As a Christian, I was refreshed and encouraged to see the renewed public and media references to Christmas (vs. the holiday season), the Christmas tree (vs. holiday tree), Jesus Christ and God during the 2011 Christmas and holiday season.

Although there is civic unity and inclusion in the Christmas holiday season — a time of family and gift-giving — Christmas is also a time of religious celebration for Christians.

God is alive and well in America. The Bible says that the more we honor and worship Him, through our private and public acknowledgment, the more God will bless us and our country.

Dianne Gutscher’s Dec. 29 local commentary, “Light in a season of darkness,” proposed that the Christmas season become a “festival of lights: evergreens and green, growing things to inject color into a white (sometimes) world.”

The reasoning used seemed to be that “Christmas features lights and candles (as do other religions of the world)” related to the holidays and the seasons. Therefore, the Christmas holiday could be changed to symbolize “the holidays or the holiday season, Winter Solstice or the Solstice.” In the process, it is surmised that no one might be offended by the religious implications of Christmas.

This is a very mistaken understanding of Christmas, as well as the other religious celebrations occurring around the Christmas holiday season. It would basically lump Christmas (Christian), with other religious celebrations such as Hanukkah (Jewish), Kwanzaa (African), Eidul Fitr (Muslim), Bohdi Day (Buddhist) and others, into a “civic festival of lights.”

I say, “Not a chance!”

For Christians, the Christmas holiday is a time of celebrating God and his love for us demonstrated with the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ; our Savior. Consciously dismissing God in America during this time of Christian celebration, or anytime throughout the year, is disgraceful and disrespectful to our God and carries biblical consequences.

I would think that the other religions of the world would take a similar position in protecting and honoring their own religious beliefs and times of worship and celebration.

Many of us have witnessed the ongoing efforts to apply disputed “political correctness” and limiting our constitutional rights through a misrepresented interpretation of “separation of church and state” in all aspects of our society — even to the point of attempting to remove God from our government and public arenas.

With subjective intentions, the focus was toward controlling religion and not offending anyone or leaving someone out. Conversely, along with offending Christians, this resulted in the diminishing of the religious rights and freedoms for Christians, even our rights to reference God or Jesus Christ in the public and government sectors.

However, through prayer and court battles won in the U.S. Supreme Court, the pendulum is swinging back toward affirming our Godgiven rights reinforced in our U.S. Constitution.

Due to the public outcry and prayers of many Christians (greater than 70 percent of Maine and U.S. population) offended by the changing of the “Christmas season” and “Christmas tree” to “Holiday season” and “Holiday tree” in the corporate and political landscapes and the media, things are changing. For Christians, as defined in Webster’s dictionary, we are maintaining Jesus Christ in the Christmas holiday and displaying a Christmas tree during the Christmas season for all to enjoy.

However, everyone is free to celebrate and enjoy the Christmas holiday in their own way, or choose not to participate in the holiday festivities at all.

As stated in Leon Neyfakh’s Dec. 23 commentary, “The People’s Tree,” “Instead of regarding the public Christmas tree as an essentially religious — and thus exclusionary — symbol, we can also remember that it was originally conceived as a catalyst of civic unity, an inclusive gesture that in its time had less to do with expressing a faith than in fostering an idealized vision of American society.”

Additionally, many different religious festivities are similarly celebrated with a time of civic involvement and unity. In America, we acknowledge everyone’s constitutional rights to celebrate their freedoms of religion and religious expression in both the public and private sectors.

The Christmas holiday and the Christmas tree are part of America, as are the times and symbols of other religious celebrations. God bless you and God bless America during the Christmas holiday season and throughout the year.

JAMES SANOSKY live in Brunswick.