Home Ken's Thoughts Of The Week Why America’s Holidays Matter – Ken’s Thought of the Week

Why America’s Holidays Matter – Ken’s Thought of the Week

December 14, 2020

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Threat Analyst Ken Abramowitz is author of “The Multifront War”

Editor: Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, President, American Center for Democracy (ACD)

See the sources for this article and more research in the Additional Reading section.

During 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic caused Americans to limit their exposure to large crowds, particularly indoors. Outdoor gatherings have been moderately restrictive in most states. Yet, some governors, mostly in Democrat-run states, have significantly curbed holiday gatherings and festivities, even those complying with the states’ own restrictions. Why do these governors want to deny their citizens the right to make informed decisions, and, in compliance with the local safety rules, to exercise their First Amendment right to practice their religion freely and to celebrate their holidays in churches, synagogues, or at home?

Before answering this question, let’s take a quick look at ten of the major secular and religious holidays that Americans celebrate:

1) Secular Holidays: Four federal holidays that have been designated since 1870: Independence Day (July 4th), celebrating America’s independence from Great Britain in 1776; Memorial Day (the last Monday in May), honoring the lives and death of fallen soldiers; Thanksgiving Day (the fourth Thursday in November), celebrating the Autumn harvest and giving thanks to the country and to G-d for our success in the past year; New Year’s Day (January 1st), celebrating the arrival of the new year of the Gregorian calendar.

2) Christian Holidays: Christmas (December 25), celebrate the birth of Jesus; Holy Week (a week before Easter, usually at the end of March/early April) honoring the death and sacrifice of Jesus; Easter (April) celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus, three days after his crucifixion.

3) Jewish Holidays: Passover (usually in April) celebrating the escape of the Jews from Egyptian slavery to freedom, 3300 years ago; Shavuot (seven weeks after Passover) commemorating the gift of the Torah from G-d on Mt Sinai, on the way from Egypt to the promised land, Israel. The High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (usually in September or October), celebrating the beginning of the Jewish New Year and atoning for the sins of the last year; Chanukah (usually in December), celebrating the successful uprising of the Jews, led by the Maccabees, against the Greek Syrians, about 2200 years ago.

Why would Democrat Governors want to interfere with such rich secular and religious traditions, beyond the strict bounds of what would be medically necessary?

We didn’t ask the governors, but based on recent developments in the Democrat Party, it seems reasonable to assume that these governors are touting the Party’s new socialist, communist, and sharia-leaning agenda. To successfully carry out their plan to change America, the party has determined that it must undermine the secular nationalist history of the country, as well as the Judeo-Christian religious ethos on which it was founded. Once those are gone, their plan to replace the Constitution would be met with limited legal and popular resistance. This is the “fundamental transformation” of the country to which the new Democrat Party is now aspiring.

Are Americans going to allow these anti-Americans to rob us of our rights to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness? This is the existential risk that we are facing. Like the Maccabees, we must stand up to protect our right to freely practice our religion and celebrate America’s traditions, values, and culture.

Happy Chanukah