12.12.06

THE CHRISTMAS GRINCHES ARE AT IT AGAIN! An Update on the Fourth Annual ADF Christmas Project... We're winning! (John 15:5)

Four years ago, ADF and its allies launched the "Christmas Project" to educate Americans about their right to publicly celebrate Christ's birth. It's been both a tremendous challenge and a lot of fun! Fun – when we see the smiles that come when Jesus gets to return to the public square!!

Despite their denials, the grinches at the ACLU and its allies have waged a "40 year war" -- systematic legal and public relations campaigns of "fear, intimidation, and disinformation" -- to convince public officials and school administrators they must censor public celebrations of Christmas. This includes privately funded crèches on public courthouse lawns (sending threatening letters advising officials about the proper way to celebrate the "solstice holidays" or checking to see if nativity scenes had been "sufficiently degraded") to school concerts that include Christmas carols (including instrumental versions!). Schoolchildren have even been told that they cannot wish our deployed troops overseas "Merry Christmas!"

95% Celebrate...
We knew that 95% of Americans celebrate Christmas and nearly 90% had no problem with the public celebration of Christ's birth (2005 Fox News/Opinion Dynamics Poll). But despite these overwhelming numbers, the very small and vocal minority of Grinches had almost won, and acknowledgement of Christ in public would go the way of the dodo bird.

That's why ADF launched the Christmas Project – and it's really caught on -- awakening a sleeping giant. By equipping public officials and school administrators with information about what the law really says (and not the ACLU version of "Twas The Night Before Solstice"), the Christmas message broke from the secular cocoon the ACLU and its allies had woven. By God's miraculous grace, we've not lost a single case to date, and thousands of public locations have been reopened to public displays of our history and heritage!

Growing Support...
Last year, after ADF's efforts to reclaim the public celebration of Christmas were featured in much of the national media, a USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll found that the number of Americans who desired to wish their friends and neighbors "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays" had risen 13% in just one year – from 56% in 2004 to 69% in 2005! ("The Poll Says Merry Christmas!" USA Today, December 20, 2005). This year, Wal-Mart, Kohl's, and Walgreens announced that once again the words "Merry Christmas" would be openly proclaimed in their stores. Alleluia!!

And last Friday, Zogby International released a poll that found:

• 95% of Americans say they are not "offended" when greeted with the words "Merry Christmas" when doing their Christmas shopping.
• 46% said they took offense when greeted with "Happy Holidays."
• 51% said they were bothered when store clerks greeted them with "Happy Holidays."
• 36% said they either cut short their visit to a store, or chose to shop elsewhere if they are greeted with "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas."

• In St. Albans, West Virginia, the nativity scene at the "Festival of Lights" this year included no Baby Jesus, Joseph, or Mary! (The display was one of 350 others in the town, with all of the rest being secular holiday symbols.) When ADF Senior Legal Counsel Mike Johnson talked with city officials, he learned some were under the mistaken impression they "had to keep out the Baby Jesus" to avoid an ACLU-inspired lawsuit. An ADF allied attorney, Robert Simpkins, also contacted the mayor's office and offered assistance. Thanks to their efforts, the Baby Jesus was allowed to rejoin the Nativity Scene.
  
  
• In Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, the ACLU filed another anti-Christmas lawsuit against the school district for allowing a student nativity play and two Christmas carols to be included in an elementary school program. (Can you imagine 6 minutes of a 200-day school year having such "frightening" music??)
  
  
• In Village of Briarcliff Manor, New York, ADF attorneys, along with two allied attorneys, are seeking a temporary restraining order against officials who refuse to allow a crèche display in a public park. The village sponsors a "holiday" display that includes a 9 foot high menorah, bows, garland, and a banner that says "peace on earth." However, when a resident tried to display a crèche in the park, his request was denied. You can read a copy of the complaint at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/RitellComplaint.pdf.
  Learn more by reading the ADF press release...

Prayer Requests | Visit the ADF prayer page
"Without Christ, we can do nothing." - John 15:5

1. Please pray for ADF's Christmas Project.
   
2. Please pray for the upcoming legal battles ahead.