‘Censored’ Fails as Carol; Again It’s ‘Christmas’
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COUNTRY CLUB HILLS, Ill. — The students at Nob Hill Elementary School almost had to sing lines like, “We wish you a merry censored” and, “Oh, censored tree.”
The word Christmas had been banned from the school’s choral program, but the prohibition was lifted just in time for tonight’s performance.
Hoping to keep the presentation secular, District 144 Supt. Jack Felger had ordered students to substitute another word for Christmas each time it appeared in a song.
In rehearsals, music teacher Anthony Edison was told to substitute words like holiday for Christmas, but he also taught students to sing the word censored whenever Christmas appeared in a song.
Parents protested the ban, and Assistant Supt. Cuttie Bacon, who will take over for Felger on Jan. 1, lifted the prohibition.
“We are so delighted, and you should see the kids,” Sharon Rybak, a member of the local parent-teacher organization, told the Chicago Sun-Times. “They’re jumping up and down because they’ve got Christmas back.”
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