VerySpatial (anonymous) says...

"A petition to change the name and content of the Seasonal Celebration will be presented Wednesday night to the Emporia Board of Education."..................I hope its to change it back to Christmas.

October 22, 2007 at 10:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

wanderer (anonymous) says...

Would you feel the same way if the petition was to make it the Ramadan Celebration? Just a thought.

October 22, 2007 at 10:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

VerySpatial (anonymous) says...

In 2007, Ramadan lasted from September 13 to October 13 . Hmmm actually a whole month of celebration..... I am game. Honestly I don't advocate the change back to Christmas was just trying to start a discussion.

October 22, 2007 at 11:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

admireed (anonymous) says...

Christmas Celebration? What a great idea for a long time rooted season.

October 22, 2007 at 11:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

create (anonymous) says...

It's not difficult to see that the holidays are upon us as the annual name-calling argument ensues. I'll be interested in what new name they are proposing down at the school board.

I'm with you, tre; let's celebrate everybody's holiday. We can fly multi-colored flags downtown. Let's call it Multi. Just Multi.

'twas the night before Multi, and all through Emporia, all the creatures were smiling; it was just plain euphoria.

Happy Multi, everyone.

October 23, 2007 at 7:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

emporialifer (anonymous) says...

Well I guess since Christmas is a National Holiday that most people have off from work and that is what the majority of people are celebrating, perhaps it makes sense to actually say the word "Christmas"! Otherwise I would think we would need a "Seasonal" celebration every quarter for the 3 other seasons (Spring, Summer and Fall) or else those seasons might feel left out. :)

October 23, 2007 at 8:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

native_emporia (anonymous) says...

As a native of Emporia that participated in the annual "Christmas Program" from 6th grade to 12th grade, I would love to see it go back to what it once was. The changes that have been made in the last few years are very sad. The band on the stage rather then the scenes, all the movement during the program back and forth from the stage to the floor, the loss of many of the traditional songs, etc. It is a community tradition to celebrate the holiday, which is still nationally called Christmas; we haven't changed the Christmas parade to seasonal parade! So my hope is we can see the return of a wonderful program that was enjoyed by many in the community and that we could get away from always having to be "politically correct"!

October 23, 2007 at 10:38 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

blulitespecial (anonymous) says...

Everything's so politically correct that it's... just... plain...wrong.

October 23, 2007 at 11:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

open_eyes (anonymous) says...

Here's a solution, that I think the Board might agree on:

1) Since Christmas is a holiday to celebrate the birth of Christ, let's rename it "Independence Day".
2) Since Independence Day is to celebrate our country's independence, let's rename it "New Years Day".
3) Since New Years Day is to celebrate the first day of the calendar year, let's rename it "Martin Luther King Day"..
4) Since Martin Luther King day is a day to remember that great American, let's rename it "Thanksgiving".
5) And so on, and so on......

But since Christmas has "Christian overtones", and Independence Day celebrates a country that was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, and New Years Day is based on a calendar that is bases its counting from the Time Of Christ, (BC - AD), and Martin Luther King was a Christian minister, and Thanksgiving was originally to give Thanks to our Maker, I propose we do 1 of 2 things:

1) Do away with all holidays completely, so as to appease the ACLU

2) Declare every single day a holiday to celebrate that day, have a Happy Jan 2, Happy Jan 3, etc.....

October 23, 2007 at 11:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

hottopics (anonymous) says...

It should have always been CHRISTMAS!!!

October 23, 2007 at 12:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

MelissaE (anonymous) says...

"2) Declare every single day a holiday to celebrate that day, have a Happy Jan 2, Happy Jan 3, etc....."

Can I have those holidays off with pay? I'd go for that, LMAO.

Seriously, there are so many other issues in Emporia (and the rest of the world) that this issue seems small. I really don't care what it's called and I daresay that the name is actually not the issue--it's the fact that the program itself was jumbled all around.

