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Renaming of "Christmas Parade" Is Short-Lived

By Howard M. Friedman

Today's Merced (CA) Sun-Star chronicles a short battle in this year's "Christmas wars." The Christmas Parade which had been sponsored for 15 years by a private group was turned over to the city after the usual organizers ran out of energy to put on the event. City staff quietly renamed the event the "Holiday Parade" in order to be more inclusive and avoid lawsuits. However enough residents complained about the name change that the city went back to "Christmas Parade." Apparently not everyone learned that the city relented. A few days after the city's move back to the original name, it received a letter from Alliance Defense Fund arguing: "It's ridiculous that the people of Merced have to think twice about whether it's OK to have a 'Christmas' parade. An overwhelming majority of Americans celebrate Christmas and are opposed to any kind of censorship of Christmas." The parade will be held on Saturday. Its theme is "Sand, Surf & Santa," and floats can be decorated to reflect any religion.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on December 01, 2009 (boomark / email).