Anchorage Daily News

Carol Comeau wants to wish us all a merry Christmas.

She wants us to know that earlier this month, she went to a school concert and heard the choir sing "O Holy Night'' and "Away in the Manger.''

She wants us to know there's a couple of Christmas trees at the Anchorage School District's new offices on Boniface Parkway.

But most of all, she wants to say merry Christmas. And to let us know she hasn't banned the seasonal greeting from the halls and classrooms of Anchorage's schools.

Comeau, superintendent of the Anchorage School District, has been under siege lately because of claims that she and the district are bah-humbugging all things Christmas.

The topic picked up steam last week on talk radio shows. As far as Comeau can figure, someone called Mike Porcaro's afternoon show on KENI to say a teacher at Clark Middle School had told a student not to say merry Christmas.

That ignited nonstop calls defending Christmas and hammering the School District. Comeau used already-scheduled appearances on Porcaro's show and Dan Fagan's show on KFQD to try to set people straight.

Then she sent a districtwide e-mail to make it clear to principals, teachers and everyone else: Merry Christmas has not been banned in Anchorage schools.

The e-mail referenced School Board policy No. 350, "Addressing Religious Beliefs and Customs,'' which notes that public schools are required by state and federal governments to maintain religious neutrality. It encourages tolerance, sensitivity and diversity.

Nowhere does it ban the words Merry Christmas, although someone could think otherwise with an extreme interpretation of this guideline: "District staff must refrain from expression of personal religious beliefs if the time, place or manner suggests District endorsement or authority.''

Does that mean no Merry Christmas greetings?

"Absolutely not,'' Comeau said.

What it means is no proselytizing, and no favoritism for one religion over another. Don't teach your students the meaning of Christmas unless you also teach them the meaning of Yom Kippur and Ramadan. Don't put a Nativity scene on the bulletin board this month unless you put up a Passover scene in April.

The war on Comeau and the School District is an offshoot of the so-called war on Christmas, a concept pretty much invented last year by Fox News.

Fueling it were the handful of major retailers -- most notably Wal-Mart -- that decided to emphasize the word "holiday" instead of the word "Christmas'' in their stores and advertisements. Some went so far as to tell employees they could offer a "happy holiday'' to customers but not a "merry Christmas.''

Those were stupid decisions, and most stores reversed them, recognizing that it's Christmas that makes their cash registers ring.

But the idea that there's an attack on Christmas in Anchorage or anywhere else in the country is absurd. Is there a radio dial that doesn't have at least one station that plays Christmas music 24/7 this time of year? Is there a TV station that doesn't air Christmas specials or Christmas movies? Is there a mall not filled with wreaths and poinsettias? Or one that doesn't have a Santa Claus ready to listen to a kid's Christmas list?

Yet still there are those who whine and growl that the politically correct crowd is stealing Christmas.

Those who complain schools have no business taking Christ out of Christmas justify their beliefs by noting Christianity is the country's predominant religion. Therefore their beliefs, traditions and symbols should be on display everywhere, and anyone they make uncomfortable should get over it.

The Anchorage School District is far more charitable. It celebrates diversity and teaches tolerance -- a necessity for a district that has seen ethnic minorities go from 13 percent of the student population in 1976 to 46 percent today.

That's why when Comeau went to that school concert and heard the choir sing "O Holy Night'' and "Away in the Manger,'' she also heard it sing a Shalom song.

Anyone offended by that embracement of diversity deserves a stocking full of coal.

Beth Bragg's opinion column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Her e-mail address is bbragg@adn.com.