Holiday décor in public schools

There are many ways to celebrate the holidays: Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa are just three that are commonly celebrated in December. But can teachers and students celebrate these holidays with specific décor?

In an email sent to UHS staff, Principal Jesse Guzman wrote, “This is a great and joyous time of year! However, I want to encourage staff to refrain from decorating spaces with religious décor and focus on an overall winter wonderland theme.”

Guzman continued with more specific guidelines, writing, “Let’s not have…Christmas trees, nativity scenes, religious figures, menorahs, Christmas decorations, angels, Santa Claus, etc. Let’s have…Snowflakes, snowmen, icicles, snow animals (penguins, polar bears), igloos, candy canes, white pinecones, crystals, snowballs, icebergs, cotton balls, etc.”

Orchestra teacher Tamra Gingold agrees with Guzman’s suggestions.

“I’m okay with [avoiding religion-based decorations]. Being one of the only Jewish people [at UHS and having] a very open mind and being very accepting of others’ cultures, it’s totally fine with me. I think there’s things in the holiday spirit that people can put up like snowmen and bells and things, but I find it appropriate to respect everyone’s culture by not putting up specifics,” she said.

Social Studies teacher Levi Molenhour does not support the new guidelines.

“I actually have a ‘Days Until Break’ countdown poster on the other side of my door that includes a Santa hat and a Christmas tree. I think that the new “rule” is a bit extreme,” he said. “Christmas decor such as trees and the the jolly old man himself have been ruled by the Supreme Court to be ‘secular’ and not ‘religious’ (Lynch v. Donnelly, 1984). Banning Christmas trees and Santa is, in my opinion, infringing on the 1st Amendment’s freedom of speech, and I think that the Court would agree,” he wrote in an email interview.

Despite his difference of opinion, Molenhour still could find humor in the situation, taking an idea from the NBC sitcom The Office by posting a “winter land” theme sign on his door as a “low-key, Office-themed protest,“ he admitted.