Tag: Religious Freedom

Seven Myths About Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Public Schools

As Thanksgiving and Christmas approach, many schools and teachers are preparing educational material and programs that coincide with the holidays. In recent years, it seems like Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations at school have come under increased scrutiny from atheist groups and others who allege schools somehow are violating the U.S. Constitution when students sing Christmas carols or learn about Puritans.

Alliance Defending Freedom has assembled an excellent fact sheet busting seven myths about Christmas celebrations in public schools. You can download it here or read it below. If you are a teacher–or know someone who is–please be sure to share this information with your friends.

While the fact sheet deals specifically with Christmas, its principles apply just as well to other federal holidays–such as Thanksgiving, which is just a couple of weeks away.

Seven Myths About Christmas and Public Schools

Adapted From a Fact Sheet Provided by Alliance Defending Freedom

Myth #1: Students are not allowed to sing religious Christmas carols in public schools.

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School Cuts Christmas to Appease Muslim Families

As 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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