Is Santa a Religious Figure ?
One parent in NY thinks so, complained and won:
CNSNews.com) - A Christmas-themed event to raise money at a public elementary school in Warwick, N.Y., has been altered to accommodate a parent’s complaints that the program would illegally spotlight a “religious” figure - Santa Claus.
“Breakfast With Santa” has since been changed to “Winter Wonderland Breakfast,” and – in an effort to be inclusive of all beliefs – the bearded one will now be joined at the Dec. 9 event by Frosty the Snowman.
Organizers made the changes after one parent charged that she and others in the community were offended that the Parent Teacher Association at the Sanfordville Elementary School was sponsoring a program geared toward one religion.
Typical liberal, hiding under her husbands skirt:
That parent, who did not wish to have her name used, wrote a letter to the school board asserting that Santa represents Christmas – a Christian holiday – and by law, a public school is not allowed to promote religion.
Go Mikey!:
Mike Johnson, senior legal counsel for the conservative Alliance Defense Fund, told Cybercast News Service the situation was “just absurd.”
“My general reaction is probably the same as 95 percent of Americans when they hear about something like this,” Johnson said. “It’s ridiculous that we have to think twice about whether it’s OK to celebrate Christmas in public.”
While acknowledging that Saint Nicholas, a Dutch bishop who had a reputation for giving gifts in secret, “clearly was the original figure that Santa is based upon,” he noted that “most people would recognize Santa Claus himself as a secular-type figure.”
“The underlying principle here is that the First Amendment does not guarantee any of us a right not to be offended,” Johnson said. “These radical leftist types are arguing that just because 95 percent of Americans, according to recent polling, celebrate Christmas, they ought not to have that right” since a person with a different view might object.
The parent wouldn’t give in:
“We have a beautiful background people can have a picture in front of,” Baratto said. “That wasn’t good enough. We changed the name, colors, the background,” but that did not satisfy the complaining parent. “She was not open to anything. We’ll have 300 or so kids who are disappointed.”
Let me say this again, I am Jewish and Christmas, Santa, Jesus, whatever, DOES NOT offend me. The idiot who did this, DOES offend me.
— ‘The Commish’ A.J. Sparxx