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The school choirs had been practising for weeks, excited about leading the carols at the Christmas festival at a local Catholic shrine.

Then the letter from atheist campaigners arrived and the children learnt they would not be allowed to sing at the Grotto but would have to find a “non-religious” venue instead.

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The 25-year tradition in Portland, Oregon, is one of thousands of targets of a group that has declared “war on Christmas.”

“There are a lot of Americans who think Christianity owns this month,” said Dan Barker, a member of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF). “We have complaints from all over the country at this time of year.”

There are a lot of Americans who think Christianity owns this month

The FFRF’s 23,000 members have mobilized to ban Jesus from classroom plays, silence school choirs and take down nativity scenes.

At this time of year, Barker said, his office becomes a war room: “It really ramps up. Our legal staff get ready, writing template letters for each state and district, ready to deploy them at any moment.”