'Merry Christmas' school lunch menus recalled

'Merry Christmas' school lunch menus recalled

SEATTLE (AP) -- Holiday religious issues arose in two suburban school districts, one for lunch menus with the words ''Merry Christmas'' and the other for a ''giving tree.''

In Federal Way, between Seattle and Tacoma, December lunch menus for all 23 elementary schools were recalled and reprinted with the words ''Happy Holidays'' at a cost of $494 after a new nutrition services employee mistakenly prepared them with the greeting ''Merry Christmas,'' spokeswoman Diane Turner said.

Using ''Merry Christmas'' on the menus violated school system policies because ''it has a religious connotation for some people,'' Turner said.

There's a silver lining in every cloud. It's nice to know that Christmas has a religious connotation for "some people."