Christmas is officially recognized as a secular holiday by the federal government and the following decision in 1999 by US District Court Judge Susan Dlott has been upheld after an appeal. Therefore any lawsuit (or threats of lawsuit) brought against any business or government entity can be dismissed based on this ruling.
However, some businesses and government entities would rather not stand up for Christmas as either a secular or religious holiday. The following video shows one man’s stance against the edict by the New York City Transportation Authority banning Christmas in their buildings.
The following excerpt outlines the court decision which was rendered in the form of a poem.
David DeGerolamo
“Isn’t There Anyone Who Knows What Christmas (the 2010 legal holiday) is All About?”
While the Christmas religious observance is centuries old, a federal Christmas holiday was not recognized until 1870. More surprising, the constitutionality of the legal holiday was not challenged until 1999. In her decision in Ganulin v. United States (ultimately supported by the U.S. Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court), District Court Judge Susan J. Dlott concludes that a Christmas federal holiday does not violate the First Amendment of our Constitution: “By giving federal employees a paid vacation day on Christmas, the government is doing no more than recognizing the cultural significance of the holiday.”
Judge Dlott’s appreciation of the cultural significance of Christmas is most clearly illustrated, not by her formal decision, but by her Dr. Seuss-inspired poem:
The court will address
Plaintiff’s seasonal confusion
Erroneously believing Christmas
Merely a religious intrusion.
Whatever the reason
Constitutional or other
Christmas is not
An act of Big Brother!
Christmas is about joy
And giving and sharing
It is about the child within us
It is mostly about caring!
One is never jailed
For not having a tree
For not going to church
For not spreading glee!
The court will uphold
Seemingly contradictory clauses
Decreeing “The Establishment” and “Santa”
Both worthwhile “Claus(es)”!
We are all better for Santa
The Easter Bunny too
And maybe the Great Pumpkin
To name just a few!
An extra day off
Is hardly high treason
It may be spent as you wish
Regardless of reason.
The court having read
The lessons of Lynch
Refuses to play
The role of the Grinch!
There is room in this country
And in all our hearts too
For different convictions
And a day off too!
The ditty actually lays out the judge’s legal reasoning.
