CLEARWATER VALLEY â In December, people may be celebrating Hanukkah, winter solstice, a secular version of Christmas with Santa and a Christmas tree, a religious celebration of the birth of Christ, Kwanzaa or other festivals. We are each free to celebrate in our own ways, or not at all. Most of the decorations I see around the valley are of snowmen, Santa Claus and Grinches, but one house in Stites puts up a lighted nativity scene every year on their second-floor porch with lighted words proclaiming, âJesus is born Saviorâ.
Every year, about this time, I hear people say, âthey wonât let us celebrate Christmas anymore.â Iâm not sure why. I think itâs important to reflect on the religious freedom that we have guaranteed in the Constitution. Although there have been health recommendations from the governor and health districts about group size, I know no church in Idaho County where anyone has been stopped, harassed or cited for attending church.