Winter break? Holiday break? Put ‘Christmas’ back in calendar, Carroll board president says
During a discussion about the calendar for the next school year, Southlake Carroll school board president Cameron Bryan said he wants the winter/holiday break to be referred to as “Christmas break.”
Bryan said he received several correspondences from the district referring to a “winter break,” “winter parties,” “holiday break,” “holiday parties” — everything but Christmas break and Christmas parties.
“It’s Christmas and New Year’s break. I think the district should refer to it as such,” he said during Monday’s meeting.
Bryan said he has heard that students, parents and teachers are afraid to “openly recognize this holiday” for fear of retribution.
Christmas was recognized as a federal holiday in 1870, he said, and there is a long tradition of civilly recognizing a religious holiday.
Bryan also mentioned the “Merry Christmas” law signed by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry in 2013 which allows students and teachers to acknowledge Christmas on school grounds.
He added that the First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.
He asked Superintendent Lane Ledbetter to send an email to district staff members with an explanation of the “Merry Christmas law.”
“I want every Carroll student, administrator, teacher and parent to know it is OK to recognize and observe this holiday on our campuses if you so choose,” he said.
[POLL: Do you prefer to say ‘Merry Christmas’ or ‘Happy Holidays’? Vote in our survey.]
This story was originally published December 21, 2023 at 8:34 AM.