Arnold gets it

I don't know how you feel about this time of the year, but let me mention a few things that frequently come to my mind in December. Then I'll explain why I'm posting this picture of Arnold.

I remember reading a book when I was in elementary school that made mention of the fact that there could come a day when the world would celebrate a "Christ-less Christmas" where very little mention of Jesus would be made during that time of year. I remember thinking that was impossible, especially since the word "Christ" is present in the word "Christmas." I wonderdered how anyone could suspend logic long enough to miss that fact.

Fast forward a couple decades and here we are....essentially celebrating a Christ-less Christmas. We have come to the point where it seems odd to say the word Christmas or to put it in print. Every mention of this time of year refers to it as the "holiday season." We all say "happy holidays" and send "holiday cards." Major department stores release their "holiday catalogues." Unbelievable.

The worst is the new term "holiday tree." Give me a break. You mean to tell me that we're going to start decorating our "holiday trees" with our "holiday ornaments" as we celebrate the new reason for the season, ..... ambiguity?

Well, in California, just last evening, we saw a bright spot in this year's "holiday season." The previous governor of California, Grey Davis, re-named the tree in front of the Capitol the "holiday tree," but California's new Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, changed it back to "Christmas tree." Thank God! We have been spared the torment of meaningless adjectives for one more year.

So in the spirit of remembering what we celebrate this month, Merry Christmas!