on the Letterman Show last night.
PRESS RELEASETuesday, December 20, 2005 Today, as part of its winter program, the Ridgeway Elementary School presented an adaptation of “The Little Tree’s Christmas Gift,” a production copyrighted in 1988 by Amalgamated Talents, International, Van Nuys, CA. The production was written by Ann E. Lambert, arranged by Dwight Elrich, and illustrated by Stan Sakai. The production tells the story of a family going out to buy a Christmas tree and finding only one small scraggly tree left on the tree lot. To the delight of their families, our students have performed this program several times over the past 18 years, and today was no exception. The District opted to present the narrative version of this play, permissible under copyright, rather than using a collection of familiar Christmas carol melodies to tell the story. Although some attendees lamented the “change of the words to satisfy Liberty Counsel,” it should be noted, again, that no words were changed. The play was presented as published.
As originally planned, the remainder of the program included the singing of traditional Christmas carols. Since district policy allows the inclusion of both religious and secular music in our curriculum and performances, that plan was executed today.
December 14, 2005The Silent Night “Rewrite” That Wasn’t On Friday, Bill O’Reilly took to the airwaves to share the latest “War on Christmas” outrage:
In Dodgeville, Wisconsin, the Ridgewood Elementary School has changed the song Silent Night to Cold in the Night and forced the kids to sing the lyrics, “Cold in the night, No one in sight, Winter winds whirl and bite,” to the tune of the original Silent Night.
O’Reilly was
by no means the only conservative to repeat this story. During a Dec. 10 appearance on Fox News, Mathew Staver of the
Liberty Counsel said the presentation at Ridgewood Elementary had “no balance here. They have no Christian Christmas carols.” He even threatened to sue the school:
People are outraged. We sent a demand letter asking them to immediately change the song and allow the actual lyrics of “Silent Night,” and if they do not, if they insist on this ridiculous course of action, we’ll file a federal lawsuit.
As it turns out, the entire story is a fraud.Ridgeway Elementary didn’t change the lyrics to “Silent Night.” What they did was perform a 1988 copyrighted play called “
The Little Tree’s Christmas Gift.”
That play actually contains numerous songs about Christmas, including the grand finale, an audience-led group singing of “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.” The play’s creator,
Dwight Elrich, happens to lead the New Covenant Singers of
Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles.
In fact, “The Little Tree’s Christmas Gift” has been performed in several churches, including the
Oakwood Forest Christian Church in Kingsport, Tennessee, the
St. Anthony Parish School in Des Moines, Iowa, and
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church of Abeline, Texas.
So why are the Silent Night lyrics changed in “Little Tree’s Christmas”? Because the play is about a small, lonely Christmas tree that is told it is “
too scraggly, it will never sell.” That character sings the revised lyrics — “Cold in the night, No one in sight, Winter winds whirl and bite” — in a scene lamenting his sad state. The rewording has absolutely nothing to do with “secularizing” the song.
Sorry,
Virginia, there is no “War on Christmas.”
Nico PitneyCenter for American Progress
ThinkProgress.org | Progress Report (not subscribed?)
Phone: 202.741.6292
Fax: 202.682.1867
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/12/14/silent-night-fraud/ December 12, 2005Dear Parents,
This letter is written to inform you of recent developments in the school district that have drawn national attention. We want you to hear directly from us the facts of the matter.
On December 7,th we began receiving emails from around the country, but largely from outside of Wisconsin, from people representing the conservative Christian point of view regarding the secularization of Christmas. They wrote to us complaining that Ridgeway School personnel changed the lyrics to “Silent Night” for its winter program. Furthermore, they claimed the school allows the display of menorahs and other non-Christian religious symbols, but does not recognize Christ.
Please know that neither of these accusations is factual. No person at Ridgeway Elementary School altered the words to “Silent Night.” Rather, as part of its winter program, the Ridgeway Elementary School is presenting an adaptation of “
The Little Tree’s Christmas Gift,”- a production copyrighted in 1988 by Amalgamated Talents, International, Van Nuys, CA. This production was written by Ann E. Lambert, arranged by Dwight Elrich, and illustrated by Stan Sakai. The original production told the story of a family going out to buy a Christmas tree using a collection of familiar Christmas carol melodies. To the delight of their families, our students have performed this program several times over the past 18 years. The remainder of the program includes singing of traditional religious and secular Christmas carols. Our district policy allows us to perform both religious and secular music in our curriculum and performances. We include both in order to achieve balance.
In addition, allegations have been made that the program will include a “Christmas Witch.” This is NOT correct. As part of the Social Studies curriculum, first graders study various cultural celebrations, hence there may be pictures in first grade classrooms of a Jewish menorah, St. Lucia of Sweden, and Santa as he is portrayed in different countries. They may also include La Befana from Italian folklore, who as the story is told, is an elderly grandmother who is sweeping crumbs out of her doorway as the Three Kings pass by on their way to find the baby Jesus. Because she is too busy she declines an invitation to accompany them and forever after regrets her hasty decision. She spends the rest of her days giving presents to children at Christmas time, still searching for the Holy Child. She is not the caricature witch Americans visualize at Halloween; rather, she is a peasant grandmother dressed in a dark dress with a white peasant scarf. The important point here is that these classroom images are NOT part of the winter program. Unfortunately, some misinformed persons believe the Dodgeville School District has, “replaced Christ with a Christmas Witch.” This is not true. It is extremely unfortunate that individuals believe what they read on the internet without first verifying the facts.
According to the Liberty Counsel, a Florida based legal organization that advocates for “religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, and the traditional family,” they received complaints from “concerned parents” in our school district. The Liberty Counsel, which is endorsed by Reverend Jerry Falwell, submitted an article to WorldNetDaily.com alleging the above misinformation. Once released on the internet and then on talk shows, the story has become further distorted as people offer opinions on the distortions. Most recently, Pat Robertson weighed in on this subject on his television broadcast. It is further disappointing that none of these parties have investigated and verified facts before issuing statements and threats of a federal lawsuit if the district does not alter its program.
We want our parents and district residents to know, contrary to allegations, the District does include Christian and other religious music in its music curriculum and also in its programs, in compliance with our district policies. Administrators have explained this to the concerned parent and in its press release to national and local media. The press release is also posted on the District website under “News and Information.”
Despite what you may read on the internet or hear on talk shows wherein individuals offer opinions, vent their wrath, and denigrate the school district and the people of Dodgeville, Ridgeway, and Wisconsin in general because of their misperceptions, we here know the facts central to this issue. We respect the beliefs of all of our families.
Please be assured that due to the tone of the literally thousands of emails and voice messages being received, the District is proactively setting in place safety and security procedures. Although NO direct threats have been made, some of the mail has vague innuendo and warrants prudent precautions. For this reason the District is offering admission tickets to the DES and RES performances for family and community members only. If you are a parent or community member who has not received information about the tickets and would like to attend, please contact your elementary school.
We are dedicated to providing a quality educational experience for the children of our communities. Thank for your continued support.
Sincerely yours,
Diane Messer
District Administrator
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