What holidays in December are important?
Hanukkah? Check.
Human Rights Day? Check.
Winter break? Check.
Eid al-Adha? Check.
Kwanzaa? Check.
Anything else big going on in December that the Spokane School District thinks should be noted in its parent/student newsletter?
Hanukkah, Human Rights Day, winter break, the Islamic holy day Eid al-Adha, first day of winter and Kwanzaa all made the list, but Spokane Public Schools snubbed Christmas.
Yuletide was left off a list of “important dates” in a December newsletter sent to elementary school students’ families, drawing complaints from some parents that in an age of political correctness, Christians are being overlooked in favor of other cultures and beliefs.
As the response started coming in, the district’s community relations department began damage control, sending out e-mails to school staff accepting responsibility for the “Bulletin Board” newsletter blunder and calling it “an honest, unfortunate mistake.” Christmas had been added to the “important dates” section of the online version of the school district’s newsletter by Thursday afternoon.
(Hat tip: Huckleberries Online and Orbusmax)
See what others have said
Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.
Trackbacks
- What happened to Christmas and Jesus? «
- Right Angles » Blog Archive » Inmates have taken over the asylum, part whatever
- Spokane Public School Snubbing Christmas
- Take to the Streets!
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Categories: Political Correctness
Blog Maverick
» My FCC Presentation on the Future of Digital Media
JustOneMinute
» The Surge Started Before The Surge? Well...NewsBusters.org
» Letterman: 'Bush's Administration is Clearly Guilty of War Crimes?'Gateway Pundit
» Obama's Wailing Wall Rally a Bust--- Turns Into Mob Scene-- Worshippers Scream at Obama!! ...Update: VideoWeekly Standard
» McCain Defends Statement on the Surge and the Anbar AwakeningJustOneMinute
» Klein v. KleinNewsBusters.org
» CBS Frets Obama Can't Escape 'Hussein' Middle Name in IsraelPower Line
» Three Related StoriesBetsys Page
» The Obamas should make up their minds if they're for or against exploiting their children
Yup, honest mistake because Christmas is sooooo forgettable. RIIIIIIIGHT!
Oh yeah Christmas, but don’t they mean X-mas? And where’s the Winter Solstice Fir Tree of Light Festival?
My borther’s birthday.. December 25th.. Wait, that’s Christmas too.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see laws passed making Christmas illegal, and demanding all Christians go to work on that day, just to make reparations to the politically correct who feel offended by that faith and its celebrations and that faith alone.
It could have been an “honest mistake” but only people who think Christmas is unimportant forget that it’s December 25 - every single year.
Whatever happened to the Just Kill Us Now and Totally Replace Our Culture Day?
What part of official FEDERAL Christmas Day holiday did they not get?
Hmmm … last two nights on nationally broadcast TV … A Charlie Brown [I forget] and The Grinch Who Stole [I forget]
Where’s my aluminum pole? I need to air grievances.
As a resident of Spokane Valley, People’s RepubliK of Washington, I read this in the local fishwrap this morning.
I am NOT buying it!
There are several school districts in this metro area and Spokane Public School District 81 is the worst. I had a boss that moved from the district to the Mead district and they wanted to place all of his children back a grade because they were behind where they needed to be in the Mead district. With a lot of help from him and his wife and a tutor they got them up to speed and they are doing well.
District 81 has no problem bringing in Muslims to explain Ramadan and other “diversity for the sake of diversity” crap all year but they call it “Winter Holiday” and the “Winter Concert” and that kind of crap.
Glad I don’t live in the district but I’ll be sending my 2 year old to one of our fine PRIVATE education establishments in this area when she is older anyway.
Has the entire country gone insane? I’m about ready to kill someone. Prolly someone who is very Political correct.
I remember when Spokane was a pretty conservative city, but have not been there since the mid-1980s. Sounds like this school district has gone off the rails into the PC woods, I hope they find their way out or Santa Claus might just give the administration a big lump of coal for their Christmas present.
Well, duh. Everybody KNOWS that December 25 is Christmas, so why is there any need to put it on the calendar?
