While the majority of our nation celebrates Christmas, over the past several years, the ACLU and its allies have been working overtime to censor seasonal religious expression. These organizations falsely claim that it violates the so-called "separation of church and state."
The following press releases provide real-life examples of cases and situations in which ADF and its allies defended religious expression at Christmastime.
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Christmas returns to the Santa Clara Valley - 12/21/2007
After receiving a letter from attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund, the Santa Clara Valley Water District lifted restrictions that barred employees from displaying any religious symbols and decorations celebrating Christmas at their workplace.
read more... ADF offers to defend Green Bay nativity scene - 12/18/2007
Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund sent a letter Monday to Green Bay city officials, affirming the constitutionality of the city’s holiday display at City Hall and offering to defend it in court free of charge. The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a secularist group, demanded that city officials remove a nativity scene from the display or face possible legal action.
read more... Oklahoma City government employees told: “No Christmas this year” - 12/17/2007
Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday to halt an unconstitutional ban by Oklahoma City officials on the right for city employees to publicly celebrate Christmas at their workplace.
read more... ADF attorneys offer to defend Ga. town against legal challenge to nativity scene - 12/17/2007
Alliance Defense Fund attorneys have offered to defend the town of Dallas free of charge on the heels of legal threats that demanded removal of a nativity display from a public street in the Georgia town. Americans United for Separation of Church and State sent a letter to city officials claiming that the presence of the nativity scene is “violating the Constitution.”
read more... ADF sends info letter after secularist group launches attack against nativity scene in Wisconsin - 12/17/2007
Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund sent a letter Thursday to officials in the Wisconsin town of Peshtigo, reassuring them that public displays of nativity scenes are constitutional. A national secularist group demanded that Peshtigo officials remove a nativity scene placed by the Chamber of Commerce as part of a holiday display on public property.
read more... ADF: Christmas tree does not need to be renamed in Ariz. town - 12/14/2007
A reference to the name “Christmas tree” has been axed by misled officials in an Arizona town. ADF attorneys sent an informational letter to the town of Queen Creek stating that the use of the word “Christmas” does not violate the Constitution.
read more... City officials in Michigan change Dickens Christmas Festival to Dickens Holiday Festival- 12/4/2007
Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund sent a letter Monday to city officials in Mount Pleasant explaining the constitutionality of using the word “Christmas” for its Dickens festival. City officials changed the name of its Dickens Christmas Festival to “Dickens Holiday Festival” in its advertising materials to be sent to a local school district after the school district enacted a policy banning the word “Christmas.”
read more... Room at the rotunda: ADF attorneys ensure nativity can be displayed in Wash. State Capitol building- 10/17/2007
A man barred from placing a nativity scene in the Washington State Capitol rotunda last year will no longer face opposition from state officials. ADF attorneys filed a lawsuit last year after state officials denied the request but allowed a menorah and a “holiday tree” to be displayed. The parties settled the suit, allowing Ron Wesselius to display a nativity scene on behalf of citizens who celebrate Christmas.
read more... Backed by ADF, first-grade student now permitted to share Christmas song with classmates - 12/15/2006
Initially denied the right by school officials to share a Christmas song with his classmates during “show and tell,” a first-grade student has been permitted to participate after an Alliance Defense Fund attorney sent a letter on his behalf to Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Jean Brown.
read more... Menorah, yes; crèche, no: New York village officials deny resident opportunity to display nativity - 12/11/2006
Acting on behalf of a local resident, Alliance Defense Fund attorneys and allied attorneys are seeking a temporary restraining order against officials in the Village of Briarcliff Manor who refuse to allow a crèche display in a public park. The attorneys filed their TRO motion today after filing a complaint in federal court Friday against the village’s board of trustees and its manager.
read more...
ADF allied attorneys contact nearly 11,500 school districts regarding Christmas expression - 12/8/2006
Alliance Defense Fund allied attorneys have contacted nearly 11,500 school districts across the nation within the last month explaining the law with regard to the celebration of Christmas in the public schools. In addition, information has been sent to mayors of more than 5,500 cities.
read more... ADF: More than 930 attorneys nationwide ready to combat attempts to censor Christmas- 11/15/2006
The Alliance Defense Fund announced today it has more than 950 allied attorneys available nationwide to combat any improper attempts to censor the celebration of Christmas in schools and on public property.
read more... ADF: Attack on Christmas is ongoing - 12/27/2005
After compiling the numbers regarding the attack on Christmas in 2005, the Alliance Defense Fund has found that the data continues to support the presence of an assault on the celebration of Christmas in America.
read more...
Away from the manger: Creche, candy, cookies with religious symbolism barred from Colo. classroom - 12/19/2005
An Alliance Defense Fund attorney has asked for the reversal of a ban on religious symbolism and references to Christmas at a Colorado elementary school. The ADF request came in a letter sent to district officials on behalf of a parent. read more...
New Jersey school stamps out references to Christmas - 12/19/2005
An Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney has sent an informational letter to the superintendent for Mine Hill Canfield Avenue School on behalf of a parent concerned about the apparent censorship of Christmas occurring there year after year. Copies were also sent to the assistant principal, the president of the school's board of education, and six board members. read more...
A-caroling they will go: School program revised to include unedited version of Christmas song - 12/14/2005
Officials at a suburban Chicago elementary school have changed their minds about their decision to revise the Christmas song "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" to "We Wish You a Happy Holiday" as part of an upcoming student concert after a letter from an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund clarified the law. The song joins tunes related to other holidays that were reportedly already part of the program. read more...
