Christmas Trees Illegal In Public School? War On Christmas Ban Has Old Roots

Are Christmas trees illegal? Well, one school is taking the so-called War on Christmas one step further, making some wish that hearing “happy holidays” all the time was all they had to worry about.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, if Christmas trees should be illegal, there is actually one case that might fit the bill if only for safety reasons.

Parents are calling Fairfield Ludlowe High School’s decision to ban Christmas trees a case of “political correctness run amuck.” The school has taken the next step in the War on Christmas and has banned images of Christmas trees and Santa Claus even from the decorations created by students.

The teacher allegedly said there can be “no reference to Christmas at all can be on the decorations on the door.” And it’s not like the Christmas trees ban was implemented by just one teacher standing alone. Greg Hatzis, the headmaster at the public school, essentially argued that government laws make Christmas trees illegal:

“It is the policy of the Board of Education that no religious belief or non-belief will be promoted by the district or its employees and none will be disparaged. There is room in the policy for classroom and school decorations but they should have no direct religious meaning. If a classroom were to display items of a religious nature, we require the teacher talk about them in a conversation related to diversity and that all religions and cultures are respected.”

So how do Christmas trees automatically “exclude” any student in the public school?

“Something like a wreath or candy canes or holly have no direct religious meaning so they would be allowed under the district policy. But others may say that a Christmas tree would not exist unless you were talking about Christmas and they make the leap to the religious observance.”

Hatzis doesn’t believe he’s being a principal Grinch who stole Christmas. Instead, he believes this traditional holiday decoration can be “offensive” and asks everyone to understand “the need for respect and diversity.” But the parents think the Christmas trees ban is offensive in itself:

“Christmas seems targeted for persecution. If Hanukkah or Kwanzaa were targeted like that there would be such outrage. We’re not allowed to be outraged that Christmas is being taken out of the classroom.”

History Of Christmas Trees

But there’s also another side to this story. The War on Christmas was actually proposed by certain Christian groups before the United States was even founded:

“Shocking as it sounds, followers of Jesus Christ in both America and England helped pass laws making it illegal to observe Christmas, believing it was an insult to God to honor a day associated with ancient paganism. Most Americans today are unaware that Christmas was banned in Boston from 1659 to 1681.”

The Plymouth colony made celebrating Christmas a criminal offense and town criers walked the streets on Christmas Eve calling out, “No Christmas, no Christmas!” But, while Puritan believers considered Christmas trees pagan, the influx of German and Irish Christian immigrants did not agree. It is widely believed Martin Luther was the first person to add lit candles to Christmas trees. Still, New England did not make Christmas legal until 1856, and some schools held classes on Christmas day all the way through 1870.

What do you think about the War on Christmas and making Christmas trees illegal in public schools?