/sarcasm
They don’t even have the snow globes simply to admit it was intentional?! I thought dissent was supposed to be courageous.
I don’t know what offends me more. Their snubbing Christmas (no, I don’t mean Xmas), or their thinking I would accept that lame excuse of forgetting it.
Surely people as smart as they’re supposed to be could come up with a better excuse than that.
Jerks!
This sounds like “Affirmative Action” out of control…
I expect that next year Christmas may be celebrsted in secret, like the early christians forced to worrship “underground”
during the days in Rome.
Don’t know if you saw my earlier post but the way to same Christmas is to remind the libs that is a day very important to the ‘undocumented workers’!
I am deeply offended by all the people who are trying to eliminate any public display of anything evenly remotely connected to Christianity. Now will those people practice what they preach and go away?
I see it
quote
Hanukkah? Check.
Human Rights Day? Check.
Winter break? Check.
Eid al-Adha? Check.
Kwanzaa? Check.
unquote
but I still can’t believe it
Beautiful! Great Costanza reference.
Obviously, the only fair solution would be to deny paid time off over the Christmas holiday for the
obtuse bigotsintolerant liarsembarrassed government school employees responsible for this over site.After all, Christmas has only been a federal holiday for over 120 years when 98.9% of the entire U.S. of A. shuts down.
Deny ‘em holiday pay & make ‘em work the time. Problem solved.
Yeah, what about Festivus? It’s at least as real of a holiday as Kwanzaa.
As a Catholic, I am deeply offended by their incitement of religious hatred, and will immediately muster the armed militia from my church (Knights of Columbus) to take to the streets in protest and demand somebody’s head. Maybe we can even settle a couple of old scores with those danged Lutherans down the street while we’re at it.
Oh wait, nevermind.
#23 locomotivebreath1901
I second the motion….
I don’t suppose they want historical events like Pearl Harbor listed?
When did Jesus become the bad guy here? What would JC say?
Thou shall celebrate my b-day!
Blessed are those who shun the ACLU
Do unto Billary as she would do unto you
Thou shall not buy Aqua dots
Blessed are the pure in heart, they read MM.com
Thou shall listinith to Maha Rushie
Blessed are the peace makers, as they shall be called Marines.
#25 AuntiEm
remember this is a goverment school..
no US history permitted…
Wasn’t it an Infant King,born in the chill of midnight, who lay in a manger as Shepards & Wise men came to adore Him?…..wasn’t it this same Infant King, whose Birth is celebrated in December, who went on to say when He was older, “will there be any Faithful left when I return?”
old trooper said “I expect that next year Christmas may be celebrsted in secret, like the early christians forced to worrship “underground”
during the days in Rome.”
on the bright side, it could inspire a whole slew of new carols…
“Have Yourself a Secret Little Christmas”
“Christmas in the Catacombs”
“Joyless to the World”
“I’ll be in a Hole for Christmas”
“Silent, REALLY Silent Night”
hey, it’s friday
IMHO all those who don’t believe in Christmas should be required to work on that day. After all, it’s just another day to them. How fast do you think they’d change their (P.C.) minds?
I don’t believe in Christmas. I would be happy to work that day … if I could get another day off.
Thanks Englishqueen!
babbledabble #31, no kidding,
“We’re the NEA; destroying America, one child at a time.”
Christian’s ask for 1 day to celebrate the coming of their savior 1 day. If it were anyone else’s savior and was trying to be stamped out they would declare war on the one’s trying to do so.
When did Kwanzaa become a real holiday? It’s just made up. Festivas is more relevant.
Here you go, PB:
http://www.festivuspoles.com/pages/Festivuspoles.htm
“I’m so disappointed in you!”.
I think that’s perfectly reasonable. My employer shuts down for the week between Christmas and New Year. Everyone - Christian, Muslim, Jewish and otherwise gets that time off with pay.
I could see this being an issue if non-Christians didn’t get some benefit out of it. But they do, either in time off or extra hours — doesn’t Christmas qualify as time and a half or double time for most positions?
