City officials in Michigan change Dickens Christmas Festival to Dickens Holiday Festival

adf ^ | December 04, 2007

[Coleus]

City officials in Michigan change Dickens Christmas Festival to Dickens Holiday Festival

ADF attorneys send letter providing information to officials in Mount Pleasant on the constitutionality of using the word “Christmas” for its Dickens festival

 

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — 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.”

“It’s ridiculous that a city thinks its festival named after Charles Dickens’ classic book, A Christmas Carol, has to be renamed a ‘holiday’ festival in order to appease the agents of political correctness at a local school district,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman.  The Mount Pleasant School District enacted a policy that purportedly bans the use of the words “Christmas,” “Santa,” and “nativity.”  ADF attorneys explained in the letter that such a policy is unconstitutional as applied to the private speech of students, teachers, and members of the community.

“The First Amendment of the Constitution restricts the government from infringing upon the religious liberty and religious speech of citizens, and the Constitution does not require the censorship of the word ‘Christmas,’” said ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco.  “What’s next?  A reading at the public library of ’Twas the Night Before a Holiday?”   A copy of the letter ADF attorneys sent to Mount Pleasant Downtown Development Officer Michelle Sponseller can be read at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/MountPleasantLetter.pdf.   ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and  litigation. www.telladf.org  www.saychristmas.org

[Coleus]

“A ‘Holiday’ Carol? I never heard of that book.

[weegee]

Is this a big Dickens festival? Do you think that Miller Beer would be interested in sponsoring it?

[lancer]

Soon it will be known as the “Dhimmi Festival” (and Michigan will deserve what it gets...)

[knarf]

I think I'll get a few of those smaller spray cans of paint and carry them around with me.

Every holiday will re-become Christmas.

Impromptu Guerilla Theater at its finest.

We can do this, FreepeRs

[madison10]

Scrooge would be happy...

[irishtenor]

Only in San Fran :>)

[KStorm]

They changed the name back to “Dickens Christmas Festival” after enough people were upset about the change. They even changed the radio ads.

[Clintonfatigued]

This is complete absurdity.

[cookcounty]

I had such a hard time finding good Rocky Mountain Christmas Cards this year. Everytime a card had a beautiful snow-covered peak, the inside always said "Season's Greetings", which is pretty much the same insipid thing as "Bland Gestures To You." Had to buy the ones with the blank insides. Card companies must be run by real morons.

I'd much prefer "Happy Hannukah" or, so help me, "Have a Rippin' Ramadan" to "Seezuns Gratings."

[Grizzled Bear]

They changed the name back to “Dickens Christmas Festival” after enough people were upset about the change. They even changed the radio ads.

---

But what about the two guys who were offended by the words “Christ - Mass?”

;-)

[RDTF]

[Peter Libra]

Liberal spouse and two liberal daughters went down to the lower Michigan last October. A nice place that goes absolutely and completely all out for shoppers and visitors. Historic and with a huge store- Bronners the Christmas store on Christmas Street. Yep, there is a nativity scene. Sort of a general Christmas theme all over town. Fact is the whole place is Christmas. Carols and all. Yeah, far as I now, no bad vibes.

FRANKENMUTH. MICHIGAN.

[tryon1ja]

This is a bogus story. The name was changed for one reason only. The schools send home Friday packets with their students . The packets are often used for free advertising. Since the school has banned the use of the word "Christmas" the name was changed to "Holiday" just to get the free advertisement. I don't know where the story about the letter came from because it has nothing to do with the name change. This same event of a name change also happened five years ago for the same reason.

Since, the city received the same huge outcry about the name change as they did 5 years ago. They realized it was a mistake and changed the name back to "Christmas" There is an editorial in the local paper, THE MORNING SUN, today that explains the whole story.

http://www.themorningsun.com/stories/050405/loc_don001.shtml

[toddlintown]

"Is this a big Dickens festival? Do you think that Miller Beer would be interested in sponsoring it?"

[toddlintown]

snort

[wardaddy]

i like that