In schools and cities, battles over 'Christ' in Christmas

Many agree that Christmas has become synonymous with the cash register instead of the crèche. In 2000, the last time the question was posed by the Gallup Organization, 75 percent of Americans said there is not enough emphasis on the religious basis of Christmas. Eight-five percent said the holiday was too commercialized.

It's not just about religion for Mistretta and Lowry. In fact, neither sees the school as a place to indoctrinate children, they say. Nor is it tradition. Yes, Lowry says, she would like her children to share some of the childhood memories she recalls easily: a big Christmas trees right in the class, belting out carols with her classmates.

But their fight is about cultural diversity, they say, and tolerance. "Whether you love it, hate it, or ignore it, it is," says Mistretta. "Do I want my children to hear in school that Christians celebrate Christmas as the birth of Christ? Yes. Do I also accept that non-Christians don't [believe that]? Yes. But to sweep it under the rug breeds shame and disrespect."

Some schools across the country have increasingly celebrated faith, say experts, bringing in various religious leaders to give lectures. They have educated staff members about how to teach religion. Their holiday concerts are multireligious and multicultural.

But this is not always the norm. In school districts across the country, carols were outright banned this year like so many copies of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

Barry Lynn, the executive director for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, says that's appropriate. "The other side calls it censorship," he says. "I call it a responsible effort to make no student feel like a second-class citizen in his/her own school."

One reason that schools are quick to ban holidays instead of encourage the education of all faiths - as suggested by Haynes's Freedom Forum guidelines sent to schools across the country - is that it's easier. And it happens year-round. Some Christians complain that Halloween, for example, celebrates paganism.

Schools often "take the path of least resistance," says Haynes. They'd rather say: "OK, we'll just cancel it."

But over time, schools may be more inclined to incorporate some of these guidelines, as they respond to demographic shifts. True, 95 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas, according to a 2003 Gallup poll. But other religions and traditions, from Ramadan to Kwanzaa, are increasingly part of the culture.

Change can't come soon enough for Jim Finnegan, an activist with the God Squad, which has erected a life-size nativity scene in Chicago's Daley Center Plaza for nearly 20 years despite outcries from the American Civil Liberties Union and others. "The Christians seem to stay silent on this," he says. "But people are beginning to wake up."

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