I hate Christmas.

There, I said it.

What was once a religious holiday celebrating the central prophet from one of the three major religions in America, has now become a vehicle to make as much money as possible.

Well... duh... I remember realizing this when I was 12 years old. A 12-year-old going to Catholic School no less. And now my good friends at the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights are taking on retailers like Wal-Mart who have decided to tune down the religious aspects of the holiday in store decorations and promotional material.

To all the Christians celebrating the day your prophet was born: Wal-Mart doesn't give a flip-rippin' shit about your prophet. I promise you with all my heart, with all that I believe to be universally true: they don't. That institution exists solely as a means to make as much money as possible. It will only regard that which can make it profit. It will seduce you into thinking that it does care, perhaps giving you deeply discounted Plastic Baby Jesus to set right next to your Frosty the Snowman statue in your front yard, but it just wants your Debit Card.

Many Christians believe the secularization of Christmas must be stopped. I couldn't agree more. How dare the Economic Establishment corrupt one of the most important events of your calendar? But it is ultimately impossible to conflate the birth of Jesus Christ with the purchase of an XBOX 360. And dear God how we try. We say things like, I just love giving, It's in the spirit of the season, and It's about family, etc, etc, etc. Since when do we need a religious holiday to excuse our generosity to others? That's a well-crafted guilt-trip.

You want stop the secularization of Christmas? Quit buying shit. Don't wrap a thing. Avoid the Mall. Do it with silence. Do it peacefully. Do it with love.

Oh and by the way: Polar Bears are dying. What will Coke do when they are all gone?