Changing the name won't make the program go back to "the way it was."

M

October 23, 2007 at 12:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

hjcary (anonymous) says...

Thank you native_emporia for your comment. I will say I do not want it called a Christmas program since they removed all referances to Christ in it. If they changed the name I hope its in reference to the number they call it. I hope its called the "14th annual Seasonal Celebration" that would be way more appropriate rather then giving the new format the credit for all those years before when it was a Christmas program. It really is not what it used to be it is a lot different.

October 23, 2007 at 1:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

starfire (anonymous) says...

You guys must realize who the "they" are that changed your beloved program right? It isn't the school district or the teachers or the parents or the students. In the year 2007 it is ILLEGAL (as in forbidden by law) to put on a program that favors one religion / holiday over the others.

The ACLU specifically told the Emporia school district they could not have a "Christmas" program anymore many years ago. Those who are petitioning to change the name and content of the program will never get anywhere no matter what they say or do. It's time to accept that everything changes no matter how much you liked how it was done in the past.

As for "all the movement during the program back and forth from the stage to the floor," if you really look at what is happening, it is necessary for students who are in both chorus and the orchestra or the band to move back and forth between songs so they can perform with all the groups they have practiced with during the school year. They aren't moving around to be disrespectful!

Let's try to look at this with an open mind and an appreciation for the massive musical performance that is put on each year for our enjoyment!

October 23, 2007 at 5:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

create (anonymous) says...

10-4 on the massive musical performance. The music teachers and kids do an excellent job. Always have, but I do miss the way it was. Nonetheless, I'm calling it a Christmas Program. Always will. I don't care how you threaten me. In fact, what if I get 500 of my friends and neighbors to call it the Christmas Program, and on another night, go downtown at the entrance to the auditorium, sing "Silent Night" and have a live nativity scene that lasts the length of the song? Who you gonna call? Hmmmm, am I gonna spend Christmas Eve in jail?

October 23, 2007 at 8:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

starfire (anonymous) says...

Haha joke understood. What you do as a citizen, is up to you - feel free to do as you please. However, it is a different situation when a teacher tells a student that might be Muslim, Jewish, Jehovah Witness, Atheist, Pagan, etc. to sing words that make them uncomfortable and that they aren't allowed to sing or say even in day to day life.

When you are dealing with PUBLIC school children, you have to respect the differences.

Maybe you could get Emporia Christian School or Sacred Heart to put on a Christian program if that is what you are interested in. Good luck with that one!

October 23, 2007 at 8:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

rami (anonymous) says...

I was in high school when it was switched to "The Seasonal Celebration" and we ( I was in the girls' choir) were told that we were no longer going to be able to sing traditional Christmas music....someone had complained! Now what will it be? How much more can the content change?
The whole point of changing it to "The Seasonal Celebration" was to add diversity to the program.
If someone is in choir and they or their families aren't comfortable with the program then they have a choice, it's called not participating in the show!

October 23, 2007 at 11:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

MrCmonkeeDo (anonymous) says...

Very well put starfire!

October 23, 2007 at 11:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

open_eyes (anonymous) says...

from http://usinfo.state.gov/scv/Archive/2...

"Congress proclaimed Christmas a federal holiday in 1870. In 1999, a federal court acknowledged these secular aspects in rejecting a claim that the holiday impermissibly endorsed and furthered a particular religious belief."

And an interesting read about 1 man's fight to have Christmas abolished as a federal holiday (whence the 1999 court decision above came from, I believe)

http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/ga...

Since religion is defined as "something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience", and "a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects".
Couldn't atheism itself be considered a kind of religion? Then isn't someone who tries to push an atheist point of view on others trying to make everyone else conform to their particular religious view? Oh, farther and farther down the rabbit hole we go... (Alice In Wonderland :)

October 23, 2007 at 11:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

native_emporia (anonymous) says...

