As the school year gets ready for Christmas break (yes, Christmas break and not holiday break or Winter solstice) children seem to sense with hopeful expectation the time off from school and the coming of the red-suited Mr. Claus. School music teachers have worked hard for weeks to put together a choral event for the parents and as a first grader at Pinelock Elementary, I remember attending in a red sweater vest knitted by my aunt. I can’t remember the songs but I am sure they were a mixture then of secular and religious Christmas carols. Parents set up elaborate video machines so they can remember little Johnny or Susie singing their heart out. Some children fidget around while others are so shy they mouth the words hoping to blend in with the others. It makes no difference to the parent; they just love watching their prodigy from the auditorium. I am sure over the decades since I sang in my red sweater vest the programs have shifted from mostly Christian to mostly secular with the motivation of “so we don’t offend anyone”. Those who change the focus of Christmas would never think of tinkering with other religious holidays, i.e. Ramadan, Chanukah, Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, but target the celebration for the birth of Christ for ridicule and derision.
