For crying out loud:

A high school choir was asked to stop singing Christmas carols during an ice skating show featuring Olympic medalist Sasha Cohen out of concern the skater would be offended because she’s Jewish.

A city staff member, accompanied by a police officer, approached the Rubidoux High School Madrigals at the Riverside Outdoor Ice Skating Rink just as they launched into “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman” and requested that the troupe stop singing, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported Thursday.

Cohen, the 2006 Olympic silver medalist and 2006 U.S. National Champion, had just finished her performance at the rink on the downtown pedestrian mall, and was signing autographs.

Choir director Staci Della-Rocco said she complied with the request “because a policeman told me to stop. I didn’t want to have a big old huge scene in front of my kids,” according to the newspaper.

Oh, you better watch out, you better not sing…

On a related note, Santa hats are causing offense in Britain:

A GRUMPY prisoner has demanded a ban on warders wearing Santa hats at Christmas time.

Inmate Jamie Chapman said the cheery headgear was “rubbing salt in the wound” of inmates who were missing relatives during the festive season.

Chapman’s moan was in a letter to lags’ paper Inside Time. But it was slammed as “ludicrous” by prison officers – who said they were only trying to cheer people up.

The inmate at Onley Prison, near Rugby, Warwickshire, said: “It’s the last thing prisoners want to see when they step out of their cells on Christmas morning.”

All together now: Boo-freakin’-hoo.

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Update: Reader Mike e-mails…

Michelle:

About Sasha Cohen being offended by Christmas carols…

Sasha was the co-emcee of a Christmas Tree lighting I attended at the South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA, where she helped introduce the All-American Boys Choir which sang, of course, Christmas carols. A google search brought up Sasha’s own website where it publicizes that she’s been on a Christmas Tree lighting TOUR!

Whoever thought she might be offended by Christmas carols must not have checked with Cohen herself.