments about Christmas and secularism etc, which caught my eye after receiving the comment below from a friend on the coast who frequently travels to China:

Here's a nice little squib for your blog re the Merry Christmas wars. I had a conversation yesterday w/ a (liberal) religious activist who just got back from China. On getting back he was struck how little public celebration there is of Christmas not there, but HERE. The commercial version of Christmas is all the rage in Beijing, lights are everywhere, everyone’s out buying each other gifts, and everyone is greeting each other with “Merry Christmas.” This is Communist China. In “Christian” America we say, Season’s Greetings… That’s not the whole story, of course. The Chinese government suppresses religious Christmas, but everyone knows its there, and they’re seeking it out. The government does not suppress or disapprove of “Merry Christmas.” Are the liberals more concerned to sweep religion from the public square than the Chicoms?