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Mysterious ‘It’s OK To Say Merry Christmas’ Signs Posted In Redmond, Washington

By Chris Hearn
Published on: 06:54 PST, Dec 16, 2015

It’s OK to say Merry Christmas, according to some mysterious green and white signs popping up, especially around schools and city offices, in Redmond, Washington.

In the seemingly perpetual “War on Christmas” that often hits during the Christmas season, an unknown sign poster has fired his or her shot showing what side he or she is on when it comes to what is said in Redmond. The poster’s signs read “It’s OK to say Merry Christmas,” and whoever is posting the signs has supporters.

One parent of a school pupil in the town of Redmond, Lauren Moynihan, is rather pleased that the signs have shown up, according to KIRO-TV.

“This is like the fourth year. Nobody knows who does it. But I’m appreciative to them….because I think people should be able to say Merry Christmas. That’s the whole point of this holiday.”

Schools in the town of Redmond work towards being inclusive and tend to steer away from the use of Merry Christmas. A spokesperson for the Lake Washington School District, Kathryn Reith, explained the goal of schools in the district, and how they do not want to come across as promoting any religious celebrations.

“We have lots of different families of lots of different faiths. And we need to make sure everybody feels comfortable. So we have a number of policies that are aimed at doing just that.”

At first, the “It’s OK to say Merry Christmas” signs that were posted near a high school were taken down by a staff member at the school, according to the Redmond Reporter. However, they were put back up after it was found out they were on public property and therefore legal to be there, according to Reith.

“I understand that one staff member removed the signs in front of Redmond High temporarily, thinking they were actually on school property, but quickly replaced them once she did some research and determined they were on public property after all.”

The “It’s OK to say Merry Christmas” signs placed around the Horace Mann Elementary in Redmond had been removed as well, but Reith denies that the school had anything to do with them being taken down, and staff members were not instructed to do so.

The signs saying “It’s OK to say Merry Christmas,” which include a passage from the Bible and a nativity scene, according to the Blaze, started to show up in late November. The signs had been seen near churches, city hall, a library, the fire hall, and even near a mosque.

The Bible passage is Romans 1:16, which states, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”

Although there had been a complaint from one Muslim resident of Redmond, Washington, over the “It’s OK to say Merry Christmas” signs, the president and co-founder of the Muslim Association of Puget Sound, Mahmood Khadeer, was quoted by KOMO-TV as saying that he was not bothered by the appearance of the sign near the mosque and feels that members of the Muslim community shouldn’t be either.

“When I look at it, personally, as well as what is written on the sign, it shouldn’t bother Muslims at all. If they would have some offensive comments on it, something like that, then I should be worried about it. The way I look at the sign, it’s okay to say Merry Christmas, and I think it is okay to say Merry Christmas.”

As it has been for the last four years, the mystery identity of the poster of the “It’s OK to say Merry Christmas” signs in Redmond carries on.

[Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images]

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