After nearly two decades of celebrating “Christmas on the Canal,”
an annual holiday tradition in upstate New York, an atheist activist’s
threat recently led to a loss of government funding and the event’s
cancellation — until the local community rallied to save the revered
celebration.
Elaine Spaziano with her grandchildren at “Christmas on the Canal.” (Courtesy: Elaine Spaziano)
Before this year, “Christmas on the
Canal” unfolded without incident or complaint for the past 17 years in
Spencerport, N.Y., a small village outside Rochester.
The holiday celebration typically
includes carols, a tree-lighting ceremony, a nativity and other
festivities (Spencerport is my hometown, so I know the celebration
well).
But Elaine Spaziano, the event’s
founder and organizer, said last week that an atheist activist’s
complaint and fears over a perceived violation of the separation of
church and state led both the town of Ogden and the village of
Spencerport to pull their funding and support for it this year.
The move has shocked some in the
community, but it seems the situation has been coming for more than a
year. First Amendment concerns first emerged in 2012 when a local
resident, whom Spencerport Mayor Joyce Lobene identified as an atheist,
complained over the presence of ministers and public prayer at a 9/11
commemorative event.
Lobene said that as a result of his
frustration, she was compelled to make changes to that event — but that
the problems didn’t end there.Read story here.......
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/11/18/christmas-was-nearly-canceled-in-this-small-town-after-an-atheist-activists-threat-but-heres-how-people-rallied-to-save-an-annual-celebration/
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