Ganulin v. United States

The Becket Fund intervened on behalf of three federal employees in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Christmas being recognized as a federal holiday. Plaintiff Richard Ganulin, an attorney employed by the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, argued that the designation of Christmas as one of the federal legal holidays enumerated in Title 5 of the United States Code, Section 6103(a) is equivalent to an unconstitutional endorsement of Christianity by the government.

The Becket Fund argued that "while government is forbidden to become an advocate for one or more religions or for religiosity generally, the Court has recognized that religion is part of the fabric of our society and culture, and government need not pretend otherwise . . . What the Court's Establishment Clause cases suggest is that the government may not lead the culture in any religious direction, but it may reflect the culture in all of its complexity," and the Christmas holiday does precisely that.

Moreover, the Becket Fund pointed out that the Supreme Court clearly regards the Christmas holiday as a constitutionally permissible accommodation of religious belief and practice. Even the dissenting justices in Lynch v. Donnelly (1984) agreed that "When government decides to recognize Christmas Day as a public holiday, it does no more than accommodate the calendar of public activities to the plain fact that many Americans will expect on that day to spend time visiting with their families, attending religious services, and perhaps enjoying some respite from preholiday activities. The Free Exercise Clause, of course, does not necessarily compel the government to provide this accommodation, but neither is the Establishment Clause offended by such a step." (emphasis added)

On December 6, 1999, Federal District Judge Susan J. Dlott granted our motion to dismiss the case. In her decision, she wrote, "The Court holds that under Sixth Circuit and Supreme Court precedent the establishment of Christmas Day as a legal public holiday does not violate the Establishment Clause because it has a valid secular purpose, it does not have the effect of endorsing religion in general or Christianity in particular, and it does not impermissibly cause excessive entanglement between church and state."

Plaintiff Ganulin appealed the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The Becket Fund filed a brief with the Appeals Court on May 1, 2000, and participated in oral arguments before the Sixth Circuit on December 7, 2000.

On December 19, 2000, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court decision, and dismissed the lawsuit. Ganulin appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, and on March 30, 2001, The Becket Fund filed a brief (PDF format, 135K) with the high court asking that it decide the case by "summary disposition on the merits," without additional briefing or oral arguments.

On April 16, 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in the case, leaving in place the Sixth Circuit decision affirming the holiday's constitutionality.

Since Ganulin filed his lawsuit, two major appeals court decisions have been handed down regarding official holidays. In Granzeier v. Middleton, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that closing a county's courts and administrative offices on Good Friday did not violate the Constitution. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals also upheld a Good Friday holiday in Maryland in Koenick v. Felton.

Media Coverage:

Organization urges Supreme Court to keep Christmas as U.S. holiday (Akron Beacon Journal, March 30, 2001) [Links to Akron Beacon Journal archive]

Christmas survives lawyer's challenge (The Cincinnati Enquirer, December 21, 2000) [

Court rejects suit to outlaw Christmas (The Cincinnati Post, December 21, 2000)

"Dismiss Christmas lawsuit, Workers say," Ben L. Kaufman, Cincinnati Enquirer (November 4, 1998).

"Government defends Christmas' status as federal holiday," Associated Press (October 13, 1998).

"Attorney sues federal government over recognition of Christmas as national holiday," Jeremy Leaming, Freedom Forum (August 7, 1998).

"I really don't hate Santa, lawyer insists," Rick Van Sant, The Cincinnati Post (August 6, 1998).

"'Grinch' suit would ban Christmas holiday," Al Andry, The Cincinnati Post (August 5, 1998).

"Suit opposes Christmas as legal holiday," John Hopkins, The Cincinnati Enquirer (August 5, 1998).

Articles & News Items

• "Christmas Rescued from Grinch," December 6, 1999
• "The Grinch, Again," December 7, 2000
• "Grinch Foiled Again as Sixth Circuit Affirms Lower Court Decision," December 20, 2000
• "Supreme Court asked to decide Christmas holiday case without argument," March 30, 2001
• "The End of the Line for the "Grinch"," April 17, 2001