JEMISON – You could say, “Merry Christmas” to him anytime of year, and you wouldn’t be out of line.

For Charles Merry Christmas, Sr. of Jemison, Assistant Pastor at West End Baptist Church in Clanton, there is a part of Christmas that lasts throughout the year.

“Our name has always been an asset to us,” he said.

“When I tell people my name, so often they think I’m just trying to pull their leg, and then, often I have to take my driver’s license out.”

Christmas was the youngest of eight children who mostly had biblical names including Joseph, Jeremiah, Mary and Martha.

By the time he was born, Christmas explained, there were not many names left to choose from, so his father simply named him, “Merry Christmas.”

Although it’s rare to meet someone with a name like Christmas’, he indicated it’s becoming more and more of a rarity to hear the term expressed this time of year in favor of more generic terms.

“I’m very concerned for our nation, because there’s really a movement in our nation to take Christ out of Christmas, and to take the very name of Christmas out of the season,” he said.

“Of course, there’s a big emphasis on the commercial.

Wherever there’s gift-giving, there’s the commercial aspect of the season.”

His wife, Louise, joked that they had wondered if they could get sued over their name.

But most likely not in Chilton County because the communities within the county and local government leaders still have a strong emphasis of what Christmas is all about.

“We’re so fortunate to have an atmosphere in our county that is contradictory to the trend of some of the big cities,” he and his wife said.

They also expressed approval for Gov. Bob Riley and his wife, who recently volunteered to be bell ringers for the Salvation Army, after some stores had banned bell ringers from their premises.

“I think there can be a real movement of Christians and others who might, in the future, boycott stores that are unwilling to use the name Christmas,” he said.

For the Christmases, Christmas is a time of giving.

A big thing for them is the annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering to foreign missions, to which they and their families give every year.

“That’s Christmas to us,” Louise Christmas said.

“Missions honor Christ.”

The Christmases have continued the tradition of festive names.

They have a daughter named Joy Carol and a son named Charles Merry Christmas, Jr. Another interesting note: Mrs. Christmas was born on Easter, accepted Christ as her savior on Mother’s Day and was married around…what better time of year than…Christmas.