Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian
From: geoff@pmafire.UUCP (Geoff Allen)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Halloween (really schools, church, and state)
Message-ID: 
Date: 3 Oct 89 00:53:13 GMT
Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu
Organization: WINCO Computer Engineering, INEL, Idaho
Lines: 33
Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu

In article  pmd@cbnews.att.com (Paul M Dubuc) writes:
>On to what is becoming a pet peeve concerning Halloween and the public
>schools:  It's not even October yet and they are starting up already.
>My daughter's Kindergarten class is making haunted houses and ghost masks.
>Around here the schools really over-do Halloween.  Doing even half as
>much for Christmas would be considered sectarian and offensive, a violation
>of Church/State separation.

When my wife was doing some student teaching around Easter (when schools
are doing the bunny bit), she asked her supervisor what she was allowed
to tell the kids concerning why we celebrate Easter.  She was told that
she could NOT tell the kids the origin of Easter.  Even if the kids were
to ASK why we celebrate Easter, she couldn't say, "We celebrate Easter
as the day Jesus rose from the dead."  She couldn't even discuss it as a
historical issue.  I guess she was supposed to give some answer about
bunnies or something.  I don't know.  Why do people assume it makes
sense to celebrate a holiday that you can't even legally explain?

--
Geoff Allen                  \  Since we live by the Spirit, 
{uunet,bigtex}!pmafire!geoff  \  let us keep in step with the Spirit.
ucdavis!egg-id!pmafire!geoff   \                    --  Gal. 5:25 (NIV)

[This sounds like somebody is being overly cautious.  Their European
history must be real interesting.  "Well, during the 16th Cent.  there
was this major event that completely changed the basis of European
civilization.  But we're not allowed to tell you anything about it.
And it was followed by a bunch of wars.  But we can't tell you who was
fighting, why, or how they were resolved."  Presumably rather than
talk about bunnies your wife should say "It is a Christian religious
holiday.  School policy does not permit me to tell you anything more."
Or if even mentioning Christian is too much "School policy does not
permit me to answer that question."  --clh]