"Christmas is now an endangered event!"

Richard Fernandez writes in PJMedia,

...Christmas is now an endangered event. Venezuela has joined the no-reindeer zone socialism. "Santa Claus isn't coming," parents warned their kids. Nor is it coming to the socialist paradises of Cuba or North Korea. ISIS actually regards it as degeneracy and ordered its soldiers to attack wherever traces of it may be found. A Tunisian asylum-seeker under it rammed a truck into a crowd of Berlin shoppers killing 12 and maiming many more. There was a failed nail bomb attempt by a 12 year old against a Christmas market in Ludwigshafen; another to blast shopping centers in the British midlands. Even the Antipodes were not safe. Authorities aborted a plan in Melbourne to punish the worshippers of the "evil demon of the north" -- meaning Santa Claus -- with a series of attacks.

The bombing of the Coptic cathedral in Cairo underscores that the religious tradition itself is also under attack. "The Coptic pope, Tawadros II ... [told] FoxNews.com ... that members of the Brotherhood and other Muslim extremists are targeting Copts during the Christmas season, when they attend church in larger numbers and are more vulnerable." One of the under-reported news stories is what Samuel Tadros writes about in the Atlantic: the Actual War on Christians.

During Mass this past Sunday, an Islamic State suicide bomber made his way inside St. Peter and St. Paul’s Coptic Church in Cairo and detonated his bomb, leaving 25 people, mostly women, dead. The bombing, the deadliest since the 2010 New Year’s Eve bombing of the Two Saints Church in Alexandria, drew swift condemnations from governments around the world. But as much as such attacks remind the world of the plight of Copts, it is their daily encounter with discrimination and persecution that poses the greatest threat to their future.

The ISIS publication "Rome" gave explicit instructions. "At the beginning of the month, ISIS released a new magazine named Rumiyah (Rome, in a nod to their apocalyptic goals) in several languages. In an article extensively outlining Quranic verses and scholars’ interpretations, ISIS stated that disbelievers—non-Muslims or Muslims not adhering to their 'standards'—should “be slain wherever they may be—on or off the battlefield” as their blood “is cheap, filthy, and permissible to shed."

As Prince Charles told Radio 4, the scale of anti-Christian persecution "is not widely appreciated, nor is it limited to Christians in the troubled regions of the Middle East". It is perhaps most intellectually vicious in the nominally Christian West where the subject is verboten in the politically correct media. Even the anodyne phrase "happy holidays" is not inclusive enough.

...In that context the slogan "don't be afraid to say MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!" becomes more than an invitation to greet your friends. It's an expression of defiance against all the lies and gaslighting that have brought us to this point. Is this the last penny to drop in 2016? Probably. But remember, there's a week left in the year to go.

Read more here.