By President & CEO Bill Abbott
This year, we saw quite a contrast in Christmas tree lighting celebrations, one on the east coast and one on the west coast.
In Washington, D.C., the National Christmas Tree was lit with prayer, Scripture, and a clear acknowledgment of why we celebrate the season of Christmas. The President spoke openly and directly about faith and the true meaning of the Christmas season. No apologies were made, and Christ’s birth was spoken and honored appropriately, as it has been for over 2,000 years. This was not political.
In Oregon, the message could not have been more different. The tree was lit and the crowd gathered, but Christmas itself was carefully and intentionally edited out. References to Christ were eliminated and the omission of faith was offensive. The “celebration” was stripped down to “seasonal cheer,” and language designed to offend no one, except the vast majority of Americans who honor faith, family, and country. It is another example of inclusion ideology, where the notion of making others “uncomfortable” enforces conformity on the majority. What happened in Oregon was a reminder that we must not let our guard down.
From personal experience, I can tell you there remains an intentional war on Christmas. In some places, Christmas is slowly but deliberately edited out, and not because audiences asked for it, but because wokism dictates it. The current political climate does not afford those who would like Christmas to be erased to be vocal about it, but there remains an agenda to quietly rewrite the narrative. Competitors increasingly remove Christmas from movie titles and replace it with vague “holiday” language, while throwing the occasional bone to the “faith-based” audience.
At Great American Media, we intentionally put Christmas in our titles because words and names matter. Our stories are not engineered to make you think differently. We are clear in celebrating faith, family, redemption, and the hope that is at the heart of the season, openly and confidently. This divide clearly and we stand with the vast majority of families who simply want Christmas to feel like Christmas. We will always be committed to creating stories and platforms that honor faith, celebrate family, traditions and reflect the true meaning of the season without compromise.