A “mini-blitz” of 10 freethinking billboards in Las Vegas in October was so popular with local Freedom From Religion Foundation members that a kind donor has paid for 10 solstice billboards to adorn the city this December.
The three messages this December are: “Reason’s Greetings,” “Heathen’s Greetings” and “Yes, Virginia, There Is No God.”
The “Yes, Virginia” reference is a play on the famous question posed by 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon in 1897 to the New York Sun newspaper: “Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, ‘If you see it in THE SUN it’s so.’ Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?”
The rest is history. In an unsigned editorial, the Sun’s Francis P. Church wrote his “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” line, along with, “Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies!”
The billboards can be found at:
-Reason’s Greetings
- LVBN WS 400ft N/O Lamb F/S – 1
- Wyoming ES 5ft E/O Industrial F/E – 2
- LVBS WS 800ft N/O Convention Ctr F/N – 3
- Airport Exit ES 0.26mi S/O Russell F/N – 3
-Heathen’s Greetings
- Valley View WS 500ft N/O Viking F/S – 2
- Sahara NS 5ft E/O Pardee Pl F/W – 2
- Bruce ES 125ft N/O Charleston F/S – 2
-Yes, Virginia . . .
- Boulder ES 475ft S/O Dalhart F/S – 2
- Russell NS 3100ft W/O I-515 F/W – 1
- