What's the big deal, it's just music?

I feel bad for that child. Why didn't the mother come in and talk to the teacher?

As for the question. If it was a winter concert why not include songs from all the holidays celebrated that month? Even if there were no children who celebrated them. Music and art should be culturally enriching maybe even religiously to children. If your child loved art would they not be ale to study or look at the last supper by da Vinci? I know I'm big on religion should be left out of school but for some reason I wouldn't have a problem as long as it was not Christian songs being taught.

Not only Christian holiday songs.

I get it but at the same time what a fun way to teach children different holidays. A song about santa, a dreidel, a savior, I don't know any pagan or kwanza songs sorry. But it's a fun way to teach kids not everyone's this or that. It doesnt have to turn into a religious class justa brief this is why jewish, pagan, christian ext celebrate this season. Maybe it's a bad thing and can lead to bullying. Maybe it shouldn't be in school. I don't know but I know I wouldn't make a fuss about it. Not everyone celebrates Christmas with Santa should songs about him be banned as well? It sucks that by now we can not celebrate our differences with each other instead of butting our youngest and ignoring it.

butting our youngest is suppose to read biting our tongues. Lol

I grew up in a small town in SC, there wasn't a Jewish kid in our school but we still learned Hannukah songs (don't remember the names but I can still sing 2). In the 70s, nobody i knew had heard of kwanzaa, yule, etc. I find it hard to believe that where I loved was particularly enlightened, but not one of the parents complained about us singing the songs. They didn't fear that singing a few songs was going to completely alienate us from everything we were taught at home.

It supports what's normal.  It supports the idea that Christianity is the norm, the ideal, to which everyone should be aspiring.  Other songs are sometimes included, but they are fun, silly songs, not the hymns that are taught to students in choir, even today.

I chaperoned a field trip that my younger daughter's class went on to watch a local boys' choir perform a holiday concert.  The fun songs were really fun!  They did a zany take on "The Twelve Days of Christmas" that had the audience in stitches, and some fancy dancing to a Dradle song.  When it came to the Christian hymns, though, it was very serious, very dedicated, and I almost started to laugh out loud when I saw the little boys in white singing with such sincerity about a virgin giving birth. I had a hard time taking it seriously, but the boys certainly did.  They were expected to.

a big hunk of my childhood was spent singing Christmas songs in choir despite being from a "Christmas is pagan" Christian family. if we took all religious music out of choirs there would be a HUGE chunk of music gone: spirituals, Handel, all of the lovely Latin songs. the most difficult stuff i remember was religious in nature. i remember adding Hanukkah songs so that we could sing the Christmas ones without anyone getting upset. i remember a church friend of mine not doing the Christmas concert b/c of her parents beliefs, but she wasnt penalized. i cant remember a concert without a religious song ever...thats choir for ya.

my not participating in Halloween events, going to the library so that others in my class could party, didnt hurt me or my friends. i know its not the same thing, but its life. i think its the way we handle the kids who dont/cant participate that sets the tone, not the events itself.

I was in chorus for years in an average-sized town in SC in the 80's, and everything was either secular or Christian. Same went for the band There were never any other religions included. I remember a Jewish girl in our class who sang along right along with us.

I'm so happy my DD will be singing a variety of songs at her pre-K concert next week. Most are to the tune of London Bridge and Mary had a Little Lamb. Lol. There's even one for Chinese New Year.

My older daughter is in the choir in her middle school.  They just had their Christmas concert in a church, and nearly all of the songs were Christian.  The only song they sang that wasn't religious (Christian, to be exact) was "Baby It's Cold Outside".  Every other song was about the Baby Jesus' birth, angels singing on high, and worshipping god.

Because it's upsetting to my daughter, I told her that much of the choral music in Western society is religious in nature, because of the stronghold the church had on society through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, so Christianity had a major influence on art, architecture and music.  I told her that she can sing the songs, since she loves to be in choir, without having to believe in them.