Brief History: The War on Christmas

Everett

A Charlie Brown Christmas has been a holiday staple since its 1965 debut

Attention, culture warriors: 'Tis the season to be vigilant. An atheist group has plastered Santa-themed antireligion ads on Los Angeles buses. Retailers insist on greeting shoppers with a neutral "Happy holidays," despite threats of boycotts. And the annual ABC broadcast of A Charlie Brown Christmas was pre-empted by President Obama's address on Afghanistan. The war on Christmas is back.

For decades, American conservatives have been warning of threats posed to the institution by a broad spectrum of foes. Henry Ford blamed Jews for the efforts to remove religious displays...

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