Starfire: As I stated I was in the Christmas Program myself from 6th to 12th grade under Mr. Grant. It was a wonderful program and at that time students were also required to move from Chorus to Orchestra, but were expected (Mr. Grant had very high expectations of us) to do so quietly. He also asked at the begining that all applause be held until the end of the program and that crying children be taken out. I remember friends of my parents coming from out of town to attend and always commenting on how professional the program seemed and how unlike a typical "school program" it was. Unfortunantly, it is not like that anymore. It is very noisey throughout the program, the announcement has not been made before hand to hold applause and adding the band to the program has taken away from the program. The band has the Christmas Parade and other performances, this one should have remained a program for Chorus and Orchestra!

October 24, 2007 at 9:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

starfire (anonymous) says...

native_emporia: Congrats on being in the Seasonal Celebration program many moons ago. I'm sure that the current teachers expect students to move quietly from group to group as well. Indeed, someone still reads a piece of paper that asks the audience to turn off cell phones, take out crying children, hold applause until the end, etc. However, the demographic of the audience has changed and not all people are respectful enough to do as asked. A lot of people in Emporia don't have enough culture or class to understand that Seasonal Celebration is a musical performance and not a sporting event!

As for the band being a part of Seasonal Celebrations, I agree with you there. It seemed more special with just the chorus and orchestra. The band kind of ruins the ambience of the whole presentation. Then again, when you aren't in charge, there isn't much you can do about the band except for to sit back and enjoy the performance!

October 24, 2007 at 3:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

hjcary (anonymous) says...

Open_eyes
You said that your statement took you down a "rabbit hole" but you are absolutely right the folks that follow the atheist religion are cramming their religion down others throats and expect everyone to follow their religion. They should not be given special treatment just as they don't want any other religion to get special treatment.

October 24, 2007 at 4:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

starfire (anonymous) says...

Come on people . . . the whole points of Seasonal Celebrations is that they are celebrating ALL DIFFERENT TYPES of music and holidays and religions from all over the world! That's the whole idea - that no certain religion / holiday is given more of a spotlight than any other. They are trying to be fair and equal with a large group of public school children. Why must we find fault in this effort???

It's 2007 ... people are different from one another! We all have different backgrounds, cultures, beliefs, experiences, families, etc. The world now reflects these differences and it's all OKAY! Stop the judgement!

October 24, 2007 at 4:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

emporialifer (anonymous) says...

I'm with ya Open_eyes and hjcary. Good Points.

October 25, 2007 at 8:08 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Renegade (anonymous) says...

I have just one thing to say....Merry CHRISTMAS!!!!

Doesn't Emporia have more important things to talk about changing, or fixing?

Happy Holidays is OK to say, and Holiday programs are OK.(JMO)..but why do we have to try to change traditions?.....
Nice traditions are so important...and Christmas is one of them. I have no children in school in Emporia, but I would love to attend a school Christmas program.....
Add other programs, if you want, but don't take away one of our most valued traditions.

October 25, 2007 at 10:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

open_eyes (anonymous) says...

starfire - you do make a good point, but at the same time I respectfully think you are missing the point. Christmas, itself, is a holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Not to celebrate all different types of music and religions around the world. Now, if you want to ADD a seasonal celebration to that, and celebrate a wider scope of things - that is fine, along the lines of what Renegade said. Also Happy Hannukah, Ramadan, happy Atheism, etc.... whatever - that's fine with me. But don't so twist the original intent of the holiday that it is unrecognizable. That was actually the point of my earlier post where I jokingly suggested renaming all the holidays to celebrate something other than what they were intended for. Kindof like me celebrating Halloween on my birthday instead of celebrating it as my birthday (ouch, I'm sure I'll get alot of agreements that my birthday should be seen as more of a ghoulish holiday than a reason the celebrate, LOL). I've been in foreign countries and I've enjoyed their religious holidays and it didn't bother me one bit. I don't really know that answer, maybe there could be a separate segment to programs, or a combination of things, doesn't really matter so much to me as the fact that people want to totally change the meaning and intent that the holiday originally signified.

