There I was, as happens every year, checking out the latest batch of “Christmas” greeting cards that came in the mail to see how many actually dared use the word “Christmas.”

Precious few, as usual.

The favorite, of course, is “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons Greetings,” apparently under the mistaken belief that we’re currently celebrating the “winter season.” It can’t be spring, summer or fall, so it must be winter.

And everywhere we look we hear stories of schools telling kids they can’t use the word “Christmas” in their, ah, holiday festivals, or municipalities decreeing that the decorated tree in front of the court house really has nothing at all to do with Christmas but - in the interest of being inclusive - is a “holiday tree.” Or, one which came from Oregon a few years back, a “giving tree,” ostensibly - according to a city official - “to make everybody feel welcome,” everybody, that is, except the vast majority of residents who declare themselves Christians and are celebrating Christmas.

But hey. Don’t you know about the separation of church and state? Well, that’s an American concept for starters. There is nothing in Canadian law or in our constitution, which makes such a separation mandatory, or even preferable. Indeed, our constitution - yes, the same one brought forth by Pierre Elliot Trudeau - mentions the Christian God right there in the text for all to see. Imagine.

Even in the U.S., however, the “wall of separation” written into their constitution by Thomas Jefferson was meant to protect the churches from the state, not the state from the churches. Indeed, when he was president, Jefferson attended regular church services in the U.S. Treasury, the Congress and, it’s true, inside the Supreme Court chambers.

Writing a piece in the Heritage Foundation in 2004, Joseph Loconte wrote that Jefferson “considered religion, especially Christianity, essential to democracy.”

In Canada - as in the United States - much of our system of governance was predicated on Christian principles and formed by active Christians. This is not to lessen the intrinsic value of non-Christians among us, only to point out that celebrating Christmas is - along with Easter - the most important event on the Christian calendar and there is no legitimate reason why it should be the regular target of liberal secularists among us.

As you read this, for example, your children are on their “Christmas break.” It is not an accident that the break comes at Christmas as opposed to, let’s say, sometime in January or November.

Yes, other faiths have their celebrations as well. Nothing wrong with that.

Whether it’s Hanukkah or Eid or Diwali, or any number of significant religiously based celebrations - all of them duly honored by many Canadians - that’s fair enough.

What isn’t fair, or legitimate, is to attempt o denigrate Christmas, to purposely reduce it to a strictly secular event, unfit for the public forum. And that’s what many of the anti-Christmas crusaders actually want.

That’s why so many timid people opt for “Seasons Greetings” or “Happy Holidays,” instead of calling the event what it is - Christmas, a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Nobody says you have to be a religious person - let alone a devout Christian - to live and prosper in Canada.

It’s just that Canada was founded on Christian principles and - despite what you read in the papers and see on the tube - the vast majority of Canadians still do call themselves Christians and would appreciate being able to celebrate such an important event without being made to feel as if they are attacking those who don’t share their enthusiasm. The argument is often made that by including the religious aspects of Christmas - which, of course, is what Christmas actually represents - you are offending those Canadians who are not Christians. I have always found this argument to be insulting to Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, whatever, having never in my life - not once - run into somebody from these religions who claim they are indeed insulted by Christmas references.

There may be some who are, but that’s their problem, not ours. I certainly don’t feel insulted by Hanukkah or Eid. Why would I? And by the same token, why would anybody else feel maligned by Christmas?

The last public opinion poll I saw on the subject brought the following headline in the Toronto Star: “One in four don’t believe in God, poll finds.”

They could have said, “Three in four do believe in God, poll finds.” But hey, when you’re trying to lead the parade for liberal secularism, why be positive?

Makes it easier to defend those yahoos who are offended by the word “Christmas.”

Never mind. I’m still including them in my annual “Merry Christmas.”