ADF offer: We'll defend City of Raleigh if ACLU challenges Christmas display - 12/12/2005
An attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund has formally offered to defend the City of Raleigh against a possible legal attack by the ACLU. read more...
Nativity scene reborn at Memphis library - 12/8/2005
Officials with the Memphis Public Library System have agreed to allow figures representing the baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the wise men back into a nativity scene on the Bartlett Public Library's community shelves. News of a letter to the library by an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund apparently prompted the mayor of the city of Bartlett to ask the library to reverse their decision to exclude the figures. read more...
ACLU Christmas censored in Jackson County, Georgia? - 11/29/2005
An attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund has written a letter to the Jackson County School System informing them of the unconstitutionality of the district's censorship of anything religious related to the Christmas holiday. read more...
ACLU backs down in Louisiana nativity scene case - 8/12/2005
In a settlement agreement negotiated by attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union will no longer pursue its legal attack upon the Bossier Parish School District. ADF attorneys represent the district. read more...
Christmas in July: City wins again, ACLU loses - 7/7/2005
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit ruled unanimously Wednesday that a woman represented by the ACLU who sued the City of Cranston, R.I., after being offended by Christmas displays at City Hall had no standing to bring her claim. read more...
U.S. Department of Justice to write brief in support of ADF “candy cane” case - 2/7/2005
The U.S. Department of Justice will write a brief in support of a lawsuit ADF attorneys filed against a Michigan school district last year. The school district prohibited a student from attaching a religious message to candy cane ornaments he passed out to classmates at Christmas. read more...
Good news on Christmas isn’t over - 12/27/2004
In response to a letter written by an Alliance Defense Fund attorney, the Illinois attorney general’s office stated Thursday that county employees in the state are “free to include ‘Merry Christmas’ and other religious messages in their seasonal greetings at work.” read more...
Sweet victory: Christmas expression OK’d at Florida school - 12/22/2004
Officials with Spanish River Community High School who refused to allow a student to distribute candy canes with a religious message to other students have changed their minds. The decision came after the principal of the school received a letter from an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund explaining the law with regard to religious expression in the public schools. read more...
Latest figure: ADF has contacted more than 6,700 school districts nationwide regarding Christmas expression - 12/21/2004
The Alliance Defense Fund has contacted more than 6,700 school districts across the nation within the last two months explaining the law with regard to the celebration of Christmas in the public schools. read more...
U.S. Department of Justice opens inquiry into Plano school’s restrictive Christmas policy - 12/16/2004
The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that it is opening a “preliminary inquiry” into the Plano Independent School District. read more...
ADF attorneys: U.S. Constitution does not require Christmas to be removed from Mustang holiday play - 12/9/2004
Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund, responding to an Oklahoma elementary school’s decision to remove all Christmas elements from its holiday play tonight, say the school’s actions are not in step with the law. read more...
Parents to speak out on Christmas music ban - 12/6/2004
Parents opposed to the South Orange and Maplewood School District’s ban on Christmas music, including instrumental versions, plan to express their disapproval of the policy at tonight’s school board meeting. read more...
ADF clarifies the law for New Jersey school district banning instrumental Christmas carols - 11/19/2004
An attorney allied with the Alliance Defense Fund in conjunction with the New Jersey Family Policy Council delivered a letter yesterday to the superintendent of the South Orange and Maplewood School District informing him that the district’s decision to ban Christmas carols, including instrumental songs, is legally unfounded. read more...
ADF contacts over 3,600 school districts nationwide regarding attempts to censor Christmas - 11/17/2004
The Alliance Defense Fund has contacted over 3,600 school districts across the nation within the last month explaining the law with regard to the celebration of Christmas in the public schools. read more...
Early Christmas gift: City wins, ACLU loses - 11/15/2004
A federal judge in Rhode Island today ruled that the City of Cranston’s practice of allowing private holiday displays, including religious displays, on the front lawn of City Hall does not violate the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. read more...
ADF tells school boards and NEA chapters nationwide: It’s Okay to Say Merry Christmas - 11/5/2004
Today the Alliance Defense Fund delivered a letter to every state board of education and National Education Association (NEA) chapter in the country explaining the law with regard to the celebration of Christmas in the public schools. read more...
ADF: More than 700 attorneys nationwide ready to combat attempts to censor Christmas - 10/27/2004
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—The Alliance Defense Fund announced today it has more than 700 attorneys available nationwide to combat any attempts to censor the celebration of Christmas in schools and on public property. read more...
ADF defends Christmas, even in June - 6/16/2004
SAGINAW, MI — Fifth-grader Joel Curry had one chance at participating in his school’s "Classroom City," a simulation to teach economics and citizenship at Handley School for the gifted. Unfortunately, he was met with bigotry and censorship from public school officials. read more...
ACLU Aiming to Censor Christmas in Elizabeth, Colorado - 11/20/2003
ELIZABETH, CO – The Colorado ACLU, a group that claims "to protect, defend and extend the civil rights and civil liberties of all Coloradans," is threatening to sue the Elbert County Charter School if the principal refuses to censor Christmas for the school’s children. read more...
Texas Elementary School Must Stop Censoring Christmas - 12/20/2002
Katy, TX – The double-standard for religious expression at the Hazel S. Pattison Elementary School in Katy, Texas, has grown so intolerable this December that parents have been forced to seek legal help. read more...