RALEIGH, NC – A Home Owners Association within the Raleigh area of North Carolina recently presented an ultimatum to a family regarding their Christmas décor displayed on their front lawn.
That ultimatum was either remove the large cross on the lawn or face a $100 fine for displaying said cross. And the rationale for this Christmas decoration being out of bounds was because the Home Owners Association alleged the cross has nothing to do with Christmas.
When the homeowner questioned the violation, the HOA responded asking for scripture to connect the cross and Christmas. https://t.co/7FEpuPHycE
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) December 11, 2020
Home Owners Associations, commonly referred to as HOAs, have often served as a source of ire for those who find their respective HOA to be a tad overbearing with rules and regulations.
So when the Faison family recently received a letter from their HOA informing them they needed to remove the six-foot cross off of their front lawn, needless to say that served as a source of agitation.
The family had opted that among their Christmas décor for their front lawn, they’d prominently display a cross as being representative of the holiday’s Christian roots.
Now, the HOA in question doesn’t bar holiday decorations – it’s just that the HOA claimed that the cross displayed isn’t a decoration symbolic with Christmas.
More specifically, the HOA claimed that the cross is more symbolic of Easter or Passover – and thus, the cross needed to be removed for being an out-of-season decoration.
HOA Tells NC Homeowner to Remove Cross from Christmas Decorations | CBN News https://t.co/bYPBrl9czq via @CBNNews
— CBN News (@CBNNews) December 12, 2020
Of course, the Faison family contested the violation, and the HOA had asked the family to provide actual biblical scripture that would support showcasing how the cross is directly connected to Christmas.
The statement from the HOA requesting “biblical references” of the Faison family reads as follows:
“I did share your response with the Board and several members of the board are devout Christians and are intimately familiar with the cross being the foundation for which Christianity is based.”
“The cross represents the death of Jesus Christ who died for our sins so we can have eternal life. The Christmas season is associated with the birth of the Savior such as nativity scenes would be appropriate representation of the season.”
“The Board believes that the Bible is very clear on the distinction between these two major events in Christ’s life on earth. The cross is appropriate for display during the Easter season, but not as a decoration during the Christmas season.”
“Unless biblical references can be provided noting the cross as a symbol of the Christmas season for the board to reconsider, the cross is not considered to be a Christmas decoration.”
Apparently the Faison family responded to said letter, providing the biblical references so requested.
After a bit of a stalemate between the family and the HOA, a local news crew became involved and started asking question about the matter to the HOA.
It was at that point that the HOA had conceded – to a degree – on the Christmas decoration debacle. They reportedly said that the Faison family can keep the cross up for the holiday season, but that the matter is still being investigated.
James Faison, reflecting on the decoration controversy, stated the following about the back and forth between his family and the HOA:
“We’re HOA paying residents. We love the community – great community – nice neighbors and everything. But at the same time, the HOA, what they’ve done is they’ve crossed the line.”
From what the HOA bylaws read regarding holiday decorations, Christmas decorations of any sort will have to be taken down between two to four weeks after the holiday.
We at Law Enforcement Today recently shared an editorial on another controversy regarding Christmas decorations.
And in that instance, the mere décor itself apparently offended someone to the point of sending a letter of shame to the homeowner.
Here’s that previous editorial.
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ST. ANTHONY, MN – Last year, there was a war on “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” The much-loved holiday standard was the victim of an onslaught of criticism from the ‘woke’ cancel-culture. This year they are coming for your lights.
On Monday, December 7th, an unidentified St. Anthony, Minnesota resident received an anonymous letter chastising them for their Christmas light display:
“The idea of twinkling, colorful lights is a reminder of divisions that continue to run through our society, a reminder of systemic biases against our neighbors who don’t celebrate Christmas or who can’t afford to put up lights of their own,”
The letter, shared by Crime Watch Minneapolis, continued:
“We must do work of (sic) educating ourselves about the harmful impact an outward-facing display like yours can have.”
ICYMI: Here’s the actual photo of the “offensive” Christmas lights.
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. https://t.co/60LscNpzG0 pic.twitter.com/nJrHo96u6M— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) December 8, 2020
The letter then challenges the resident to:
“Respect the dignity of all people, while striving to learn from differences, ideas, and opinions of our neighbors.
“We must come together collectively and challenge these institutional inequities,”
The letter concludes:
“St. Anthony is a community welcoming of all people and we must demand better for ourselves.”
Pushback on social media was swift and predictable. One Twitter user opined:
“Ironic that the letter writer is doing exactly what they accuse the homeowner of doing- not being accepting of others. I would redouble my lights.”
Another added:
“I’m Jewish and I love this time of year. Seeing Christmas displays all over town fills me with warmth and happiness. In no way do I feel excluded or insulted. Get a life!”
Many on the left have been waging a cancel-culture campaign over Christmas for years. They have called on schools to stop referring to Christmas vacations by that name, opting instead for some variation of “Winter Break.”
According to Dennis Prager:
“Almost every non-Christian school in America now calls Christmas vacation ‘winter break.’ Fewer and fewer Americans, stores, companies or media wish people a ‘Merry Christmas,’ preferring the neutered ‘happy holidays’ (despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Americans celebrate Christmas).
“And in (just) one generation, virtually every American business has gone from having a ‘Christmas party’ to having a ‘holiday party.’ It takes a breathtaking level of narcissism for a non-Christian to be offended by mentions of Christmas and a breathtaking level of meanness to seek to deprive the vast majority of fellow Americans of the public mention of their holiday.”
Prager continued:
“Whatever and whomever the left influences has less joy in life. I have met happy and unhappy liberals, and happy and unhappy conservatives, but I’ve never encountered a happy leftist.
“And the further left you go, the more angry and unhappy the people you will encounter. Happy women and happy blacks, for example, are far more likely to be conservative than on the left.”
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Author: Gregory Hoyt
