A Christmas Civil War?

I decided to do some searcing after I heard some stuff on the news today about...

well, you'll see...

— New Port Richey, Fla.: County officials banned the display of Christmas trees from public property and buildings and removed the last of them on Wednesday, a decision that outraged many in the community. On Friday, the Pasco County attorney reversed that ban, saying the Supreme Court had never declared Christmas trees religious symbols.

— Bay Harbor Islands, Fla.: A local resident offered to donate a Christmas nativity scene to be displayed alongside a public Hanukkah exhibit and was at first turned down by town officials. She took the matter to federal court, and the judge sided with her, forcing the town to allow her to put up her display.

— Plano, Texas: A federal judge ordered the Plano school district to let students give gifts that include religious messages — like Christian-themed candy canes — at school holiday parties. Parents had sued this week over the school's policy banning any religious expression in classrooms, though officials said they'd already reversed the policy Dec. 1.

— Maplewood, N.J.: Baby Jesus, herald angels and other religious figures won't be sung about in holiday choral concerts this year, after a few people complained last year that Christian references in lyrics made non-Christians feel left out. To avoid similar problems this time around, the music director decided that all songs representing any religion were to be omitted from the program. Many parents were unhappy with that edict, saying at a recent school board meeting that the policy is based on misinterpretations of school rules. The matter won't be voted on by the school board until January, after this year's holiday concerts are over.