An elementary school in Centerville, Pennsylvania, decided not to put on a fifth-grade production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol this year, for the first time in at least two decades, primarily blaming the 20 hours of classroom rehearsal and preparation time plus new state education standards that don't allow that kind of space for extracurricular activity. Things got out of control pretty fast, like a madcap game of telephone for the internet era.
On Dec. 15, local TV station WHTM reported that "many parents believe" the play was canceled because "two parents" complained about the line "God bless us, every one." Two days later, Fox News columnist Todd Stearns publicized the story as part of the purported "War on Christmas," and by Thursday, Lancaster Online reported that "a Jewish family has fled the county in fear because it's being blamed for the cancelation," noting incitement from the Stearns column and an article in Breitbart. The fleeing Jewish family story went viral, and on Thursday night, the Anti-Defamation League stood athwart the clickwave, yelling "Stop."
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