HOW DARE THEY!
Celebrating "our Savior Jesus Christ" on ... CHRISTmas?
The messages sharply diverged from the more secular, Santa Claus-and-reindeer style of Christmas messages that have been the norm for government agencies for years. The posts provided the latest example of the administration's efforts to promote the cultural views and language of Trump's evangelical Christian base.
Instead of celebrating a jolly old man who is the sanitized version of the Norse god Odin (with a dash of Nicholas of Myra thrown in), U.S. officials are celebrating the actual reason for the holiday? 😱
'Those social media posts are "one more example of the Christian Nationalist rhetoric the Trump administration has disseminated since Day One in office," Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said in a statement. "Our Constitution's promise of church-state separation has allowed religious diversity — including different denominations of Christianity — to flourish in America.
There is no promise of separation of church and state in the Constitution!
Thomas Jefferson's 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists reassured them that there would be no formal "Church of America" denomination. The First Amendment says Congress "shall make no law respecting an ESTABLISHMENT of religion."
This does not mean secularism must be the law and our officials can't say Merry CHRISTmas on CHRISTmas.
It means the federal government can't form an official church establishment. The U.S. colonies at that time were largely founded around different denominations and didn't want the same federal persecution they'd had for centuries in England, Rachel!
No one until five minutes ago thought you can't celebrate Jesus CHRIST on CHRISTmas, which is why it's a federal holiday.
For decades, it was common for government officials on both sides of the aisle to share celebratory yet secular messages about Christmas with images that did not carry overt religious meanings, like snowflakes and Christmas trees.
(You keep saying the word CHRISTmas, WaPo!)
This is what WaPo (and Rachel) seem to be mad about:
WaPo (and Rachel):
The replies were the best.
I'll leave you with a link to former President Obama's final Christmas message in office, where he and Michelle told the nation they would "celebrate the birth of our Savior."
WaPo might want to investigate him for being a Christian Nationalist!!!
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
![Thumbnail for People are calling [checks notes] Snoop Dogg's Christmas performance one of the [checks notes again] best halftime shows ever](https://media.notthebee.com/articles/694ec501be24f694ec501be250.jpg)
