Fox News Channel organized what America Live host Megyn Kelly accurately dubbed the “best panel ever,” comprised of Catholic League president Bill Donohue and president of the American Atheists, Dave Silverman. The two men discussed — what else? — the divisiveness and alienation some non-Christians feel this time of year, particularly when faced with a veritable twinkling forest of Christmas trees.

For some, the best gift this season is sitting back and observing warring media outlets debate the “War on Christmas” in between posting on the 10 Best Holiday Gifts for Bisexual Fashionista Tech Geeks or producing news segments on how gift cards are impacting global warming. The New Republic and Fox News Channel offer their takes on the debate.

The War on Christmas is getting out of hand. First, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was put down in a Virginia parade last week. And now Santa Claus himself has been fired from a Macy’s department store after making a risqué joke. According to the ABC News affiliate in the video below, the San Francisco-area Santa told an unamused couple that he was so jolly because “he knows where all the naughty boys and girls live.” While he says that the joke is a perennial favorite among his adult visitors, this time it cost him his job. But things worked out in the end—he was quickly hired at a local restaurant, where his salary has been doubled and his meals have become as unlimited as his freedom to tell ‘naughty’ jokes.

‘Tis the season to be jolly! Except in some cases, where it’s not. Yes, it’s that time of year again, and the Christmas season now arrives hand-in-hand with the “War on Christmas” season (and just as predictably followed by “The Ridicule of The War On Christmas” season.) Last night Jon Stewart made his annual mockery of Fox News’ seasonal indignation over the ruination of Christmas cheer, only this time he and his team went all in, creating an epic War on Christmas animated short based on all classic Christmas show characters we’ve all grown to love.

Chris Wallace has better things to talk about than whether a private institution chooses to put a Christmas tree in its lobby, much to the chagrin of radio host Mike Gallagher. The Fox News Sunday host visited his program on Friday in the hopes of discussing hard politics and, in being roped into discussing the “war on Christmas,” became irritated at Gallagher, debunking the claim that the holiday is under attack and becoming exasperated with the topic quickly.

A new billboard is causing a bit of a stir in New Jersey. The ad, which appears on a highway that leads to New York City’s Lincoln Tunnel, features a nativity scene stamped with an unexpected message: “You know it’s a myth. This season, celebrate reason!” As the bottom of the billboard reveals, the space was rented by American Atheists. Today, the president of that organization, Dave Silverman, stopped by America Live to talk about religion, free speech, and the “war on Christmas” with Megyn Kelly.

Bill O’Reilly is back this year with his annual fight against the “War on Christmas,” and last night he brought on new colleague John Stossel for his usual Tuesday segment to join the fight.

Stossel played along – but didn’t share O’Reilly’s uproar.

Dr. Jayne Gilmore, principal of Byam Elementary School, has a holiday gift room in her school, but has banned all signs of Christmas and Hanukkah. So Bill O’Reilly is kicking off this holiday season with an old favorite: a fight against The War On Christmas. Sounds like a job for O’Reilly’s go-to ambush associate extraordinaire, the unfaltering Jesse Watters a.k.a. Santa’s Little Helper. Check out the clip inside.

Every holiday season, Bill O’Reilly takes on the “War on Christmas.” Often it’s with outrage, but tonight as he decried the “anti-God” ads of the American Humanist Society, he seemed highly amused, with just a touch of winking at himself. Meta?

‘Tis the season for trend stories, and Santa‘s struggle against H1N1 could be the gift that keeps giving for local news channels. Some mall Santas’ unions have asked that their members be put on the federal government’s priority list for swine flu vaccine thanks to their frequent contact with children, but it hasn’t happened yet. As one Wisconsin channel put it, “as opposed to coming down the chimney flue, it’s coming down with swine flu.”