While I appreciate that some people have genuine concerns about church-state separation, religious freedom and cultural sensitivity, I simply can’t take “war on Christmas” stories too seriously, given the real wars going on in the world. As Stephen Colbert noted last night on The Colbert Report, “it’s the only war that’s been going on longer than Afghanistan!”

(I do enjoy Colbert’s take on the holidays every year, partly due to his hilarious cartoon intro featuring Jesus rescuing Santa from his bullet-riddled sleigh. I can’t find the image online, but you can catch it around minute 1:22 of the music video for Toby Keith’s “War on Christmas” song from Colbert’s 2008 holiday special, at the end of this post.)

CNN’s Belief Blog has highlighted several Christmas season controversy stories in the past few days:

• “Christmas” returns to Philly’s Christmas village
• Dueling billboards face off in Christmas controversy
• My Take: Where’s the outrage over Noah’s Ark park? (Stephen Prothero for CNN)

Check back for updates, and here’s that catchy “War on Christmas” carol:

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below.

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