Don’t let those heathens take away our Christmas!

A season of peace and goodwill? Are you kidding?

We’re at war, the war between the true believers and those who are trying to destroy Christmas as we know it. And the anti-Christmas forces aren’t even subtle about it.

Just look at Starbucks’ new, so-called seasonal cups. Yes, they are red. As red as the communist flag.

And that’s it, a red cup. They have nary a single Christian symbol adorning them – no snowflakes, no reindeer, not even an elf.

Donald Trump got it right. We need to sip our pumpkin spice lattes somewhere else.

Starbucks, of course, is not the only offender. This war will be fought on many fronts.

Beware, for example, of the sales clerks who wish us “Happy holidays!” instead of “Merry Christmas.” Soon we won’t even be allowed to whisper “Merry Christmas” to our own children as they trounce off to bed, visions of Disney “Frozen Fever” Elsa dolls and action figures from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” dancing in their heads.

Those of us who cherish the real meaning of Christmas have to fight back. We’ve already lost the battle with Cinco de Mayo and the Fourth of July; we can’t let Christmas become just another secular holiday.

I suggest a good way to save Christmas is to concentrate on the things that truly make this a special, sacred holiday and make certain that they always are a part of the celebration. Such as:

▪ Bringing the frosted, artificial Christmas tree down from the attic and hanging the collector’s edition NASCAR ornaments on it.

▪ Listening to “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” over the loudspeaker at the grocery store as we shop for the ingredients to make Christmas gingerbread houses.

▪ Going to the annual ugly Christmas sweater party with plenty of Christmas margaritas to make the season bright.

▪ Watching the Christmas Eve marathon of “A Christmas Story,” so we can see Ralphie almost shoot his eye out with a Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot Range Model air rifle for the 100,000th time.

▪ Plugging in the battery-powered “Swingin’ Santa” that shakes his hips and sings “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” just like The Jackson 5 did.

▪ Taking pictures of the family dog adorned with reindeer antlers.

▪ Touring the neighborhood to see the traditional red, green, blue, orange and yellow lights used to festoon the homes of the devout at Yuletide. Special honors go to those who have a figure that looks like Santa stuck upside-down in a chimney in their front yards.

▪ Re-gifting the three-pound fruitcake from Aunt Martha to the neighbor who blows leaves onto your lawn.

▪ Going to a local production of “The Nutcracker” instead of watching football on TV.

▪ Gazing raptly at the nativity scene in the town square (assuming you can find a town that still has a square).

▪ And, of course, there’s the ultimate communal celebration of the birth of the Christ child: Black Friday. No, the day after Thanksgiving is not too early to start thinking about Christmas. (Neither is the day after Halloween, for that matter.)

Black Friday is the day we can truly soak up the spirit of Christmas, camping out on the sidewalk five hours before stores open, wrestling with strangers for holiday bargains, listening to “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” piped over the PA system, enjoying the intoxicating aroma of evergreen room fresheners, maxing out our credit cards and simply experiencing the joy of living in a country that knows how to do Christmas right.

Well, mostly anyway.

Except for that Starbucks cup.

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 2:35 PM with the headline "Don’t let those heathens take away our Christmas!."