Why is Celebrating Christmas Controversial?
Nativity scene. Many religious symbols are not allowed in schools.
With winter break coming up, many students are eager to get out of school and celebrate holiday traditions. However, leading up to the break there is little mention of Christmas in school and very little talk of Christmas traditions or what makes up the Christmas spirit. Why is it that public schools in the United States are limiting the celebration of Christmas?
The argument may pertain to religion. Christianity is not a religion to a lot a people, and maybe aspects of celebrating Christmas can be bothersome. However, many citizens in other countries celebrate holidays that pertain to their country’s religion.
The fact is, many people celebrate Christmas even if they do not believe in Jesus or God, and to many students and people, Christmas time around the country is a time to give back and to spend time with family.
Christmas trees are in many houses that do not celebrate Christmas.
“On Christmas Eve my family and I often go to my grandparents’ house to make cookies. We also go to Gleaners food bank to volunteer,” said sophomore Emma Flowney.
Also, many Adams students want to be able to express and share their traditions as a part of their school experience, but they may be unable to due to a school district’s restrictions on holidays. If school boards throughout the United States minimize the celebration of Christmas, many beliefs, traditions, and moral philosophies could be limited as well within the schools.
Americans may be ignorant to the fact that many religious holidays aside from Christmas are disregarded because of the religion they originate from. In many opinions, all religious holidays should be celebrated to show others different traditions. This would allow all religions to be recognized instead of trying to censor them.
“America was founded on Christianity and is a large part of our culture. I think that if we celebrated Christmas, it would allow everyone as a whole to see the meaning of Christmas. Also, I feel that if Christmas is celebrated, then all holidays should be allowed to be celebrated in some way,” said sophomore Jack Snook.
As Adams students, the exposure to different cultures is very important. Learning about Christmas along with other holidays is equally important. Christmas needs to be celebrated in schools as it is and not as a censored event. Religious symbols and the morality Christmas promotes should be experienced throughout the school scene.
