But the contradictions in both their message and demeanor better reflect the philosophy of Scrooge than of the humility of Jesus. Other times it just reeks of ignorance but most often, the present a pageant of urban legends.

Take for example the bruhaha over a winter pageant at the Ridgeway Elementary School in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. On December 14, 2005 Matt Staver's Liberty Counsel issued a hysterical press release announcing, "School Dumps 'Cold in the Night' and Returns to 'Silent Night.'"   What got my attention was the second paragraph:

The school's "winter program" has included decorating classrooms with Santa Claus, Kwanza, Menorahs, and La Befana (a Christmas witch). During this program elementary students were going to sing "Cold in the Night." Sung to the tune of "Silent Night," the lyrics of "Cold in the Night" were entirely secular (boldness added).

Faster than the time it takes to kindle a Yule log, the Christmas warriors were blazing away -- claiming that liberals are hostile to Faith. Fearing that another godless secular plot was a foot, the late Jerry Falwell decried the changing of the lyrics to Silent Night's change of lyrics -- but conveniently failed to mention that the whole presentation was about Christmas and that the new lyrics were written by a Presbyterian minister). Bill O'Reilly, fresh from his crackpot claim of "a very secret plan" by the "secular progressive" movement to "diminish Christian philosophy in the U.S.A.", was still ranting on January 3, 2006 that the changes to Silent Night were due to "political correctness."

But it was the part about La Befana that truly piqued my interest.  Being steeped in Italian culture (I am of Italian ancestry and holding a minor in Italian language and literature, and my wife was born there ) I laughed out loud when I realized that Mighty Matt Staver was trying to esoterically pass off the icon of generations of Italian children as some sort of a New Age sorceress.  

You see, the La Befana of Italian legend is not witch at all, and far from secular in meaning. As the web site Italiansrus.com explains:

As legend has it the three Wise Men were in search of the Christ child when they decided to stop at a small house to ask for directions. Upon knocking, an old woman holding a broom opened the door slightly to see who was there. Standing at her doorstep were three colorfully dressed men who were in need of directions to find the Christ child. The old woman was unaware of who these three men were looking for and could not point them in the right direction. Prior to the three men leaving they kindly asked the old woman to join them on their journey. She declined because she had much housework to do. After they left she felt as though she had made a mistake and decided to go and catch up with the kind men. After many hours of searching she could not find them. Thinking of the opportunity she had missed the old woman stopped every child to give them a small treat in hopes that one was the Christ child. Each year on the eve of the Epiphany she sets out looking for the baby Jesus. She stops at each child's house to leave those who were good treats in their stockings and those who were bad a lump of coal.

Ooops! Someone didn't do some basic research before resorting to hysterics.

Here we are, two years later, and Bill O'Reilly is still at it, shamelessly spinning yarns of imaginary liberal plots on Christmas and Christianity. Recently Bill Berkowitz told us about   Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good took a stand and attempted to call him on his annual Yuletide culture clash, issuing an open letter calling for a ceasefire in this nonsensical war. When Alexia Kelley, the Executive Director of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good appeared on O'Reilly's cable television show, things got a it more bizarre. While Ms. Kelley attempted to question O'Reilly's divisiveness, he took full advantage of her civility and went on about how if he "had not done the campaign, then the forces of darkness would have won." He even went on to rudely call his guest "naïve." So much for the Yuletide spirit.

But what can really be said of these self-appointed defenders of the Christmas spirit? Theirs' is an arrogant Christianity, often devoid of gracious spirit. This is not faith built on the Golden Rule of Jesus but one of unmitigated self-interest. For them religious holidays such as Christmas are weapons to used in their culture war theater of the mind. They are the true perpetrators of political correctness gone wild, not those of us who say Happy Holidays to someone whose beliefs we are not sure of -- or just out of sheer seasonal exuberance.

Their goal is quite simple: if liberals can be successfully equated with being hostile to Christianity, then it is easier to vilify and destroy liberalism's many successes--Social Security, Medicare and environmental protection. Perhaps they might even succeed at eroding the basic notion of commutative social justice.

So, what have Bill O'Reilly and his ilk done? They have used the birth of Jesus as a tool in casting us all as either an enemy or a friend, based upon how we greet each other this time of the year; an accomplishment truly deserves a "Bah, Humbug!"