ACLU - Christmas Removed from Calendar

[Pepsi_Classic]

Did the ACLU sue public schools in Covington, Georgia forcing them to remove the word “Christmas” from their school calendars? I can’t find any information on this case other than a few anti-ACLU websites. There doesn’t seem to be anything on the ACLU’s website. I can’t believe there isn’t more to this story. Does anybody know the full story?

[Wendell_Wagner]

It appears from what I’ve been able to figure out by Googling that in 1999, the Covington, Georgia school district decided to change the name of the school break at the end of December from Winter Break to Christmas Break. Various people complained about this, including the ACLU. The school district was forced to change the name back to Winter Break.

[Godot22]

Let’s see. No news stories about this in any googleable online newspaper archives. No reference to the incident anywhere on the ACLU website. No online references to the alleged incident anywhere outside of right-wing, anti-ACLU and conservative Christian opinion websites. Sounds like an urban legend to me.

The most likely explanation is something like this: school board (no doubt spoiling for a fight) changes “Winter Break” to “Christmas Break.” Someone complains, the ACLU threatens a lawsuit, the school board backs down, someone starts an e-mail chain letter which is either distorted from the start or gets distorted in the re-telling, and pretty soon the story becomes “ACLU threatens small-town school board unless all references to ‘Christmas’ are removed from school calendars,” thus recasting the small-town folks as the innocent victims of them ACLU city slickers, who apparently have nothing to do but pick on random school districts for having the word “Christmas” on their school calendars.

BTW, I grew up in a very liberal, very sensitive college town with a huge Jewish (and other non-Christian) population. I would venture to guess that we had one of the highest per-capita ACLU membership rates in the country. And despite all of this, no one ever tried to remove references to “Christmas” (or “Easter”) from our school calendars.

[JRDelirious]

@Wendell Wagner

in 1999, the Covington, Georgia school district decided to change the name of the school break at the end of December from Winter Break to Christmas Break

IOW it was a set-up?

[Wendell_Wagner]

JRDelirious writes:

> IOW it was a set-up?

Sure looks like it was.

[JeffB]

I found the following articles on LexisNexis.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on 12/16/1999 (the initial article):

For Newton County public schools, it’s Christmas, pure and simple.

The school board is eschewing “political correctness” — and the advice of its lawyer — and designating as “Christmas holidays” the two weeks schools are closed at the end of the year. The school calendar previously specified " winter holidays," a term commonly used by public school systems.

“This is a Christian country and it is founded on Christian values with God in mind,” said board member Richard Tiede, who voted with the 3-2 majority for the name change Tuesday night. " ‘Winter holidays’ came as a result of political correctness."

<snip>

Debbie Seagraves, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, called the wording un- constitutional and said, “I am certain when the board did this they were trying to make some statement about it being a Christian school system.”

The board’s attorney, Sam Harben, advised his employers: “I am most concerned that if there were litigation . . . the courts may conclude there was not a valid, secular reason on the part of the board for the change.”

From a follow-up article on reactions to the change (2/10/2000):

The school system also has received letters on the issue, including one of support from state Rep. Ralph T. Hudgens (R-Hull).

“I applaud your courage and willingness to do take this step,” he wrote. " Our nation was indeed founded as a Christian nation and we should not deviate from our Christian heritage."

The Anti-Defamation League, which opposed the change, wrote shortly after the approval: “This name change constitutes a blatant disregard for the diversity of religious faiths represented by the students of Newton County.”

Finally, the resolution (11/22/2000):

Bowing to pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Newton County school system will erase the word “Christmas” from its school calendars next year.

The county school board Tuesday night voted 4-1 to change the reference to the winter holidays on its Web site and school literature from “Holidays- Christmas” to “Semester Break.”

The Georgia chapter of The ACLU notified the board this week that it considered the reference to Christmas “an endorsement of a particular religion.”

[Ice97531]

I can’t stand people who complain about words like this
Who cares what it is called
Since this is a democracy and most people are a christian call it christmas break

[rjung]

@Ice97531

Since this is a democracy and most people are a christian call it christmas break

Lemme guess, you’re a Christian, right?

“Eh, who cares about the whining non-Christians? It makes me happy, that’s all that matters.” :rolleyes: