Tuesday, December 07, 1999

Judge invokes Santa Claus(e) in decision

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Poetic ruling says Christmas is also secular

BY BEN L. KAUFMAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        Christmas has become so secular that the government does not violate the Constitution by declaring it a federal legal holiday, a federal judge ruled Monday.

        In dismissing a challenge to the holiday designation by a Hyde Park resident, U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott also wrote a poem, which said, in part:

        The court will uphold

        seemingly contradictory causes

        Decreeing “The Establishment” and “Santa”

        Both worthwhile Claus(es).

        Judge Dlott said the government is “merely acknowledging the secular cultural aspects of Christmas by declaring Christmas to be a legal public holiday. ... A government practice need not be exclusively secular to survive. ”

        She said Christmas has become so secular that it does not violate the opening clause of the First Amendment, which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion ... ”

        Lawyer Richard Ganulin, who brought the suit last year, said he would appeal. “My disagreement with that conclusion is what motivated me to bring the lawsuit,” he said.

        Judge Dlott applied a three-pronged test to determine whether Dec. 25 as a national public Christmas holiday violated church-state separation. A statute must:

        • Have a secular purpose.

        • Neither advance nor inhibit religion as its principal or primary effect.

        • Not foster an excessive government entanglement with religion.

        Having found sufficient secular purpose, Judge Dlott said no reasonable person would see the federal holiday as an endorsement of Christianity “in particular or religion in general.”

        Giving federal employees the day off is “no more than recognizing the cultural significance of the holiday,” she continued. That it accommodates Christians who want to celebrate Jesus' birth “does not mean the holiday has an impermissible religious effect.”

       

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