I have been schooled in the legality of Christmas Carols. Things have changed since I was in school. Just like they don't multiply like they used too, apparently some songs about Christmas are actually cultural. Who knew.
White Christmas, Here Comes Santa Claus, and a few others have been determined by the Supreme Court to be cultural songs and not religious. The rule is the rule, but it still doesn't make sense to me. Since when is a song about Christmas not religious? Apparently, Christmas is a secular holiday. As long as you don't talk about Jesus, you ARE good.
If I was Christian, I would be a little offended by the fact that one of the two most important holidays in my religion have become secular. I suppose in our desire not to offend anyone, we end up offending everyone. But it is what it is.
So, while it sure feels like my daughter's First Amendment rights are being violated by have her public preschool perform in Christmas Concert, the Supreme Court would say that they are not. The only thing I can change it the title of the event. It needs to be called a Holiday Concert. Hollow victory at best. It sure doesn't feel inclusive to have her learn songs about a holiday she doesn't celebrate.
I guess we died on the sword, and while I was so sure that we were right, it would seem that they were right and we were wrong. The preschool I did finally find that seemed so inclusive because the allowed all the kids to share about their special traditions, may actually be violating the First Amendment rights of the children. Seems strange to me.
I do not think Church and State are as separate as I would like them to be. I am still thankful that we were allowed to have this temper tantrum without the fear of being shot. I am saddened that the laws of this country are not inclusive. But, this is a battle I am not willing to fight.
Peace out brothers and sisters.
To me, it smacks of following the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law. Absolutely infuriating.
ReplyDelete"White Christmas" is a cultural song, and not religious??? ALL religions are components of a cultural milieu. Goodness gracious, I'm SO curious to know the name of the Supreme Court case the preschool cited as the legal authority for their decision.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty rare to find a Christian who's really upset that their holidays are cultural. Because so many of them assume that everyone believes and celebrates like they do.
ReplyDeleteI don't get how the Dreidel Song is too religious when anything mentioning Santa is fine. The Dreidel Song is as religious as Jingle Bells. And most kids know it anyway.
I'd love to see what would happen if a parent wanted to include a Kwanza song. I bet that'd be handled differently. But I don't think anyone actually does anything for Kwanza or if they do they're sick of explaining it to people.
Ugh! That's so ridiculous! My husband's theory is that if an Orthodox Rabbi will sing it, then it's okay. :) We joke about that a lot. I told him that "Let it Snow" is about winter only and he's like, "But will Rabbi (insert name) sing it?" I think it should pass that sort of test in the future!
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