Governor Brewer Issues Executive Order
For Christmas and Hanukkah Celebrations By From Paul Senseman
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Declaring Christmas and Hanukkah Celebration
WHEREAS, Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, the founder of the Christian religion,
and has been celebrated annually for more than two millennia as a significant historical, cultural,
and religious event; and
WHEREAS, Hanukkah also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday
commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the
Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BC; and
WHEREAS, Christmas and Hanukkah bring joy, love and good will to the hearts of the people
of the State of Arizona and hundreds of millions of people across the world; and
WHEREAS, the spirit of good will which has been found each December has been at the heart
of our ability to live as one people despite differing faiths and backgrounds; and
WHEREAS,
the Constitution does not permit the government to tolerate or engage in
hostility toward religion, and the United States Supreme Court has affirmed that the
public celebration of religious holidays, and the acknowledgment of religious origins,
does not offend the Constitution; and
WHEREAS,
state and local officials in Arizona (and elsewhere) in the past have attempted
to strip both Christmas and Hanukkah of their meaning, including establishment of policies
forbidding state employees from placing religious items of celebration at their desks,
re-naming of Christmas trees as "holiday" trees, and renaming of Menorahs as "candlesticks;"
and
NOW THEREFORE, I, Janice K. Brewer, Governor of the State of Arizona, by virtue of the
authority vested by the Constitution and the laws of the State of Arizona, do hereby order
and direct as follows:
1. No executive agency of the State of Arizona shall require that any state employee refrain
from personally celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah, including the placement of items
traditionally associated with a particular holiday.
2. No executive agency of the State of Arizona shall prohibit any state employee from referring
to the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays by their accurate names and wishing others a
"Merry Christmas" or a "Happy Hanukkah."
4. No executive agency of the State of Arizona shall participate in any censorship of the
lawful celebration and acknowledgment of Christmas, Hanukkah or any other recognized
religious holiday.
5. All executive agencies of the State of Arizona, and any political subdivision thereof,
are authorized and directed to cooperate with the implementation of the provisions of this Order.
6. This Order is effective upon signature and shall continue in effect until amended, modified,
terminated, or rescinded by the Governor, or terminated by operation of law.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have set my hand officially and caused to be affixed the Great Seal
of Arizona, at the Capitol, in the City of Phoenix, on this 16th day of December, 2009.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have to set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the
State of Arizona
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