1.  Define the following as used in the article:
-litigious, political correctness, chiseling (para.5)
-Beantown, re-dubbed (para. 6)
-arboreal, advocacy, kosher (8)
-defoliate (10)
-boycott (12)

2.  Scrooge is the main character of what Christmas story?  Who is the author of that story?  What is meant by referring to a person as a "Scrooge"?  Define the suffix -cracy.  What does the writer of this article mean by "an American Scroogocracy"?  (para. 5)

3.  What do you think caused the reversal in the policies of several stores that had eliminated the word Christmas from their advertising?   -including Macys, Lowe's, and Target as of Dec. 9.  What lesson do you learn from this?
(For information on stores and Christmas, click here.)

4.  What do you think caused public school officials, the Mayor of Encinitas, a Boston official and Congress to reverse decisions on eliminating the mention of Christmas/Christmas trees?
What lesson do you learn from this?

5.  Businesses should not mention Christmas in their advertising and in-store displays, or permit their employees to wish customers a "Merry Christmas".  Do you agree or disagree?  Explain your position.

6.  Which of the following websites do you think is the most effective?  Why?
Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation
It's OK to say Merry Christmas
Liberty Council
Catholic League
Salvation Army 

CHALLENGE QUESTIONS

• Who wrote the fairy tale in which a child points out that the Emperor is naked? 
• Why is the Emperor naked? 
• The metaphors "the Emperor's new clothes" and "the Emperor has no clothes" most frequently involve a situation wherein the overwhelming majority of observers willingly ignore an obvious fact, despite individually recognizing the absurdity of what is being represented as fact. (para. 5)  In "Christmas Comeback", who represents the Emperor?  Who represents the child? 

(Read the Emperor's New Clothes here.)