Merry Christmas

Christmas is back at Wal-Mart - not that it really ever left. After testing out a generic, yet all-inclusive, "happy holidays" theme last year, the nation's largest retailer announced this month that Christmas will dominate its seasonal marketing in the U.S. "We've learned our lesson," said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Marisa Bluestone. "This year, we're not afraid to say, `Merry Christmas.'" Neither are Walgreens, Target, Macy's, Kmart and Kohl's, among others. In interviews this week, spokesmen from those major retailers said that their stores acknowledge the Christmas holiday, hoping to avoid a repeat of last year's backlash led by conservative Christian groups.

Happy Boxing Day ! If you haven't tipped your coachman, be sure to pull a few shillings from behind your ascot, then send him off to spend the day with his brood. With most people still out of the office, online trends are leaning toward what movie to see while spending an extra day with relatives. Also of interest today are a bidding war in the English Premiere League for Spanish player David Villa and gossip about what celebrities did over Christmas. || ONLINE TRENDS || Boxing Day ( Kwanzaa , Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Christmas)

We've had the annual Christmas parade and tree lighting in Bel Air and the similar Christmas Street and parade celebrations in Aberdeen and Havre de Grace, which drew their usual hardy crowds seeking early December doses of holiday cheer. Festivals of trees, holiday bazaars, athletic events with Christmas themes, greens sales and open houses have been so numerous in Harford County that it would be all but impossible for a single person to attend them all. Perryville and Port Deposit similarly have seen their traditional crowds for a slew of holiday events.

Charm City celebrities, no matter where they were, woke early to send seasons Tweetings. Here are just a few: Raven Terrence Cody ‏@TerrenceCody Merry Christmas twitter and twitter fam TV reporter Jessica Kartalija ‏@JessKartalija Can't wait for everyone to get up and see what Santa brought!! Merry Christmas! #whitechristmas Olympian Michael Phelps ‏@MichaelPhelps Merry Xmas tweep!!! And happy holidays!! Another Phelps ‏@MichaelPhelps Something's never change....

I want to wish the American Christian community a very heartfelt "Merry Christmas" and thank you for your generosity, courage and self-sacrifice to try to make the world a better place. In these difficult times you seem to hear more criticism and not enough thanks from those you have saved from tyranny and hunger over the decades. As an American Jew, I have always been extremely thankful to my fellow American Christians for courageously helping to protect the life and liberty of my people.

Dear Pelosi/Reid Congress — In the words of the monotonously repetitive holiday song, I want to wish you a merry Christmas. What a distinguished record you have amassed: •The stimulus, which added, oh, about $1 trillion to the deficit and did not, as heralded, either end the recession or drive down unemployment. •Obamacare, which, if it ever takes full effect, will impersonalize and socialize medicine along the lines of the European model and create government medicine with the regulatory hammer of the Internal Revenue Service and all the efficiencies of the Postal Service.

All the presents have been opened; wrapping paper is strewn all over the house. The dog is wearing a large shiny bow, courtesy of the kids; while the cat has one end of a piece of curling ribbon hanging out of her mouth and the other end hanging out her … elsewhere. The joyful voices of happy children emanate from the next room. They're arguing over whose turn it is to play the new video game or hollering, "Quit it! Give me back my new (fill in the blank) or I'm gonna tell!" Good times.

The so-called war on Christmas is raging once again. Call it a quagmire with no exit strategy. As they were last year, the opening salvos this year were launched by cable news partisans, while most of the skirmishes have taken place in the trenches of the blogosphere. The pro-"Christmas" coalition scored an early win last month when cable pundits seized upon the news that Wal-Mart now favored the term "Merry Christmas" over "Happy Holidays" among its employees. "We, quite frankly, have learned a lesson from last year" and all of the threats of protest and bad publicity that arose from shunning "Merry Christmas" in the stores, Wal-Mart spokeswoman Linda Blakley told USA Today.

ARLINGTON, Va. - The desire not to offend has stripped "the reason for the season" of all meaning. Advertisers and store employees have substituted the joyful and heartfelt wishes of "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Hanukkah" with the diluted and mushy greeting "Happy Holidays." The stripping away of America's heritage continues as certain legal and cultural relativists pursue their goal of transforming us into moral and spiritual "Stepford wives" when we will see all ideas as mattering, or not mattering, and it not mattering whether that matters.

We've had the annual Christmas parade and tree lighting in Bel Air and the similar Christmas Street and parade celebrations in Aberdeen and Havre de Grace, which drew their usual hardy crowds seeking early December doses of holiday cheer. Festivals of trees, holiday bazaars, athletic events with Christmas themes, greens sales and open houses have been so numerous in Harford County that it would be all but impossible for a single person to attend them all. Perryville and Port Deposit similarly have seen their traditional crowds for a slew of holiday events.

Congratulations to all who have survived Christmas despite the hazards of excessive eating and drinking, or prolonged exposure to family members. Today, December 26, is the second of the twelve days of Christmas. It is also, in British tradition, Boxing Day. The origins of the term are in dispute. It was probably not a day to return purchased presents. It may have been the day on which the wealthy gave their servants a Christ box of gifts and the day off. One explanation is that gifts from the charity box in church were distributed.

All the presents have been opened; wrapping paper is strewn all over the house. The dog is wearing a large shiny bow, courtesy of the kids; while the cat has one end of a piece of curling ribbon hanging out of her mouth and the other end hanging out her … elsewhere. The joyful voices of happy children emanate from the next room. They're arguing over whose turn it is to play the new video game or hollering, "Quit it! Give me back my new (fill in the blank) or I'm gonna tell!" Good times.

It is that time of year when all levels of government attempt to convince us that there is no Christmas holiday. That this is simply a winter thing. What a joke. Like the appearance of or the mention of a religious symbol somewhere in, on or near a public building will some how create a religion. If these people want to be taken seriously they would not close schools, government offices, etc. during this winter thing. Fortunately, most citizens see this for what it is, stupid. And, to all, including those in charge, a very Merry Christmas.

All I want for Christmas is a black-and-white "Glee" holiday special .. .and a purple Christmas tree.  This year, Gleeks were treated to a show within a show. The glee kids, because of some cancellation of a yuletide log special on a local channel, are asked to delight the citizens of Lima with some Christmas carols. Mercedes kicks off the episode with "All I Want for Christmas is You," which, I'll admit, is my favorite Christmas song. Sorry, Nat King Cole, no offense to your chestnuts or anything, but I can't help but smile and rock around the Christmas tree to Mariah Carey.

Boy, what a pleasant surprise when I picked my Baltimore Sun on Sunday morning and read Ross Mackenzie's op-ed, "To congressional Democrats: Merry Christmas and thanks for nothing" (Dec. 26). I agree with virtually every word Mr. Mackenzie wrote in his letter to the Pelosi/Reid Congress. I would like to add my Maryland's Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Sen. Benjamin Cardin and Rep. Elijah Cummings to his list to let them know that I do not agree with or appreciate with their wrong spirited actions in a lame duck Congress.