After the Clinton Condom Tree, PC euphemisms invented to avoid the "C" word and the liberal war against Christianity, we don't need Joseph Walsh's column ("Happy golden days of yore?" Opinion & Commentary, Dec. 15) about how bad Christmas used to be. Washington Irving and Charles Dickens wrote many stories about the good old Christmas customs, games and celebrations. As professor of classics, Walsh could have related these or the answer to the title of his book, "Were They Wise Men or Kings?" He could have revealed the 3 Magi who located baby Jesus were Persian astrologers who were not following a directional star like the North Star, but an astrology map. Walsh said gift-giving is a pagan custom Christians had to accept as a Christmas custom. This is nonsense because the 3 Magi (plural of "magus," meaning magician or sorcerer) brought gifts to Jesus at the first Christmas. Nothing could be more basic to Christianity than gift-giving. Walsh asserts "Christmas is a mixed bag," meaning Christmas deserves criticism because it has connections not purely biblical. This kind of criticism would be politically incorrect if directed at any other religion. Are we enlightened when Walsh claims some wassailers were bands of drunken young men• A description of the wassail bowl and its pleasant associations with Christmas celebrations would be more apt. He could have explained the lyrics to "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" in this connection. Why quote the sarcasm of Christmas hater G.B. Shaw instead of describing the yule log ceremony• Walsh is a contemporary Puritan spreading gloom, for he worries someone somewhere may be happy. I await a more cheerful version of Christmas past than this diatribe libeling Christmas nostalgia. David P. Shreiner Franklin Park

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