Doesn't Anyone Sing Silent Night Any More?!?

Well, Happy Birthday is traditional (sorta), and it makes sense, emphasizing that it's celebrating his birth and connecting it to how the kids live.

What else are they singing?

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Even when I retired from inner-city elementary teaching in 1983 our school system had decided to celebrate The Holiday Season including Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Kwanza, Native American, Buddhist, Hindu, [etc.] Agnostic and Athiest beliefs.....not an easy transition for all families nor staff. Just as the solstice-equinox cycle annually participates in the world-wide events of the eternity of our solar system for all peoples, all cultures, all languages, all religions WITHIN HOURS, we can and must find ways to the common grounds of our human respect and survival in the catastrophic global technical age we are living in.
So we enjoy current music, our own traditions, our Christmas carols, AND those of others without exclusion in our public celebrations.
Americans can and must work at enlarging ourselves.

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I hate to play devil's advocate here, but the article answers the question itself. The event the author is describing is referred to as a Holiday Pageant, not a Christmas pageant. The songs she refers to are Christmas Carols, not Holiday Carols. In this world of political correctness and inclusion of all the religions and their holidays, we are watering down the meaning of Christmas, and in fact the other holidays around this time of year, and frankly not giving any of them the rightful service of equality and respect of their subtle but important differences. By lumping them all together, we are saying they are all the same, when in fact they're not, and many people of other faiths do not beleve they are the same either

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I'm not sure what music my son sang in his program this year, seeing how our school system SUCKS and had his program at 1:00 in the afternoon on a TUESDAY!! Yes, I'm very angry.
I did hear him singing a few around the house and it seems they were mostly kid friendly songs.

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I'm surprised to see this question asked on a blog that is supposedly just for "parents" not parents who celebrate Christmas .....Tomorrow my daughter's school has an "all school share" and they are singing a very cute song about hibernating bears. They do not do a holiday pageant - it would be a little difficult since there are many religions represented! So to be fair to everyone would probably take a verrryyyy long time. Only 7 of her 20 classmates celebrate Christmas.

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I'm a new parent (my daughter is only 12 months old), so I don't know the difference between traditional songs and "kid-friendly holiday music"

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In California, the separation of church and state agenda is walking all over the Christian community. I have a 24 year old and an 8 year old . When my oldest son was in school the it was Christmas vacation, now it is Winter break,. (even the office lady corrected me when I asked when Christmas vacation started). The "Christmas Program" is nothing but an enhancement of commercialism. Santa, Santa, Santa. Santa is glorified in all the songs this year. Any hint of a belief in Christ is shunned. Yet they do have a traditional Hanukah song, after all its about tolerance and having an open mind. (as long as you don't mention CHRIST)
Don't worry my discust at the Christmas program is kept under wraps and away from my 8 year old. He is very proud to be in the program and I am very proud to watch him in it.

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This makes me so sad. Silent Night is my favorite.

Seriously, though - it seems odd to sing "Happy Birthday" when telling the Chrismas story. At a catholic school, no less.

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