Did you know that "Christmas is a holiday of great significance to Americans and many other cultures and nationalities?" I do, thanks to the taxpayer-funded work by the House of Representatives, who passed a resolution yesterday recognizing the importance of Christmas and Christianity.

The specific action points were as follows:

(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;

(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;

(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;

(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;

(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and

(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world.

That's it. There were no binding laws tied to the bill, and it accomplished little other than expressing the sentiments of 372 Representatives (only 9 voted against it).

Why do I care? For one, it's a waste of taxpayer money. Everyday, Congress wastes time on nonbinding resolutions like this that have no legislative function. They already have three-day work weeks, and when you factor in the time they vote on meaningless resolutions, they're lucky to get in a solid day's worth of work in a week.

But at risk of sounding Scroogish, there's another reason I don't like this resolution. Congress is making a habit recently of passing resolutions that, if they were binding pieces of legislation, would be in direct violation of the Constitution. A few months ago Congressed danced around free speech when it condemned a MoveOn.org ad. And now they're expressing support for Christianity, when the first amendment very clearly reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.."

I know it's a moot point since the resolutions are nonbinding. But why waste the time introducing and voting on them? There are plenty of domestic and international problems (the war, health care, the environment, etc.). Surely Congress could find something meaningful to do for just three days a week.

UPDATE: They also passed a similar resolution to acknowledge Ramadan.