As blind mule said - ONE day. All the American national holidays liberals despise are only ONE day.
Hey… lighten up. It was an error. They acknowledged it. They fixed it. Leave it at that. There are other things to get upset about rather than working up a lather about someone’s oversight.
Well, they cram “Black History Month(s)” down students’ throats……
I am offended so they need to stop.
Kwanzaa! that is funny
#40 - I would be willing to if I thought it was an honest mistake. But c’mon! Do you really believe it was?
And can you imagine what would have happened if they had left Kwanzaa off? Jesse and Al would be up in arms, NAACP would be in there demanding reparations, the usual three-ring circus!
I believe it was an honest mistake, but a stupid, honest mistake. I think that they are so brainwashed on this false “separation of church and state” that it TRULY slipped their minds. It’s not an excuse; just a reason.
Since when is there honesty in WA?
ggchuck: It wouldn’t be such a big deal if we weren’t faced with a daily barrage of how ANYTHING even remotely Christian is somehow a violation of the non-existent “separation of church and state” clause, and constantly having to fend off atheists and various assorted liberals who hold nothing but contempt for the Christian religion.
If we didn’t have that constant drumbeat of “Christianity bad. Christianity must be vanquished from the public sphere” this WOULDN’T have been a big deal.
I’m not buying this lame brain excuse of forgetting Christmas. It was intentional and when they got caught, they played the old duck and run.
Oh well, at least the good people of Washington got on them and had it fixed.
The “unfortunate mistake” was that the jackasses got caught! I’m getting so sick of the liberal insanity here in the PNW that I’m about ready to pack my stuff and move back to Iowa!
On November 30th, 2007 at 3:50 pm, englishqueen01 said:
I wouldn’t be surprised to see laws passed making Christmas illegal, and demanding all Christians go to work on that day, just to make reparations to the politically correct who feel offended by that faith and its celebrations and that faith alone.
It could have been an “honest mistake” but only people who think Christmas is unimportant forget that it’s December 25 - every single year.
OK, as long as ALL “Holiday” sales and gift giving are made illegal too.
I think what’s happening to Christians and Christmas in this country is really unfortunate, but I do worry that sometimes the level of outrage demonstrated at such things like this make the point of Christianity and Christmas, which is God’s love incarnate in Christ, completely lost.
The mistake was corrected. Our God is big enough to forgive this, if it ever offended Him the first place. I mean, it’s not like they named a teddy bear, “Emmanuel” or anything.
X-mas is a legitimate Christian sord/symbol. The X is the Greek letter “chi” which is the first letter in the Greek word Kristos, “Christ.”
See here, and here, and here.
sorry…
sord = word
What’s Christmas?
Ok, that was stupid so it fit.
This is unbelievable, yet not surprising. I don’t understand how this country and culture feels completely at ease offending the Christian and American culture.
Any slight against any other religion would see riots in the streets. Maybe we should give these people 40 lashes and they won’t forget next year. . . you know like those people who celebrate whatever that Muslim festival that they didn’t forget might if they forgot.
It is so sad. This culture is doomed, but not from an external enemy.
#12 Boomer:
Well,in the mid-’70s through early ’80s, liberal Californians discovered Oregon and Washington (the same “flight-y” way Massachusetts progressives discovered Vermont) and hied themselves up there pronto to where America was still the way America was back in the good ‘ole traditional days.
The natives hated the influx of the fancy folk so much, stories abounded of Californians hiding or switching their license plates at the border so they wouldn’t be recognized and yelled at by total strangers to “go back where you came from!”
Oregonians and Washingtonians growled that they were being “Californi-cated”, and boy, have they been proved right.
Now their conjoint offspring are certified mind-melded moonbats!
Thanks leepro, always glad to learn something new! It was Greek to me!
Well, can’t say I’m shocked at all about this.
# 58 AlohaGuy
Well, it could be worst by working in Las Vegas where any given holiday is the busiest day & isn’t gauranteed an off day.
