Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Current Events: An Airing of Grievances
Walking through the mall you're much more likely to hear "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" as you are "O Holy Night." And as I'm sure is the case for many of you, my company won't even let us call next week's Christmas party a Christmas party, for fear of offending someone.
Townhall.com's Janet LaRue writes about several organizations' partnership to "keep Christ in Christmas" in her latest column. It's nothing new; you'll no doubt read many similar columns between now and Dec. 25. But she does make several points that caught my eye (though she doesn't cite specific sources).
I almost want to set up a Nativity scene in my office.The purpose of the joint Christmas project is to clear up misconceptions about
seasonal religious expression on public property:
• The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled that public schools must ban the singing of religious Christmas carols or prohibit the distribution of candy canes or Christmas cards.
• School officials do not violate the Constitution by closing on religious holidays such as Christmas and Good Friday.
• School officials are not legally obligated to recognize all other religious holidays simply because they officially recognize Thanksgiving or Christmas.
• School officials may use "Christmas Vacation" to refer to the December holiday break without offending the Constitution.
• Government-sponsored Christmas displays are not banned as some people believe. When faced with the question of whether a Christmas display is constitutional, a court simply asks, "Is the government celebrating the holiday or promoting religion?
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