You need to look at your school district's policy on religion in school. In my district the general rule is knowledge and diversity. Your district should have similar rules in place.

Basically what this boils down to is that you need to cover most major holidays from as many cultures as possible. So for example in the winter you need to include at least Hannakuh, Kwanzaa, and Christmas from both a secular and religious veiwpoint. You might also want to touch on Fiesta de la Posada which is a Mexican festival that re-enacts Joseph and Mary searching for room at an inn. You also need to talk about the fact that some people do not celebrate holidays at this time of year (think die hard athiests and Jehovah's Witnesses).

The other rule pertains to what you teach and how you teach holidays. The goal is to inform but not to prostilitize. In other words you can tell students how the holiday is celebrated and why the people celebrate it. However, you cannot tell students you should celebrate this holiday because. This can become really tricky. My suggestion would be that you should script anything like this out completely so that when parent questions come, you can keep yourself out of hot water. Also, unless a child asks you, do not mention which ones you choose to celebrate UNLESS they ask you, then you can talk about it.

If you are not a teacher, I hope this helps you understand the bumpy road that teachers face on this issue. If you are a teacher, do not give up your rights to teach this material. Many kids have no idea why they celebrate the holidays that they do and should be informed.

On a personal note, I am a Christian and I have noticed this same disturbing trend. If you are a teacher and a fellow beleiver, make sure your union will fight with you on this issue. If they won't find a union that will. You do not want to get thrown under the bus by your school district if push comes to shove.

Finally, if there is something that you can do to fight this situation in your area I would encourage you to do what you can and fight for your rights in these areas or we will lose them.