Paranoid thought of the day:
Maybe they didn’t forget Christmas, maybe they replaced it with Eid al-Adha… uh-oh.
Aloha Guy 58, yes I had been told that before. So X-mas is a good way to get around the Christmas deletion in all things. Seculars think it is a slant on the whole Christian Holiday to say X-mas.
oops and #53..
Maybe they’ll remember better, if we stick a Christmas Tree where the sun don’t shine.
Spokane School District and others who hate Jesus can be assured that Jesus will not forget them on the day that these people pass from this earth. I would hope that these haters would reconsider their options here and avoid an eternity of darkness
Anyone who says it was an honest mistake is either stupid or delusional. This was NO mistake.
Political correctness has become like a tidal wave. What do we do to reverse the tide? It seems that it takes only one person or one small entity (such as the SF school board and the ROTC)to impose their will on the majority. WE THE PEOPLE are supposed to run this country, not ME THE BLAND IDIOT STAMPING MY FOOT FOR ATTENTION.
Ummmmm, Brother, not all of us were Marines, some of us were in the Army
Just sayin’ …
I personally do not celebrate Christmas as it was originally a pagan holiday but there is that little thing in there about judge not lest ye be judged so I happily volunteered to work it for others who did celebrate it when I lived in the states. Then again, anything that causes people to actively reflect on the Bible and its teachings, to me at least, is a good thing.
OT
Seems I do remember a story about how da’ Angel got on top of da’ tree but …. well, methinks dems no angels dere!
(Pun intended)
The district’s community relations department began damage control? They should resign in mass. Heathens.
Can you back that up with a source?
If you do a search for the Historical origins of Christmas you will find it was established by the Romans to unify a pagan celebration with people of Christian belief in the Church. In the meantime, here are two quick references I pulled from a search:
http://de.essortment.com/christmaspagan_rece.htm
http://www.new-life.net/chrtms15.htm
Full Disclosure: I did not fully verify the sources but simply reviewed the pages that came up under my search for historic origins of Christmas. Mine is a personal decision based on my reading of the Bible and I do not feel compelled to judge anyone for practicing their beliefs. (Unlike the “tolerant people” on the other side of the fence) It was actually a council, (The Roman Catholic Diocese of the time) perhaps in Constantine(?) where the original habit of combining the original pagan celebration of the Winter Solstice was combined in order to appease the masses. It was hoped that by combining the two, they would appease the Christians as well as the pagans.
Hope that helps.
Wartip, I believe new research has shown that the Emperor Aurelian established the pagan festival c. AD 200 in an effort to distract from Christmas. It was our festival first!
Incidently, prior to 1054 there was no Roman Catholic Church. It makes no more sense to refer to the Church of the period as “Catholic” (except in the small c sense) then it does to call it “Orthodox.” The Eastern Orthodox Church has just as long a history…In any case, don’t mix up the Early Church with the Modern Catholic church, nor the Post-Council of Trent Catholics with the Western Medieval Church, etc., etc. Priests still married in the Western Church, prior to 1050 or so, to name one difference. I don’t mean to be rude to the Catholics on this board, but the claims that the Catholic Church was the one and only church prior to the Reformation, and that it was unchanged from the early period one are balderdash. Why Protestants act like they are true I cannot say…
So, the Muslim holiday that I would bet no one here or pretty much anyone else outside of a mosque had heard of was on there but Christmas, the holiday that takes up two weeks out of December and has every year of their lives since they started school and continued every year of their lives and they have celebrated since they were born just “slipeed their minds….whoopsie”.
I call Schennanigans! BS! Crappola! Oh, and sorry to all my African-American friends and neighbors, but I also do not recognize Kwanzaa. If that makes me a racist, bigot, or whatever you want to call me because I refuse to recognize a holiday that is made up, based on nothing other than the imagination of a heinous criminal with a really, really bad and long criminal record, then I apologize and sorry that you feel that way, but I also feel that it is soething that only serves to separate the races further and serves no purpose other than that.
Oooohhh…nice poles!
