'Tis the season . . . for the Freedom From Religion Foundation's gilt "Winter Solstice" message, which returns for its 12th visit to the first-floor rotunda of the Wisconsin State Capitol for the month of December.
The pretty sign, with a secular message composed by Anne Nicol Gaylor, Foundation co-president emerita, reads:
At this season of the Winter Solstice, may reason prevail.
There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell.
There is only our natural world.
Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.
The back of the sign reads: "State/Church: Keep Them Separate."
"Our sign is a reminder of the real reason for the season, the Winter Solstice," says Annie Laurie Gaylor, Foundation co-president.
The Winter Solstice, the shortest and darkest day of the year, takes place early on Dec. 22 this year. The natural holiday signals the return of the sun and the new year, and has been celebrated for a millennia in the Northern Hemisphere with festivals of light, evergreens, feasts and gift exchanges.
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