The United States Supreme Court has banned the singing of religious Christmas carols in public schools.

The Supreme Court has never said that public schools must ban Christmas carols in their public holiday programs. There are only two requirements. The religious music should not be more than one-quar¬ter of the musical numbers presented, and there must be a secular purpose for the religious music. (This could include teaching about the holiday or learning to sing particular types of music.)

Students may distribute candy canes to their friends in public schools and they may give Christmas cards with a religious message to friends and teachers.

The Supreme Court has never prohibited student distribution of candy canes or cards with a religious message. Students have free speech rights in public schools. These free speech rights are recognized outside the classroom. Many school Bible clubs distribute candy canes with the Christmas message as a special holiday project.

While students may give their friends, classmates, and even their teachers Christmas cards with a religious message, teachers are not permitted to give students Christmas cards with religious messages. Teachers are considered to be agents of the government while teaching in public schools. Therefore, teachers may not promote religion or engage in proselytizing or devotional activities dents. Teachers may, however, give Christmas cards with religious mes¬sages to fellow teachers and school staff.

Public school calendars are now legally required to refer to Christmas vacation as “The Winter Holiday” or “Winter Break.”

School calendars may use terms such as “Christmas break” on school calendars without offending the Constitution. This is a choice the local school board may make. Therefore, communities should be sure to elect school board members who will support the traditional Christmas holiday on school calendars. School calendars may include Christmas without being required to recognize all other religious holidays. 

Christmas is different in America from all other religious holidays because Christmas is recognized by federal law as a secular as well as a religious holiday on December 25 (5 U.S.C. § 6103). The fact that federal law accommodates the Christian celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth does not have an impermissible religious effect. The Supreme Court has forcefully stated that “when the state ... cooperates with religious authorities by adjusting the schedule of public events to sectarian needs, it follows the best of our traditions. Ganulin v United States, 71 F Supp 2d 824, 836 (S.D. Ohio 1999) (citing Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306,government-sponsored holiday displays may include religious items such as nativities, stars, and angels. 

Community Christmas parades or programs may include religious themes; and government-sponsored holiday displays may include religious items such as nativities, stars, and angels.

Too many government offcials believe the myth that a parade or display sponsored by the city must ban religious items. Some even ban churches from participation. Schools and local communities may have offcial government-sponsored holiday displays, events, or programs that include religious items such as a nativity scene or carols as long as secular items are also included in the display, event, or program.

When a court considers whether a government-sponsored display is constitutional, the court will ask whether the display is intended to promote a religion or is intended to celebrate a holiday. The court will then determine whether there are a suffcient number of secular items included in the display. Generally, if no more than a quarter of the items are religious, the display or event will be constitutional. The court simply asks, “Is the government celebrating the holiday or promoting religion?” 

Public schools may teach about the origin of religious holidays, including Christmas.

The United States Supreme Court has never banned teaching in public schools about the origin of religious holidays. In fact, well-educated students should learn about the origins of all religious holidays and especially about the one American holiday that is offcially recognized in federal law. Students may even read the Christmas story from the Bible. The Supreme Court has said that students who do not study the stories and symbolism of the Bible are unable to understand most of the classic literature of Western Civilization.

The key case bearing on use of the Bible in public school classrooms is Abington v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963), the United States Supreme Court case that prohibited the devotional use of the Bible. In that same case, however, the Court affirmed the educational use of religious materials in public schools, noting:

It may well be that one’s education is not complete without a study of comparative religion or of the history of religion and its relation to the advancement of civilization. It certainly may be said that the Bible is worthy of study for its literary and historic qualities. Nothing we have said here indicates that such study of the Bible or of religion, when presented objectively as part of a secular program of education, may not be effected consistently with the First Amendment. (emphasis added)

In general, teachers must remember that as agents of the government, they violate the Establishment Clause if they promote a devotional or proselytizing religious expression. However, a good teacher will educate students about religion, as the Supreme Court noted in the case of Illinois ex rel. McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 203 (1948):

The fact is that, for good or ill, nearly everything in our culture worth transmitting, everything which gives meaning to life, is saturated with religious infuences.