As a Jew I am “perturbed” about the Jews For Jesus; That can’t be helped. However, count me in for
“Jews For Christians”
Merry Christmas!
I just feel bad that the children do not get to enjoy the holidays for what they could be, or what they where when I was a kid.In fact I pretty much think kids today get screwed by the older generations who apparently have forgot their own childhood. We are the most diverse country on the planet, I just do not understand why that isn’t good enough, and what the He** is wrong with Washington state? Been snortin too much Starbucks appparently.
I have a toddler and I believe in Christmas. Some of my most memorable bonding times with my family was over Christmas. It is such a shame that people are being made to feel guilty that they love to celebrate a holiday and are told to surpress it. Sometimes I run out of words to express what I truly think.
I agree with you Leepro, but as a Christian I can attest that those who hate Christmas will also hate Jesus as well and his Message to repent. The other poster was correct saying Washington and Oregon are being Californicated now we are stuck with their godless culture.
The birth of Christ is a historical fact. While the exact date may not be known, that fact has been adopted as a more than noteworthy day of rememberance and celebration. The fact that simple shepards were the first to be notified by God indicates His understanding of politically correct elitist, such as the folks in Spokane. God shunned them as wee should also.
AAARRGHHH!!!! Why did it have to be Washington? I am seeing my home state in way too many posts on this site.
ARMOREDCAV,
Try living in Florida…
Grey Fox:
Nice try - next time, how about the truth?
This year after not seeing Merry Christmas in my public library, I asked why.
They have a Happy Hannakah sign and Kwanza, but no Christmas, makes no sense.
I can’t wait to hear the answer. The person to answer that is to call me on Monday. If you are going to have the others, have them all.
ethelight
When not in exotic countries, the army has most recently been keeping me in Georgia. That is hot and humid enough, thanks! I watch my poor home state from afar.
Your right but some theologians believe the actual month of his birth was April.The birth story has a few changes also, some theologians believe that the Three King’s did not show up at the mangre, they believe the met Jesus when he was anywhere from 3 to 5 years old. This is due to the time it took to travel in those days.
All of that is irrelivant because:
otherwise Christmas celebration would last until Easter.
Say… just cancel the traditional Christmas/New Year break and tell the teachers to report as usual every week day… memories will be instantly improved.
A little late with this but I just got it in my email. I don’t know the author as it was forwarded but a name is on the bottom. Hope no one minds.
Twas The Month Before Christmas
Twas the month before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying
Nor taking a stand.
Why the Politically Correct Police had taken away,
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing,
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people’s feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a ” Holiday “.
Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe’s the word Christmas - was no where to be found.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny’s and Sears
You won’t hear the word Christmas; it won’t touch your ears.
Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace.
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
So as you celebrate “Winter Break” under your “Dream Tree”
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holidays !
I know I for one will tell everyone MERRY CHRISTMAS.. NOT Happy Holidays……
Baby Jesus’ Birthday is a very important day to celebrate - shout out loud and tell everyone!!
Cliff Hodnett
So while I was at the “Evil WalMart” today, stocking up on all the lights I am going to need to turn my front yard into the “Winter Wonderland” it is every year, I told the guy who rung me up, “Merry Christmas!” He then replied, “Happy Holidays.” I asked him, “Which one?” He looked a bit perplexed, definately was not ready for a retort of that nature (thank you to whomever it was here who gave me that idea…sorry but I cannot remember who it was) and then responded, “All of them!” I said, “tell you what…I stick with Christmas and maybe Channukah…it lasts longer.” and left. Hopefully he will only say Merry Christmas from now on in order to avoid a smart assed customer again in the future. If so I have done my job. :->
englishqueen01(#48): That’s exactly why this phony outrage is so counter productive. The omission of Christmas was stupid. To have purposely omitted it would have be extremely stupid as it had a 100% chance of causing embarrassment. Even Liberals aren’t that extremely stupid.
The issues to be outraged about are those that are done on purpose and with no apology or retraction offered such as (examples in San Diego): the removal of the memorial cross on Mt. Soledad, the removal of the manger display in Balboa Park, the renaming of ‘Christmas on the Prado’ to ‘December Nights,’ etc.
