Once again the will of a singular school superintendent is overtaking a town Christmas tradition. In Marlborough, New Hampshire the town has an annual tradition of lighting a Christmas tree. A local veteran plays Santa and rallies the community every season to attend. When he went to a local school to speak to students he was called and told to remove “Christmas” from the name of the event.
John Fletcher, the commander of the American Legion in Marlborough, New Hampshire, wrote an editorial in the local paper after he said the superintendent barred him from promoting the event to students unless he changed the name of the event.
“I was very upset, I really was,” Fletcher said. “If it’s not a school sponsored activity, I don’t understand why ‘Christmas’ had to come out of ‘Christmas Tree’.”
Fletcher, who also raises money to buy gifts for children who attend the event, said a few days after Veterans’ Day, Superintendent Robert Malay called him and said Fletcher needed to “revise” a flyer that would be handed out to students.
“He wanted me to change it to say “holiday tree lighting” instead,” Fletcher told FOX25. “It’s not a holiday tree, it’s a Christmas tree. If you want a holiday tree, then do it for Valentine’s Day, or Columbus Day, or whatever you want.”
You gotta wonder what Christmas looks like in that town’s schools.