Thread by @ACLU

MYTH:
There's a war on Christmas and the ACLU is a part of it.

FACT:
Religious freedom is a critical part of the First Amendment rights guaranteed to us all.

The government can’t promote religious beliefs when celebrating the holidays. But individuals and faith communities generally have a constitutional right to celebrate Christmas and other religious holidays.

And we at the ACLU have repeatedly fought to protect this right.

In 2015, we sued on behalf of an incarcerated person’s mother and three-year-old son to overturn a state prison ban on Christmas cards, prayer cards, and drawings sent through the mail.

We challenged a Pennsylvania state prison rule that prohibited Christian prisoners from participating in a communal prayer on Christmas.

In 2012, we filed a brief in support of a fifth grader’s right to share her religious beliefs with classmates by handing out invitations to a Christmas party hosted by a local church.

In 2011, we filed a brief in support of students who wanted to include Christian messages in their holiday gift bags.

In 2003, we intervened on behalf of a group of carolers who were told they couldn’t sing Christmas carols to women held in a state prison.

That same year, we also intervened on behalf of a group of high school students who were suspended for passing out candy canes with religious messages.

Their suspensions were revoked and the students ultimately won their lawsuit.

And in 1996, we filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of two women who were fired for refusing, on religious grounds, to work at a racetrack on Christmas Day.

So, as always, we’ll celebrate Christmas this season.

But we’ll also celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the Solstice, Festivus, and any other holiday — and fight for your right to do the same.