Here is a gem from the past:

"And it has become pretty general. Last Christmas most people had a hard time finding Christmas cards that indicated in any way that Christmas commemorated Someone's Birth."

Where and when did this appear? Take a guess. Bill O'Reilly? Wrong. Again. World Net Daily? Nope...
Here is some more of the text:

"Easter they will have the same difficulty in finding Easter cards that contain any suggestion that Easter commemorates a certain event. There will be rabbits and eggs and spring flowers, but a hint of the Resurrection will be hard to find."

Still not clear?

"Now, all this begins with the designers of the cards. And even in this business one comes upon that same policy of declaring Anti-Semitic everything that is Christian. If Rabbi Coffey says the New Testament is the most Anti-Semitic book ever written, what must be the judgement on an Easter card that is truly an Easter card?"

Getting an inkling? How about this text?

"There has not been any 'persecution' of the Jews in the United States and never will be any, but all that the Jews have had to carry in the way of misunderstanding has been the result of the leadership which has misled them into paths of bloated ambition, instead of substantial human achievement."

Year? 1921. Source? One of the nastiest antisemitic tracts ever published in English: The International Jew: The World's Foremost Problem, Chapter 36.

Originally published as an article, "'Jewish Rights' to Put Studies Out of Schools," THE DEARBORN INDEPENDENT, issue of 19 March 1921.  Collected in: Henry Ford and the staff of the Dearborn Independent, The International Jew: The World's Foremost Problem. 1920-1922, Vols. 1-4. Chapter 36: "Jewish Rights" to Put Studies Out of Schools.

And as shocking as it always seems to be, the politicization of Christmas is nothing new or even unique to the United States. The Smithsonian magazine for example, has a remarkable article about the lengths to which the Nazi Party in Germany went to redefine Christmas into a festival of German White Nationalism.

While demagogic and divisive traditions left over from the worst of the 20th century live on, there are other Christmas traditions in which we can take heart.

One such bright and lasting quarter century broadcasting tradition that honors and celebrates Christmas in a remarkable and joyous fashion. My local public radio station, WFCR - FM (Five College Radio, operated by the University of Massachusetts, and Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Hampshire, and Amherst Colleges) joins in the annual airing of the Christmas eve BBC broadcast of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College, Cambridge.

Former WFCR classical music host John Montanari wrote

No two hours in New England Public Radio's entire yearly schedule are as eagerly anticipated as are 10:00 to noon, Eastern Standard Time, on the 24th of December. That's when one of the oldest continuing traditions in broadcasting, dating back to 1928, is renewed for new and old audiences alike. We could or would no more not broadcast A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols than we could or would forestall the lengthening of days following the winter solstice.

Like all beloved traditions, "Lessons and Carols" remains comfortingly consistent, while also constantly refreshing itself with new elements.

It is aired nationally on hundreds of public radio stations by American Public Media.

If you love Christmas music it is a wonderful Christmas tradition that will undoubtedly be resolutely ignored by the crew at Fox. I wish them all a Merry Christmas anyway -- and a Happy Holiday season too.