Living in Bethlehem

There's a thing about living in a small town named Bethlehem during Christmas time. The post office is a mad-house with people driving from far away to have their cards stamped as having come from Bethlehem, yeah... really. The town (I think they do it, I think it's city property) even puts up a manger scene in the little square; it sits below a huge star that stays there year 'round. And the local school system can get away with some stuff that other systems wouldn't touch. For example, last night I took my daughter to girl scouts and they meet at the local Bethlehem Elementary. (not where my daughter attends) We walked in the lobby and the first thing I see is one of those dancing Santas. (you know which one, the one that shakes his hips like Elvis) Next, I see a 10 foot Christmas tree right next to the office. We live in a fairly conservative, Christian area and this kind of stuff is the norm. Now, I'm all about celebrating Christmas but this sort of bothered me. This realization struck me as odd because at the same time I think it's lame to call the party they have at my daughter's school a 'Holiday Party' where they exchange gifts and I know they'll talk about Christmas. Last week she even brought home a page to color about the 12 days of Christmas that was a picture of Santa. In other parts of the country, there is no way in hell this kind of stuff would fly. Heck, I don't even think it would fly in neighboring counties. But the people out here are totally fine with it.

Do I think they should take the stuff down at the school? Not necessarily. Should there at least be a Menorrah on display as well? Yes. It's not so much as I'm trying to be PC, it's more about fair treatment. There might be one Jewish kid at the school. (my husband doubts it, he said in an area like this, everyone knows who the Jewish kid is) I'm actually torn about the subject and that could be a whole long soapbox kind of entry. (not going there today) I told my husband about it when we got home and his response was, "That won't last long." I agreed but now I'm not so sure. I think it's expected, and accepted, when living in a town named Bethlehem.