The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s secular Winter Solstice sign has returned to the Washington state Capitol this year.
The banner went up Dec. 18 on the Statehouse grounds thanks to Lewis Foerster, who has taken over as president of the FFRF chapter in the area called Unfettered Freethinkers of South Sound from Darrell Barker, who had put the display up in previous years. It reads:
At this season of the Winter Solstice, let 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 Winter Solstice, the shortest and darkest day of the year, is taking place this year today, Tuesday, Dec. 21. This natural holiday signals the return of the sun and the new year and has been celebrated for millennia in the Northern Hemisphere with festivals of light, evergreens, feasts and gift exchanges.
“This sign is a reminder of the real reason for the season: the Winter Solstice,” says Dan Barker, FFRF co-president and brother of Darrell. “Christians don't own the month of December.”
The banner will be up until the end of the year.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with 35,000 members and several chapters across the country, including more than 1,500 members and two chapters in Washington. FFRF’s purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.