American Civil Liberties Union

Christmas Law

The First Amendment guarantees individuals, families, businesses, and religious communities the right to display Christmas symbols. This right is uncontested, and is exercised annually by private individuals and entities across the country. The difficulty comes when the government decides that it wants to get involved in promoting some religious symbols or prohibiting others.

In addressing this dilemma, the U.S. Supreme Court has made very clear that, while the government "may acknowledge Christmas as a cultural phenomenon," the Constitution mandates that the government "may not observe [Christmas] as a Christian holy day by suggesting that people praise God for the birth of Jesus." County of Allegheny v. ACLU, 492 U.S. 573, 601 (1989). Thus, in County of Allegheny v. ACLU, the Supreme Court held that a stand-alone crèche displayed inside the Allegheny County Courthouse violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because it "celebrate[d] Christmas in a way that ha[d]the effect of endorsing a patently Christian message: Glory to God for the birth of Jesus Christ." Id. at 601-02.

While the government may not erect a stand-alone crèche or other holiday display similar to the one enjoined in Allegheny County, the Supreme Court has held that nativity scenes or other religious iconography are nevertheless permissible parts of government-sponsored holiday displays in certain, specific sets of circumstances. See Lynch v. Donnelly, 465 U.S. 669 (1984). Specifically, in Lynch v. Donnelly, the Court held that it was not unconstitutional for the government to display a crèche as only one element of a much larger seasonal holiday display that included, among other things, a Santa Claus house, reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh, candy-striped poles, a Christmas tree, carolers, cutout figures of a clown, elephant, and teddy bear, hundreds of colored lights, and a large "Seasons Greetings" banner. Id. at 672.

Distinguishing the permissible Lynch display from the unconstitutional display in County of Allegheny, the Supreme Court explained that the entire context and setting of the Lynch display detracted from and minimized any religious message that may have been conveyed by the inclusion of the crèche. County of Allegheny, 492 U.S. at 598. By contrast, the nativity-scene display in the Allegheny County Courthouse was erected alone, rather than as part of a larger, secularly oriented holiday celebration; therefore, the County could not take shelter in the narrow safe haven that Lynch provides to certain holiday displays. Id.

While some limited governmental celebrations of Christmas are not per se unconstitutional, such as displays that recognize the holiday's secular elements, or that are part of an overall seasonal holiday celebration, the burden for the government to show that its activities do not have the purpose or effect of endorsing a religious message is high.

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