Posted on 11/02/2005 6:29:35 PM PST by Coleus
Third annual Christmas Project declares, "Merry Christmas. It's okay to say it."
Wednesday, November 02, 2005, 10:30 AM (MST)
ADF Media Relations | 480-444-0020
Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll: www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,105272,00.html
Gallup polls: poll.gallup.com/content/default.aspx?ci=14410&pg=2
ADF Christmas Media Kit (for media outlets only): www.saychristmas.org/docs/mediakit.pdf
The sheep, the cows, the donkey, the shepards, the three Magi, Our Lady, St. Joe and the Infant Himself in the manger!!
Turn the secularists stomachs!!
We usually put the Nativity Scene, either outside or in our picture window a couple of weeks before Christmas, but this year, we will have it displayed right on Thanksgiving Day, as a reminder to others to include a Nativity Scene as part of their Christmas display.
A caller called in Jay Sekulo's radio show to say that red and green was not allowed at pre-Christmas parties, such as paper plates, etc., at their school, because they are Christmas colors.
This is not an isolated case. John Gibson who wrote a book called "The War on Christmas..." and said the red and green rules are at various schools throughout the country.
6-year old boy prohibited from passing out religious Christmas cards at school party.
http://www.aclj.org/news/Read.aspx?ID=383
By putting up the image of Santa, there is theoretically no need to focus on the religiosity of the season. This in turn makes the Libs happy, because of their rabid disdain for Christianity.
Parents today have a hard time dealing with Christmas because everyone knows about Santa and most kids get gifts from Santa. But not everyone. For those who struggle and can't afford to buy things they need , cetainly can't go out and buy a bunch of toys. I know alot of my christian friends who spend so much money at christmas just to give to those in their family who have so much already. So I don't get it.
Me neither.
We as christians need to get the message out there, the true meaning of christmas and then live it. I believe the liberals hate the nativity scene because you have a woman and a man and a baby. The holy family does not send the message they are trying to sell. Example the ten commandments, honor thy mother and father. That is pretty much in your face to the liberals.
My point exactly.
On a personal note, last year, I tried to put religious stuff on the little Christmas tree in my dorm room. Didn't have a whole lot--a couple of angels and a small Jesus ornament--after all, I'm a poor college student.
I think putting up religious symbols is beyond an excellent idea. I really like the idea of the Nativity on the balcony--really clever!!
I ended up putting the ornaments my mom gave me to make the tree look a little less bare--and a green dish towel around the base. Not too shabby, but I didn't really care how glitzy my tree looked--I was just grateful my folks were kind enough to pick one up for me.
What do you mean? Do you not know that it's already, according to Target Stores' Diversity Calendar, American Indian Heritage Month? [BTW, in Target diversity language, there is no Thanksgiving...there is no Christmas...there's only things like American Indian Heritage Month]. So, see, you should be celebrating already...'cause if you wait too long, the only other 2005 Target "holiday" left for you to celebrate will be U.N. Day in December.
Christmas is OK -- Even in Public Schools
by Wendy Cloyd, senior editorial coordinator
SUMMARY: Pro-family groups are once again spreading the word that there's no need to talk about "winter break" or
"holiday parties."
Pro-family groups are making a list and checking it twice,
hoping to ensure that public school students and their
parents are armed with all the facts -- and support --
they need to properly celebrate Christmas in the classroom.
The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) recently announced its
third annual Christmas Project, designed to educate people
coast to coast about what the law says concerning religious holiday displays and just what is allowed in schools and on public property.
Gateways to Better Education, meanwhile, continues to promote its Holiday Restoration Campaign, designed to help
correct misinformation and restore accurate teaching of the religious nature of not only Christmas, but also Thanksgiving and Easter.
Alan Sears, president of ADF, said his group's goal is to
inform, educate and help protect the rights of Americans
who celebrate Christmas. According to a 2003 Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll, 96 percent of Americans do
just that.
"An overwhelming majority of Americans of all faiths agree
that we should celebrate Christmas," Sears said. "This is
a time for goodness, giving and hope -- not a time for
fear, intimidation and the disinformation of agenda-driven, anti-Christmas legal entities."
According to a 2000 Gallup poll, 90 percent of people in
the U.S. recognize Christmas as the birthday of Jesus Christ. And the Fox poll showed 87 percent believe nativity scenes should be allowed on public property.
"As in the past, ADF's goal this season is to protect the
rights of the 96 percent," Sears said. "We want to dispel
the myths about religious expression at Christmastime that
have prompted wrongful acts of government censorship of
religious speech.
"Merry Christmas. It's OK to say it."
According to ADF, these are some legal facts regarding the
celebration of Christmas:
* 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 may refer to a school break in December
as "Christmas Vacation" or as a holiday without offending
the Constitution.
* School officials do not violate the Constitution by closing on religious holidays such as Christmas and Good
Friday.
* No court has ever held that celebrating Thanksgiving and
Christmas as religious holidays requires recognition of all other religious holidays.
* The "Three Reindeer Rule" used by the courts requires a
municipality to place a sufficient number of secular objects in close enough proximity to the Christmas item such as a creche) to render the overall display sufficiently secular. Although the overall display must not convey a message endorsing a particular religion's view, Christmas displays are not banned as some people believe. Simply put, the courts ask, "Is the municipality celebrating the holiday or promoting religion?"
The key element of Gateway to Better Education's Holiday
Restoration Project are cards students are encouraged to
give to their teachers. Each 8-page card uses lighthearted
story to show the teacher that teaching about the holidays
is not only legal, but also helps provide good education
for the children. The cards also contain legal documentation and lesson plan ideas for the teacher to
use.
"The problem goes beyond how Christianity is treated
during the holidays. Even the mention of God is now
suppressed in many classrooms," Gateways explains on its
Web site. "Both teachers and students are uncertain about
their rights of religious expression. Many feel that the
law forbids any discussion of God or even praying
privately over their lunch.
"The goal of our campaign is to have as many Christian
parents as possible give cards to their children's
teachers. Also, more and more teachers are purchasing the
cards for themselves and for other educators. They find
the legal documentation and lesson plan ideas very helpful
and reassuring."
FOR MORE INFORMATION: ADF has more than 800 attorneys
available nationwide to combat any attempts to censor the
celebration of Christmas. They have also prepared a free
informational pamphlet titled, "The Truth about Religious
Expression at Christmastime." To learn more and to ask ADF
to send a legal memorandum to school officials in your
area, visit the Web site:
http://www.saychristmas.org/main/default.aspx
To learn more about Gateways to Better Education's Holiday
Restoration Campaign, visit the group's Web site.
http://www.gtbe.com/holidayrestoration/
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038627.cfm
(NOTE: Referral to Web sites not produced by Focus on the
Family is for informational purposes only and does not
necessarily constitute an endorsement of the sites'
content.)
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