Bethlehem

If there is no "Merry Christmas" in Bethlehem, then there is no "Happy Hanukkah," either.

Town officials refused to post a Merry Christmas sign this year at the Four Corners intersection and took down a Happy Hanukkah sign, saying the town did not want to violate any laws.

The Alliance Defending Freedom sent the town a letter last week advising officials that posting a Merry Christmas sign is allowed by law. The alliance, a nonprofit legal group based in Arizona, advocates for the rights of people to freely live out their faith and has won several legal cases on behalf of conservative Christians.

"The irony is not lost on us that your town's name is Bethlehem," wrote Joseph E. La Rue, a lawyer for the alliance, in his letter to the town.

For years, the town displayed a menorah and Christmas tree on town property in the busy Four Corners area, considered the heart of town. Several years ago, resident Elena Marcelle contacted town hall and offered to buy a Merry Christmas sign to cheer up what she thought was a dull Christmas tree.

Marcelle's sign hung briefly, but was not part of the display in recent years. When Marcelle noticed it wasn't there this year, she contacted town hall to ask why. The highway superintendent told her the sign was thrown out because it was in disrepair. Marcelle offered to buy a new one and was told no thanks. When she pressed for a reason, Marcelle received an email from the town's lawyer, who said the display of holiday imagery on town property raises issues about the separation of church and state. The law, town attorney James Potter explained, clearly allows municipalities to display a menorah and Christmas tree, but does not address written signs.

"Moreover, there is limited space at the Four Corners, and adding signage could potentially be visually distracting to motorists," Potter wrote in his Dec. 14 email to Marcelle. "The town cannot endorse one religion over another, so the town must either allow signs for all groups participating in the holiday display, or prohibit signs altogether."

The Happy Hanukkah sign was removed. Town Supervisor John Clarkson said he doesn't want Bethlehem to be the legal test case on written signs, so he decided it was best to follow Potter's advice and remove them.

"That way, we can avoid contentious litigation or having the town thrust into controversy over whose sign shall be placed where," he said.

The holiday parade, which is largely a Christmas event, was held Dec. 4.

"The town supports events that celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah that are well-liked and widely attended," Clarkson said. "And many Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah signs are displayed."

Marcelle said she has no problem with the menorah or the Happy Hanukkah sign at Four Corners and that she did not intend for that sign to be taken down. "I think it is a beautiful display of the different ways Bethlehem residents celebrate the holidays," she said.

Marcelle, a stay-at-home mom who is trained as a dentist, is married to Thomas Marcelle, who was appointed county attorney for Albany County in 2012 despite his ties to the controversial Alliance group. Formerly called the Alliance Defense Fund, the group opposes gay marriage and abortion rights among other issues on which religious groups have focused strongly. Thomas Marcelle, working on behalf of the Alliance, won a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld a religious group's right to meet after hours in a public school building in Otsego County.

Elena Marcelle purchased a new Merry Christmas sign — two banners that are a foot tall and 4 feet wide — and has offered them to the town.

Several Supreme Court decisions speak to the constitutionality of religious symbols on public property. They leave ample room for interpretation, but the court has ruled it legal for governments to display menorahs, Nativity scenes and Christmas trees, particularly when they appear together and with other secular decorations.

La Rue, the lawyer for the Alliance, said if the court allows the menorah and Nativity scenes it certainly would allow a Merry Christmas sign, and urged Clarkson to reconsider.

"Christians believe that, in the Bethlehem of old, there was no room in the inn for the Christ Child," La Rue wrote. "We hope that Bethlehem, New York, will make room for a sign to wish those who drive by the Four Corners a 'Merry Christmas' in recognition of the importance of this holiday to many of Bethlehem's people."

ccrowley@timesunion.com • 454-5348 • @townstu