As winter approaches and the impending doom of finals season lies heavy on our hearts, the time has come for LOHS to celebrate the Christmas season with festive activities such as door decorating, caroling in language classes and watching our favorite Christmas movies. While this may seem unproblematic at first, it raises a question that our school district, along with many others across the country, struggles to answer. That is: should public schools celebrate Christmas?

Legally, this question is difficult to answer. As the Bill of Rights has established, the American church and state are required to be separate. Logically, this should extend to our country’s federally-funded public education system, but that’s where things get much more complex.

If we’re going purely off of the Bill of Rights, then no, public schools should not celebrate Christmas as a holiday. Despite the control that consumerism has on the holiday, Christmas, as shown in the name itself, is a Christian holiday. Certain common traditions such as decorating our homes with evergreens that we now call Christmas trees have been practiced  long before Christianity was born, but the holiday is still celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the central figure of the religion.

However, the U.S. Supreme Court has said very little on the constitutionality of religious holidays being celebrated in public schools. So much research; all for naught.

But, who needs the Supreme Court when you can just hear a 16-year-old’s verdict on the matter? 

I personally see no issue with students and staff celebrating Christmas at school. ‘Tis the season, and I see no harm done. In the year 2021, Christmas has been far separated from its religious roots. It’s the time to eat cookies, appreciate your families, decorate your home and most importantly, waste all of your money on gifts for your loved ones (and that one friend that you pulled for Secret Santa who you don’t really know all that well, but still have to buy a gift). The holiday, for a great deal of the nation, is not celebrated in a religious manner. So, why would that change when it comes to LOHS?

In addition to the school’s support for Christmas, we should also make an effort to learn more about and celebrate other winter holidays. There are nine in total occurring around the world, and the fact that we, as a community, only care about one of them is disappointing to say the least. There’s more to the holiday season than splurging on presents and gorging yourself on cookies. Instead of spending all of our time fantasizing about a portly, white-bearded home invader, let’s see what the other cultures and religions that make up our community have to offer.