Obamacare may be “settled law” and, therefore, inviolate, but other laws apparently aren’t as ironclad. Take HB 308, aka the Merry Christmas Law, signed into law in Texas earlier this year by Gov. Ricl Perry. The law makes it permissible for students and staff at schools in the Lone Star State to say “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Hanukkah,” and similar holiday greetings.
But Nichols Elementary School, in Frisco, is thumbing its nose at the law. An email sent out to parents informs them of three rules of conduct it intends to enforce at this year’s “winter party. There will (1) no reference to Christmas or any other religious holiday, (2) no red or green or Christmas trees, and (3) nothing will stain the carpet.
Republican State Representative Pat Fallon, who co-authored HB 308, told My Fox DFW that he agrees with number three, but not one or two.
“We’re celebrating Christmas, so why can’t it be a Christmas party or maybe a holiday party?” said Fallon. “But they’ve skipped over ‘holiday’ and go to ‘winter.’ That’s political correctness gone too far.”
After the story made headlines, the party organizers at first caved, but then quickly reinstituted the no-holiday-greetings posture. A PTA member sent an email reading:
Today at the PTA meeting it was stated that they had decided to keep everything the same. She said they didn’t want to offend any families and since each family donates money they feel this is the best policy.
One parent said that the school is very diverse, but the rules don’t make sense.
Parent Rosie Ciullo told Fox that the school is “very diverse” but that the ban doesn’t make sense.
The kids that [sic] are used to saying Christmas. They should be able to say ‘Merry Christmas,’ and the one who doesn’t want to say ‘Merry Christmas,’ don’t say it — say it your way.
This week, Texas Values, a conservative group, released a radio ad as a holiday reminder of the new law. The spot is running in the four largest media markets in the state, and closes with the voice of a child saying, “And remember, it’s OK to say ‘Merry Christmas.”
