It's encouraging to see that when people organize themselves into action, they can still make things happen for the good. And it doesn't necessarily take great numbers - just sincere, well-intentioned citizens with a common goal.

When they changed “Christmas” to “Holiday,” it became clear to many people that things had gone too far. We had already taken prayer out of the schools; of course, immediately after 9/11 thousands of schools across the country broke that law. We watched as the Ten Commandments were ripped off the walls of our courtrooms. Now we're waiting until “In God we trust” is erased from our currency and for the ACLU to have the “Pledge of Allegiance” ruled unconstitutional and criminal because it contains the phrase “one nation, under God.”

But none of us ever envisioned a time when it would be considered inappropriate, even insulting, to use the word “Christmas.” After all, Christmas is ... well ... Christmas. It isn't just some generic season of gift-giving, mistletoe and eggnog. It is the celebration of the birth of Christ. All the other trappings of the season flow out of that.

That's why it was disappointing to shop our stores here in Auburn and Cayuga County last Christmas to see that the Christmas trees had become holiday trees, and the only acceptable greeting was “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.”

We know that our nation was founded on Christian ideas and principles. The writings of the founding fathers are filled with references to God and Jesus. That's the reason why our public schools are very careful not to emphasize these writings, but to stick with secondary sources and information. But it was the Christian consensus in America that carried us for 200 years and made us a great nation.

Last year shoppers rebelled against the trend to steal Christmas from our culture and hit stores right where it hurt them the most - in the cash register. It's the only way to get their attention and this time it actually worked. Christmas is back. This year when shopping in Auburn we once again see Christmas trees and sign that say “Merry Christmas.”

The list of stores making the switch back to Christmas is impressive: Wal-Mart, Target, Macy's.

Certainly Christmas has become over-commercialized but since that's where the culture is, it's the perfect place to fight this battle. Maybe after being assertive on this commercial level we can begin to help Americans to re-discover the true meaning of Christmas: Christmas has always been about the love of God, alive in the hearts of men.

When we try to eliminate God from the idea of Christmas we take the very heart and soul out of the season. Congratulations to those citizens who let their voices be heard and created a positive change in America. Merry Christmas!