The Holidays Get Religion

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Dec. 2—Millennial jitters are making churches a real hot spot for New Year's Eve, according to the Journal's Lisa Miller.

“The millennium may be shaping up to be a bust for hotels and restaurants, but churches are bracing for an onslaught. Spurred by a complex blend of anxiety, excitement and weariness with millennial hype, many normally secular Americans are planning religious observances not just of Christmas — but of New Year's Eve as well. Indeed, even though the Jewish calendar doesn't recognize Jan. 1 as the start of the year, many Jews intend to make New Year's Eve a holy night, with prayers in synagogue followed by music and dancing.

“Already, houses of worship nationwide say they're noticing a surge in attendance. It has more than doubled, for example, daily communion service at the St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Manhattan, where most worshippers are upscale professionals. In response to high demand, Lake Pointe Baptist Church, an 8,000-member congregation near Dallas, has added a second Christmas Eve service. And the Grotto, a Catholic monastery and shrine in Portland, Ore., says it is getting between 50 and 100 e-mail inquiries every day, up from zero six months ago.”

“Secular” Christmas Is Constitutional

CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, Dec. 7—A court ruling upholding the constitutionality of the Christmas holiday for federal employees shows the way many Americans currently view the holiday.

U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott of Cincinnati has ruled that celebrating Christmas as a federal legal holiday does not violate the United States Constitution on the grounds that it no longer has a strictly religious character, the Cincinnati daily reported.

“Judge Dlott said the government is ‘merely acknowledging the secular cultural aspects of Christmas by declaring Christmas to be a legal public holiday. …. A government practice need not be exclusively secular to survive.’

“She said Christmas has become so secular that it does not violate the opening clause of the First Amendment, which states, ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion …. ’

“Giving federal employees the day off is ‘no more than recognizing the cultural significance of the holiday,’ she continued. That it accommodates Christians who want to celebrate Jesus' birth “does not mean the holiday has an impermissible religious effect,” Judge Dlott said.