So, in closing, since today is October 25..... Happy New Year!!! :)

October 25, 2007 at 10:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

cowtown (anonymous) says...

Hmm Makes me wonder what’s next ?
I want to change my birthday to new year and have that day off, And not call it my BIRTHDAY :)

October 25, 2007 at 11:22 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

native_emporia (anonymous) says...

Starfire: Thank you so much for you "Congrats" on my being in the original "Christmas Program" you obliviously did not get to enjoy that program given you sarcasm. You must be a part of the current program and I am sorry that you took my post as a personal attack and felt the need to reciprocate.

As far as the piece of paper being read, last year I attended both nights and there was NEVER an announcement about the applause being held! And it was not those of different cultures that applauded, it was everyone, simply because the announcement was NOT made. As far as respect, the year previous to last that was an issue when there was whistling and calling out from the crowd.

October 25, 2007 at 11:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

eatasheep69 (anonymous) says...

I still don't fully understand what the problem is/was. I am a Christian. I participated in Emporia's Christmas program while in school. I also have watched the program from the audience appreciating the Christian celebration of a Christian holiday. If there are those that aren't Christians, then they aren't made to view it. If there is a Ramadan holiday celebration, I really don't care, I might attend out of curiousity, but would not protest it if I didn't like it or if it was not part of my beliefs. Same with a Hannukah celebration, etc. If it doesn't pertain to a person's beliefs, then they should not spoil it for those that it does.
I still call it the Christmas program, even though it really isn't one anymore. I wish you all a merry Christmas, if you believe in it.

October 25, 2007 at 12:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

open_eyes (anonymous) says...

Whether or not a person is a Christian, or believes that JC was divine, there is enough historical evidence that a man named Jesus Christ DID exist. Heck, he is even one of the main prophets in Islam. So whether or not you are atheist, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, etc.... the man did exist, and this holiday is named after him in celebration of his birthday (after a fashion, as his exact day of birth I think is not always agreed upon). So why can the day not celebrate Christ, along with any and everything else people want it to be? People celebrate Martin Luther King Day in this country, if a person doesn't believe in what Martin Luther King preached and stood for, does that person have the right to petition the government to have the name changed to something else, and all references to MLK stricken and banned from display on that day? I'm sure not everyone is an MLK fan, I'm sure there are still some closet racist/KKK fans out there (disgusting, but unfortunately probably true), but should we change that name and nature of that holiday to accomodate them?

October 25, 2007 at 3:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

open_eyes (anonymous) says...

Now, this is interesting. Did a little digging about my hypothesis that atheism should be considered a religion. A Federal judge in Wisconsin in 2005 ruled that atheism IS a religion, and the Supreme Court has said a religion need not be based on a belief in the existence of a supreme being. So, why is it that atheism seems to be crammed down everyone's throat by the courts?

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/art...

October 26, 2007 at 9:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

emporialifer (anonymous) says...

That is very interesting. So if atheists believe in "nothing" or "no one" perhaps Christians should start fighting that those terms MUST be removed from all public schools, government buildings, federally funded activities, etc. What other words are key to atheism that I just might find offensive now - hmmmmm.

October 26, 2007 at 4:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Malique (anonymous) says...

I ain't gonna sign it.

January 10, 2012 at 4:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

methusla (anonymous) says...

Just do away with any public " Seasonal/Christmas ", Period ...
And let people celebrate " what ever, when ever & how ever they want ..

Problem solved ???

January 10, 2012 at 4:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...

You just can't stand it can you Malique?

People ignore you because you bring nothing to the table. So you go back in the archives to a 2007 news article trying to stir the pot. Hey kid the fire went out a long time ago.

January 10, 2012 at 9:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )