School Cuts Christmas to Appease Muslim Families

Christmas, Religious Freedom, , ,

magi2As the Christmas season starts earlier and earlier each year, so does the “War on Christmas.” This week, Todd Starnes brings us a story out of Maryland, where school officials have decided to cut “Christmas” from the school calendar in order to appease Muslim families.

Starnes writes,

As of next year – all Christian and Jewish holidays will be removed from the calendar. That means no more Christmas, no more Easter and no more Yom Kippur.

There’s no word on whether the board will remove the Irish from St. Patrick’s Day or the love from St. Valentine’s Day or the trees from Arbor Day.

For years local Muslims had been urging the district to close schools for two of their holidays. Many gathered outside the school board offices holding signs like ‘Support Equality for Eid’ and ‘Because…our children matter too.’

Instead, the school board opted to eliminate all religious holidays.

This really doesn’t have as much to do with the fact that the school district is trying to appease Muslims as it does with the school district’s actions. Atheist groups, lately, have made it a habit to target schools this time of year over Christmas and Thanksgiving activities. The fact that the protesters in this case were Muslims isn’t the issue; it’s the fact that the school district is trying to secularize the holidays we celebrate.

Holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are recognized and celebrated by the federal government. Government offices close because the government honors these days. Both holidays have religious roots, but courts have ruled time and time again that recognizing them does not run afoul of the U.S. Constitution. In fact, even public schools are free to join in the Christmas spirit.

If people don’t like the fact that the government celebrates Christmas–or if they want other holidays added to the federal government’s calendar–then they ought to take their complaints to Congress instead of the local school board. After all, Congress and the President are the ones who actually identify federal holidays.

If the President of the United States gets to celebrate Christmas, a local school board shouldn’t be able to stop schoolchildren in Maryland from celebrating it as well.

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Veterans Administration Turned Away Christmas Cards, Censored Choir

Christmas,

Christmas may be over, but, as we’ve already reported once this year, the War on Christmas isn’t.

Last December, Kelly Shackelford, President and CEO of Liberty Institute in Texas, wrote an opinion-editorial titled, “Yes, Virginia, there really is a war on Christmas.”

In it Shackelford outlined examples of attempts to censor Christmas celebrations around the country. Most of this censorship involves removing the religious elements from Christmas.

Now Todd Starnes and the American Family Association are reporting some disturbing news related to the Veterans Administration. According to Starnes, last month the VA

  • Censored a school choir who came to sing at the VA hospital in Augusta, Georgia, because their Christmas songs included the words “Christmas” and “Jesus;”
  • Told American Legion volunteers they could not hand out gifts to veterans if the wrapping paper included the words “Merry Christmas;”
  • Turned away at least one Alabama woman distributing Christmas gifts to veterans because the wrapping paper she used included the words “Merry Christmas;” and
  • Rejected handwritten Christmas cards from Dallas schoolchildren because the cards contained phrases like “Merry Christmas” and “God Bless You.”

This situation is just bizarre. As we have written over and over again, Christmas is a federal holiday; our state and federal governments recognize it; our courts have ruled time and again there is nothing wrong with that.

With that in mind, why turn away schoolchildren who want to honor our veterans with Christmas songs or cards? Why reject Christmas gifts? It simply does not make sense.

Read more from AFA here.

Read Starnes’ column here.

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War on Christmas Extends into January

Christmas,

The war on Christmas has spilled over into January.

According to the Baxter Bulletin, on Wednesday of this week (New Year’s Day), an atheist group wrote a letter to Baxter County Judge Mickey Pendergrass, Mountain Home Mayor David Osmon, and Mountain Home attorney Rick Spencer. The letter complains about a Nativity scene on the courthouse lawn in Mountain Home, and threatens legal action if the Nativity is not removed.

Now, Christmas is already over and the Nativity scene (which you can see here) will be “removed” soon anyway, if it has not been already. Just the same, this group wants to be assured the Nativity, which has graced the courthouse lawn for the past fifteen years, never will be put up again.

But the Nativity is well within the bounds of the U.S. Constitution. According to Alliance Defending Freedom, courts have ruled that government offices can place Nativity scenes and other decorations with a religious connotation on their public property–especially if non-religious decorations are present as well.

The display in Baxter County includes a large Christmas tree with a Santa Claus standing next to it — neither of which is a religious decoration. In the background, an arch of holly is visible surrounding the doors to the courthouse, and red bows are visible on the building — both are Christmas decorations, but not religious.

The courthouse’s Christmas decorations are not exclusively religious; in fact, they are exactly the kind that judges have ruled constitutional.

We keep saying it: Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. It is also an official holiday in this country. Why would our government be free to recognize Christmas as a holiday; give its employees time off from work on Christmas day; put up decorations commemorating Christmas; but not even mention the very event Christmas celebrates? It’s ridiculous.

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