Schools around the Country Ban Charlie Brown, Nativity Scenes and Poinsettias ... Really, Poinsettias?

First, schools banned Halloween. Now a class outing to see a church performance of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" could be nixed as well. Have schools taken things too far when it comes to "anti-Christmas" activities?

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” has been a holiday TV classic for years. So when students at Terry Elementary School in Little Rock, Ark., were invited on a class field trip to see a performance of the show this December, they were excited. But their excitement was quickly quenched when a parent complained — an atheist group got wind of the outing and called it a “violation of religious freedom” because it contains some religious content and will be performed at a church. The school sent a letter home to the parents detailing the field trip and letting them know that it did, indeed, contain a small amount of religious content, but that any child who wished not to go could be exempt from attending. The outing also included a food drive for area…

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Santa Claus Caught Red Handed

Parents can provide evidence that Santa is real.

  Disclaimer: If you are a child and you read this post then you will placed on Santa's naughty list and get a lump of coal for Christmas. This is super secret grown up stuff so you better get off your mom or dad's computer! Whew, that was a close one! Christmas is just around the corner and my three-year-old is already going nuts for Santa Claus. If we happen to be at the mall, my little one makes a mad dash to find Santa, sitting on his throne among the fake snow and cranky helpers in elf outfits, and to give the old boy a hug. He loves the jolly guy. If ever there was a time for me to play up the whole Santa Claus thing, now would be it. With the advancement of technology, kids these days can be presented with more than enough proof …

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Leigh Hewett

7:52 am on Tuesday, December 4, 2012

That's pretty sneaky.   more ›

City Spotlight

The Little Town Under the Star

Georgia’s town of Bethlehem shares its name with a municipality made famous in the story of the first Christmas.

Even though inventories in local stores are beginning to dwindle as holiday shoppers rush about checking items off of their gift shopping lists, small children across the nation are flipping through the pages of the latest big toy catalog for inspiration for their upcoming visit with Santa at the mall, and glorious twinkling lights are lining the houses and streets of small town America — the story at the heart of the Christmas season is still top of mind for many. From parents extolling the tale of Mary and Joseph to their children before bedtime to local churches reenacting that holy night with a live nativity — for many Georgia families, it’s not lost on them that that very special evening so long ago truly is “the reason for the season…

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