The Tri-County Journal
& Chattahoochee Chronicle
PO Box 850, 71 Webb Lane
Buena Vista, GA 31803
229-649-6397
tjournal@alltel.net

"I think there's something wrong with me. I just don't understand Christmas. I like getting presents, sending cards, decorating trees and all that. But instead of feeling happy, I feel sort of let down."
--Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Christmas, 1965

When I was a child in the 1950s, my parents didn't have much money to spend at Christmastime. I remember one Christmas when I wanted a cowboy gun and holster from Santa Claus. I got the toy pistol, but Santa, it seems, couldn't afford a holster. So my dad made one for me out of one of my mother's old leather purses. It didn't look like the ones on TV, but it worked pretty well. And it made me feel good that my dad cared enough to do what he could to make a little boy's Christmas dream come true. Being poor didn't really matter all that much because there was magic in the air.

And the magic of Christmas, which hinges on the spiritual nature of the holidays, was promoted in the schools. We sang Christmas carols in the classroom. There were cutouts of the Nativity scene on the bulletin board, along with the smiling, chubby face of Santa and Rudolph. We were all acutely aware that Christmas was more than a season to receive--it was a special time to give as well.

But times have changed. Turmoil surrounds our schools. Police officers walk the hallways, and embattled teachers often act more like wardens than instructors in many schools. Sadly, the timeless celebration of Christmas seems to have been lost in the mix as well. Schools across the country avoid anything that alludes to the true meaning of Christmas, such as angels, the baby Jesus, stables and shepherds. Just consider some of the incidents that have taken place in recent years.

A kindergarten teacher in a Texas public school was informed that he could not mention the word "Christmas" or tell the historical Nativity story because someone in the district might sue. All other secular customs of the "winter holiday" were deemed to be okay, just not the religious symbols of Christianity. According to the school principal: "We cannot tie candy canes, trees, wreaths, Santa Claus, etc, as a religious symbol. What we can teach is the secular side of holidays. We can have the tree, candy cane, wreath, Santa Claus, etc, anything that is secular. No religious words can be attached."

Another incident that highlights this extreme Christmas phobia involved a Michigan elementary school, where the principal issued a directive specifically forbidding references to God, Christianity or the birth of Jesus Christ.

This is censorship, pure and simple. I have yet to understand how anyone can discuss the true (or even historical) meaning of Christmas without at least a reference to the baby Jesus. Surely something has gone wrong when America's children are encouraged to celebrate the fictional Rudolph but are refused the opportunity to even mention Jesus, who was an actual, historical person. To claim that Christmas is something other than it is – a holiday with a religious foundation – is both dishonest and historically unsound.

Unfortunately, far too many parents, students and teachers erroneously believe they cannot celebrate Christmas in the public schools. Whether through ignorance, fear or political correctness, Americans are painfully misguided about the recognition of religious holidays. There are ways to celebrate Christmas in the public schools without violating the United States Constitution. These are succinctly set forth in The Rutherford Institute's "Twelve Rules of Christmas," available at www.rutherford.org.

While it is true that public school teachers, as agents of the state, may not advance religion, they are allowed to discuss the role of religion in all aspects of American culture and its history. And this includes the religious aspects of the Christmas holiday. Indeed, teachers can use Christmas art, music, literature and drama in their classrooms, as long as they illustrate the cultural heritage from which the holiday has developed. Religious symbols, such as a Nativity scene, can be used in this context as well. Students may enjoy the same freedom of religious expression that is allowed any other time of the year--in or out of the classroom. This means that students can freely distribute Christmas or Hanukkah cards to their friends and teachers, just as they would a birthday card. Such cards can even mention the words God and Jesus Christ.

It has been more than 40 years since Charlie Brown, as he puzzled over the glitz and commercialism of the modern age, asked, "Doesn't anyone know the true meaning of Christmas?"

Linus responded by telling the story of Jesus Christ's birth, as recounted in Luke 2:7-14, to his friends and classmates. What Charles Schulz' beloved 1965 cartoon did not capture, however, was the growing aversion on the part of many school officials and public figures to anything remotely related to the true Christmas story.

Hopefully, as our children ponder what Christmas is all about--a subject that almost certainly arises in the classroom--our teachers at least will realize that they have the right to truthfully answer the question. If so, our children will have the opportunity to experience the richness of our traditions and culture. And what better time than Christmas?

By
John
Whitehead
Guest
Columnist