PITMAN — For years, the Freedom From Religion Foundation has been complaining that the "Keep Christ in Christmas" banner hung in downtown Pitman endorses the Christian faith.

This year, the Wisconsin-based group didn't just complain, they bought a competing billboard in Pitman.

The foundation, which advocates for keeping religion out of government, put up a billboard which reads "Keep Saturn in Saturnalia."

The display, which is located near the intersection of West Holly Avenue and Lambs Road, refers to a two-week festival between the winter solstice and the new year during the period of the Roman empire, said the foundation's co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor.

“'Keep Christ in Christmas' is like a message saying there isn’t a secular Christmas," said Gaylor. “We thought we would respond in kind.”

The local Knights of Columbus chapter has strung up their Christmas sign, across Broadway, the town’s main thoroughfare, for decades.

No one from the Knights of Columbus chapter nor any Pitman officials could be reached for comment Thursday evening.

In 2011, the banner gained national attention after the foundation wrote to Pitman officials saying there was a “concerned area resident and taxpayer” who was offended by the banner.

The foundation argued that the town was unfairly favoring a religious group by allowing the banner to be hung on a utility pole across a major road.

But town officials said the sign was one of many hung in that spot.

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