Holidays Leave Some Students Feeling Left Out

During the December holidays, the halls of Coeur d’Alene High School are filled with lights, tinsel, and carols. The Student Council is busy planning a Christmas assembly, the choir rehearses for “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” and DECA decorates the cafeteria.

With winter break fast approaching, many students and faculty are wondering what is and isn’t appropriate for school celebration.

According to a Supreme Court ruling, Christmas is a secular holiday.

Likewise, it is outlined in the Constitution that church and state are to act separately. Therefore, government institutions such as public schools cannot celebrate religious holidays.

“Religion is essential to democracy. You shouldn’t endorse any particular religion. I don’t think our school does. The way we celebrate Christmas is cultural. It is more mainstream,” government teacher George Sayler said.

This year, Coeur d’Alene High School’s definition of mainstream is a Christmas tree, teachers dressed as Santa Claus, class decoration contests and snowmen and a menorah painted on the sliding glass doors of the cafeteria. The student who painted the menorah, and also a Star of David, is a member of the DECA class, whose tradition it is to decorate the doors.

After a misunderstanding last Monday, the menorah was removed. Two days later Jonah Anderson met with teacher Jon Hastings and was told to repaint the menorah.

“Some people still feel it is not right to have it up, but a Christmas tree is?” asked Anderson, 17.

“It is just as wrong as putting a cross up there. Any government display of a single religion is wrong. We should put all up,” Sayler said.

Many of the other faculty agree. Spanish teacher Mike Nelson proposes developing a cross-curriculum. In Nelson’s plan, each department in the school would teach the holidays with a global, historical or even philosophical perspective.

“We try to be careful and respectful to all students. Anything religious or representative of the Christmas holidays could be offensive. If we are going to represent the holidays, we should at least attempt to represent all holidays,” Nelson said.

Anderson said he feels the school is not doing a good job of representing all faiths. He cites the Christmas assembly as an example, saying the choir sings only songs associated with Christianity.

Accompanying its recital at the December assembly, the choir performed a holiday opera last Saturday called “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” It tells of a sickly boy and his widowed mother who are visited by the three kings during the time of Christ’s birth.

“Yes, it has some religious connotation. It isn’t, however, enforcing any one particular religion. It’s not interfering with anything,” said choir member Betsy Johnson, 17. “This is history. This is literature. It should be celebrated.”

Johnson said a lot of what is being performed was written in a time when art glorified God. She feels it would be negligent not to share that with others.

That sentiment goes back to Nelson’s view that the school should focus on a global perspective. It would add culture to the school, Nelson said.

There are more than 1,300 students at CHS. Students and faculty are predominantly white Christians, but there is diversity.

Dylan Cox-Wesson, 14, said that most students are not aware of other traditions and diversity.

“People here aren’t that cultured. I don’t know if they would know what a Kwanzaa basket means. I think the Christmas tree represents all holidays. It’s not a cross or anything. But you can’t guess how people will feel about things like that. Really, I wouldn’t mind at all if they took everything down. I have all that at home. I don’t need to have religion at school,” Cox-Wesson said.

Johnson agrees that the December holidays are unnecessary at school.

“A school shouldn’t have to be one way or another. They shouldn’t have to choose, but I don’t have any sentimentality in that way. It should be a big deal at home, not at a place of learning,” Johnson said.

A lot of students and faculty have been offended by the perception that the school’s community is only interested in celebrating one faith.

But, Student Council President Maggie Zimmerman said, almost anything can be offensive. “I’m offended by bad language I hear in the halls every day, but I deal with it,” Zimmerman, 17, said.

Anderson said he hopes that some day schools will be able to celebrate all of the winter holidays.

It’s either all of the religions or none. Since it won’t be none, Anderson said, it should be all.