To harp on a error detracts from the outrage of legitimate issues. Though the consequences are magnitudes apart, I find this topic analogous to the phony outrage expressed at the naming a stuffed bear Mohammed.
You honestly think that this was an honest mistake? You honestly think, that a holiday celebrated every year since burth and as a school administrater, since starting school with a two week break and then suddenly ommitting it ehile listing even the most obscure, never before heard of holidays taken from God knows where was a mistake? Now I am all for suspending belief and giving the benefit of the doubt, but this is too much.
How do you think they came up with the list of these other holidays? Don’t you think that the source for these other holidays had Christmas listed SOMEWHERE? All that needed be done was look at a regular caledar. As far as I know, they still list it.
No, it sounds to me as this was yet another ploy of the Liberal PC police to keep people from being offended by the greatest of holidays which only asks for “Peace on Earth” and “Good Will Towards Men” This, as we all know, goes in direct opposition to the teachings of Islam, and we wouldn’t want IRB running amuck up there would we?
So really think about this and ask yourself again why in the world you think someone could or would believe that Christmas could possibly be imitted off a list when it guarantees the staff two weeks off with paY?
tolerance means allowing people to celebrate whatever the hell they want, including Christmas.
Oh, and btw, I love Christmas, but to my Christian brothers i’d like to say.
The greatest Christian holiday is not Advent (Christmas) but rather Holy Week (Good Friday and Easter). The Earliest Church looked forward to Easter Rather than Christmas throughout the year, and there was a reason.
Unfortunately, over time, Christmas became more popular because of the Presents.
The Incarnation is a Holy, and Wonderful event, and I share the joy of my bretheren. But lets not forget about Why he was Incarnated. To die and be wounded for our Transgressions, and to be raised in Glory Defeating Death and Hell.
Actually, Eater still is the Holiest of the Holidays as it is the foundation of the Christian faith…at least it is in the Catholic Religion. I am not sure about the other Christian sects. However, due to the books and the lore, Christmas is just plain prettier, and, like you said, the presents and it can be celebrated by Christians and non-Christians alike based on Santa and other reasons. While Christ is the reason it is celebrated today, it was chosen to coincide with the Pagan Winter Solstice in order to make it easier to convert the pagans when the Roman emperor decided to switch over
i know, there are a great many Evangelists that are probably going to try and come through the computer screens at that thought, but it is true. A great many holidays are based on the Pagan calendars as are the rituals It was done that way in order to make conversions easier for them. Even Christ’s offering of His Body and Blood at the Last Supper was a ritual form of cannibalism if you think about it.
Sorry guys, just twelve years of Catholic education with four of it being Jesuit trained. They do like to offer up a healthy dose of different religious thought. That, and then there were those years of independant study.
Also John, people seem to have confused tolerance with acceptance. You can tolerate anything, but just because I tolerate my daughters choice in music does not mean that I have to accept the fact that she is listening to it. Smae goes with other things. I can tolerate Islam, but it does not mean I have to accept them trying to convert everything and everyone they come into contact with.
No worries Ret Fireman, I myself am a Conservative Anglican, so I share a lot with my roman brothers.
Your funny, I could’nt get my fat ars through the screen if I tried, I agree and I’m a Pedestrian, but if you take time to study it many thing’s in the early church are not what some believe today. There were other books written that did not make the cut so to speak. The book’s that were chosen for the New Testament best told the story of Jesus and the will of God.
Silly fundies. How dare you try to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior at the same time we should be celebrating the birth of the Emperor of Peace and Prosperity.
OK, so does someone want to tell me what in the world “Human Rights Day” is? And how many presents do I get for it?
3ad vs 1933. We win.
“Human Rights Day”? Can’t tell you.
What I can tell you about though is the holiday that my brother and I came up with called “Marshall Law Day”. Now THAT will have everyone celebrating 4th of july again, let me tell you.
Fireman, “Marshall Law Day”? THAT would be one I would celebrate!