The Twelve Rules of Christmas

Last week, the Rutherford Institute^® issued legal guidelines for celebrating Christmas in public, at school or at work. The "Twelve Rules of Christmas" were made available on their Web site in an attempt to deal with the annual onslaught of calls they receive regarding the censorship of Christmas celebrations. "Political correctness should never trump the First Amendment," said John W. Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute in a press release.

For example, the "rules" remind school administrators, employers and city officials that:

• Public school students' written or spoken personal expressions concerning the religious significance of Christmas (e.g., T-shirts with the slogan, "Jesus Is the Reason for the Season") may not be censored by school officials.
• Neither public nor private employers may prevent employees from decorating their offices for Christmas, playing Christmas music, or wearing clothing related to Christmas merely because of their religious content, so long as these activities are not used to harass or intimidate others.
• Government entities may erect and maintain celebrations of the Christmas holiday, such as Christmas trees and Christmas light displays, and may include crèches in their displays as long as the purpose for including the crèche is not to promote its religious content and it is placed in context with other symbols of the holiday season as part of an effort to celebrate the public Christmas holiday through its traditional symbols.

Click here for the complete list of rules. The Rutherford Institute is a civil liberties organization that provides free legal services to people whose constitutional and human rights have been threatened or violated.

(from FotF's Pastor's Weekly Briefing)