Happy Holidays?

I just got wind of this "War against Christmas" that is apparently going on in the right wing. Well, apparently, the right wing wants to blame Jon Stewart or something for preventing people from saying, "happy holidays." My mother in law is all riled up about it. I keep wondering what it is about "happy holidays" that EXCLUDES Christmas. Isn't Christmas a holiday? And by the way, don't we have anything more useful to discuss than this? I suppose the country was in danger of becoming not-divided, so they had to come up with something absurd to separate people. So anyway, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

When will we actually get to separate Christmas the religious holiday from Christmas the Santa Claus holiday? Really, they aren't related. They just "conveniently" happen at the same time thanks to the early Christian church. If we could just re-separate them, it would be all good. Maybe I'll tell everyone that we're only celebrating the pagan version this year. That should go over well.

One more thing, and I know it's old news, but Jewish people singing Christmas songs baffles me. I guess Barry Manilow's version of Winter Wonderland doesn't count as a Christmas song, but just as a holiday song (no religious affiliation). But Barbra Streisand singing Silent Night? Yentl herself?? I don't get it. I guess I spent much of high school choir singing old slave spirituals, so maybe it's just about the music (and the money).