School Gift Shop Bans Candy Canes and Santa Claus
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the latest war on Christmas:
The Byam Elementary School in Chelmsford, Massachusetts recently asked parents to donate holiday gifts to its holiday gift shop; the shopping days are December 1-4. Shopping guidelines informed that “Seasonal items such as snowmen, mittens, snowflakes are a big hit.” But it also had a list of “Items NOT Permitted.” The school was very specific about which items it considers taboo: “No Christmas, Chanukah or religious items,” and “No Santa, candy canes or stockings.” How snowmen made the cut but stockings did not was not explained.
The school, of course, is observing Christmas by closing, yet it is not allowing Christmas gifts to be sold in its holiday gift shop, thus making it inexplicable why gifts celebrating the holiday being celebrated are banned.
Some may see this as simply absurd. We don’t. We see it as pernicious: in the name of diversity and inclusion, the multicultural tyrants get to do what they have always wanted to do—censor Christmas. Parents upset by this authoritarian decision are meeting soon to overturn the ban. Give them support and let Dr. Jane Gilmore, the school’s principal, know how you feel.
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Both the Byam school and Bill Donohue are completely confused. There is nothing even remotely religious about candy canes, stockings or Santa. To think so, is to give over far too much to the Catholic propaganda machine. I would love to see a pointer to any carving or painting in any Christian place of worship which refers, directly or indirectly, to candy canes as a religious symbol.
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-photo/hildreth75/asia/1187123220/candy-cane-church.jpg /tpod.html
No?
/blatant sarcasm
I agree that Santa, candycanes and other christmas (with a small c) icons are not religious symbols .
The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'.
Answer: not really, but thanks for the link anyway. (I should have thought of the Iglesia del Carmen when posting my comment!)
I think the parents who see nothing wrong with a candy cane or stocking should just remove their children from that stupid school !!!
Bill Donohue is an embarassment to Catholicism and to all Catholics who don't agree with his ranting screeds against all things he deems anti-Catholic. The man is a complete moron and the shame is non-Catholics think he is representative of the rest of us. Rest assured, he is not.
Chanukah is included in this "censoring" as well. Where is all the Jewish outrage?
I am fully in support of banning religious messages in school , but I am also of the opinion that mainstream Christmas has been divorced almost entirely of Christianity. I am an atheist but a cultural christian (to borrow someone's phrase, don't remember whose), and I see no problem with schools selling santas and candy canes.
Atheist comprise approx .00000001% of the people in this country... and since you believe in "no religion ", why do you care one way or another?
Sounds like you're a rebel without a cause.
would truly be a rebel :_P and the cause is freedom of thought.
But it is irrelevant because there are more atheists than that. Maybe not ten percent (which I bet is a high estimate), but certainly several millions in the US alone.
According to recent research, atheists comprise over 10% of the U.S. population. Seriously.