Print
A Nebraska elementary school principal banned candy canes, Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and Christmas decorations. Significantly, the principal banned candy canes because they offend those who do not celebrate Christmas.
In particular, Principal Jennifer Sinclair thinks that candy canes are a Christian symbol. Sinclair also allegedly sent her staff a memo that claims candy canes are religious.
“Historically, the shape is a ‘J’ for Jesus,” Sinclair writes. “The red is for the blood of Christ, and the white is a symbol of his resurrection.”
Principal Banned Candy Canes Because They Are A Christian Symbol
Ultimately, the principal banned candy canes because she thinks they are a Christian symbol.
However, Snopes reports that candy canes are not religious at all. For instance, the hook shape on candy canes makes it easy to hang them on Christmas trees. Moreover, candy makers added the red stripe in the early 20th Century for unknown reasons.
Remarkably, the only religious connection to the candy cane’s origin is the inventor of the machine that bends the canes. The inventor was Father Gregory Harding Keller, a Catholic priest whose brother-in-law owned a candy factory.
Notwithstanding, there is no evidence that Father Keller intended for candy canes to be a religious symbol. Instead, he may very well have been simply helping out his brother-in-law.
Principal Bans Candy Canes, Santa, And Christmas Trees
To protect students from the dangers of Christianity, Sinclair is trying to ban all Christmas decorations from Manchester Elementary School in Elkhorn, Nebraska, which is a suburb of Omaha.
Sinclair’s list of offensive Christmas imagery includes Santa Claus, Reindeer, and Christmas trees in addition to candy canes. On the other hand, she allows “nondenominational winter symbols: like sledding, scarves, and the character Olaf from Disney’s animated film Frozen,” Delish reports.
Sinclair’s behavior is yet another clear example of political correctness running amok in the school system today. It’s a crucial situation to examine as well because it shows just how far people are going nowadays to remove any semblance of Christmas and Christianity from public display.
Principal Bans Candy Canes And Could Lose Her Job
Fortunately, administrators at the Elkhorn Public School system do not share Sinclair’s hatred for Christmas on quite the same level. Fox 42 states that Sinclair is on administrative leave for violating school district policy.
Unlike Sinclair, Elkhorn Public School officials consider Christmas trees, Santa Claus, candy canes, Easter eggs, and Easter bunnies to be secular, seasonal symbols. For this reason, teachers can display things such as candy canes and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer as teaching aids.
In the end, Principal Jennifer Sinclair could lose her job because she banned candy canes. Still, we ought to consider that this grinch may understand the religious significance of Christmas and some of its symbols better than her superiors do. It may be a good time to ask ourselves, do we celebrate Christmas for the right reasons? Is Christmas really just a secular holiday about Santa Claus and Frosty the Snowman or is there something far greater at stake?