The Supreme Court made the same point in the more recent case of Stone v. Graham, 449 U.S. 39, 42 (1980), which banned the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools without some non-religious educational purpose. The Court in that case pointed out:

[T]he Bible may constitutionally be used in an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion or the like.

Therefore, it is legally permissible for teachers to teach children about the origin of Christmas by reading the Bible story, just as teachers should also teach about the origin of other holidays such as Hanukah.

The first text message ever sent to a mobile phone was "Merry Christmas."

The first text message was sent on December 3, 1992, when a British engineer named Neil Papworth sent the words “Merry Christmas” from his computer to a colleague’s mobile phone. It is interesting to note that by 2006, only 14 years later, text messages were being sent at a rate of 130 billion per year in America alone. (Houston Chronicle, 10/17/06). 

Store owners will be fined if they allow clerks to wish customers a Merry Christmas or if their stores include religious decorations for the holidays.

Because establishments like stores, malls, restaurants, and other businesses are privately owned, they are not subject to any constitutional restrictions regarding the “separation of church and state.” The Establishment Clause does not apply to them. The same is true of apartment complexes, condominiums, and private clubs. The owners, members, or managers of these establishments may decide for themselves how they want to celebrate Christmas. Therefore, a store, club or condominium could use ONLY religious decorations at Christmas without violating the Constitution or any other laws.

Yet some stores inexplicably prohibit clerks from wishing customers a Merry Christmas. Others have stopped playing Christmas carols during the holiday season. One store chain several years ago even refused to allow the Salvation Army to collect money for the needy in front of their stores as they had done for decades.

Remember that customers have power. When you notice that stores, restaurants or other business establishments are censoring the celebration or religious aspects of Christmas, you should clearly let the owner or manager know that you will not be spending your Christmas money there. Most stores and other business have stopped Christmas traditions because one or two customers complained. If one or two hundred customers complain when Christmas is not recognized, this trend might change. Christians should not allow a few anti-religious dissidents to completely reorganize our American culture.

Stores, clubs and private business establishments should remember that as private entities they are permitted to have ONLY religious displays at Christmas. Private stores and businesses are not required by law to balance religious items with secular ones, as the government is required to do.

Your family and your church may still celebrate Christmas as a completely religious holiday.

There  are many things that you, your family and your church can do to promote the traditional celebration of Christmas as a religious holiday.

1.    Avoid shopping in stores that do not promote the religious aspects of Christmas and let them know why. Complain to stores that eliminate traditional expressions of Christmas, and make sure to compliment those stores or other establishments that say “Merry Christmas” or display a nativity.

2.    Place a nativity scene in front of your church and your home—they come in all sizes and prices. Your yard decorations should celebrate Jesus. Make sure you teach your own children the Christmas story.

3.    Go caroling this Christmas with friends or church groups. As long as you are strolling through neighborhoods early in the evening or on a weekend afternoon, there is no law preventing this activity. You can sing all the religious songs you like for your neighbors. Some malls will even allow church choirs to present programs in common areas during the holiday season. These can be entirely religious.

4.    Everywhere you go, make sure to wish folks a “Merry Christmas,” or a “Blessed Christmas.” But be sensitive to those of different faiths as well.

5.    Make sure your Christmas cards contain a religious message. You can even include a tract with a salvation message.

6.    Plan for your family’s celebration of Christmas to include helping others. Give gifts to those in need, or provide special treats for organizations that care for children, the elderly, the disabled, or veterans. Your church can provide special holiday meals for the homeless or the poor. Many compassionate programs are available at Christmas. Teach your children that Christmas is about giving, not just receiving.

Everyone who celebrates Christmas will also want to follow Christ as their Lord and Savior.

This is the most unfortunate MYTH of all—although Christmas is a good time to share the Gospel message. Even Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s least religious founders, lamented that Christmas celebrations do not ensure the celebration of Christian values.

How many observe Christ’s birth! How few, his precepts! O! Tis easier to keep Holidays than Commandments.  (Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richards Almanack, 1743)

Make sure that your Christmas celebration is intended to lead your family and everyone you come in contact with to a greater commitment to Christ—the Babe in the manager who grew up to become the Savior of the world.
 

For more information on your legal rights at Christmas, see our free online video series, Keeping Christ in Christmas.