National Day of Prayer & Christmas

Okay, so whether we all agree with the following statement or not, it's been deemed so by U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb :  The law that mandates a proclamation by the President of a National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional.  (See link to story here)

This is not to say that the President can't make a proclamation of his own volition, or that praying is now outlawed, or any of the other nonsense that religious Americans are claiming will be the result if Judge Crabb's ruling is upheld in higher courts.  Religious folks have a lot of latitude in the U.S. and do not face "persecution", as they claim, just because secular government remains secular.

Speaking of secular government (or, at least, non-sectarian government), what the fuck is up with Christmas being a national holiday? 

All of our other national holidays are secular/nationalistic in nature: Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Presidents' Day, Independence Day, etc.  Thanksgiving, I suppose, could be considered a religious holiday--a day set aside for giving thanks to God--but it's non-sectarian.  It doesn't celebrate the birth of one particular religion's savior.  People of all religions can give thanks to their own particular god(s) and people who are non-religious can give thanks to the people in their lives. 

If Christmas were to no longer be a national holiday--because, let's face it, it seems pretty damn unconstitutional in light of the recent ruling on the National Day of Prayer--it would not mean that it would be illegal to celebrate Christmas.  It wouldn't mean that there couldn't be private businesses closed on Christmas.  It wouldn't mean anything except that our secular government's agencies would be open that day.  Because it's illegal to favor one religion over another--there can be no "establishment of religion".  Which, if you think about it, is basically what's happening when the government shuts down entirely for the express purpose of observing a Christian holiday.

You say it would suck if Christmas were not a national holiday and your place of employment didn't automatically close, do you?  You say that would be lame if you had to work on Christmas?  Well, I'm sure that Jews think it's lame to work on Yom Kippur.  I'm sure that Muslims would like the month of Ramadan off.  Pagans would want the equinoxes and solstices off.  I mean, this is America.  Everybody is equal.  We either all get our holy days off, or nobody gets their holy days off.  If Christmas should be allowed to be a national holiday, we should recognize every religious holiday held by any American so as to not appear to be endorsing one religion over another and to not hinder the free exercise of any religion.

Come to think of it, our weekends (days when governmental agencies of all levels are not open) are based on certain religions as well...Saturday and Sunday just happen to be the weekly days of worship for Christians and Jews.  But what if my holy weekday is Thursday because I worship Thor?  (I do not actually worship Thor.)  Shouldn't I get that day off, too?  Or how about those whose god is the moon?  Shouldn't they get Monday off? 

I really think the Freedom From Religion Foundation should take up the cause of abolishing December 25th as being a national holiday.  Or each religion should lobby congress to pass a bill respecting their particular religious holiday of choice.  Either way, equality for all.  It's an American value.