ICC Note: Following complaints from the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), student choirs from Wake County, North Carolina are forbidden from participating in the yearly Nativity performances. The FFRF suggested that focusing exclusively on a Christian holiday, Christmas, was unconstitutional as it would be an endorsement of a single religion. Many locals were disappointed with the decision as some of the schools that were affected have reportedly participated in the annual event for many years.

By Todd Starnes

12/13/2016 United States (Fox News) – School children in Wake County, North Carolina will no longer be allowed to sing Christmas carols at an annual Nativity celebration after they received a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based group of atheists, agnostics and free-thinkers.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation said the performances at the annual Apex Christmas Nativity Celebration were unconstitutional and could not continue.

“The whole purpose of the event is to display and honor nativity scenes, which highlight an exclusively Christian aspect of the holiday season, rather than a secular Christmas celebration,” FFRF attorney Patrick Elliott wrote in a complaint to the district last year. “Students are intentionally brought to the church to be exposed to hundreds of depictions of the Christian legend of Jesus’ birth.”

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Anyway, the school district decided it would be best to ban student choirs from taking part in this year’s celebration — most certainly breaking the hearts of children who wanted to spread a bit of Christmas cheer.

“No one was particularly happy with the outcome of this,” school district spokesman Tim Simmons told The News & Observer. “Some schools had been participating for several years.”

The annual event is a three-day “celebration of the birth and ministry of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” sponsored by the Church of Latter-day Saints in Apex.

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