John Leo writes about the New York City public schools allowing only secular holiday symbols in the classroom, "such as Christmas trees, menorahs, and the star and crescent." Yeah (as Leo points out), that star and crescent are real secular.
Jay Nordlinger describes "Sparkle Seasons," "December Nights," and "Frost Time Festivals."
In New Jersey, one parent (an attorney--go figure) nearly succeeded in having "Silent Night" removed from a school concert that also featured (unprotested) "The Dreidel Song" and "Kwanzaa's Here."
In Wisconsin, the state capitol now displays a “Winter Solstice” sign which proclaims, “There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell.”
One New Jersey school district has banned for its brass ensemble even instrumental versions of songs that mention Jesus or Santa Claus.
And the examples of silliness go on and on and on.
Joe Carter at Evangelical Outpost has an interesting post on the subject (though I think his conclusion is ultimately misguided; no, Christian symbolism at Christmas is not the most important battle there is, but it's part of an overall secularization of society that Christians worsened through passivity. And the Christian side of the issue still enjoys a good degree of popular support, thus it's a good place to take a stand for Constitutional liberty.)
In his post, Carter makes one of the best statements I've seen on the silly position of the secularists:
[E]very year I’m baffled by the animosity toward Christmas symbolism. The same secularists who think that playing Grand Theft Auto:Vice City while listening to gansta rap has no affect on children act as if hearing “Merry Christmas” will turn little Johnny into a Pat Robertson clone.
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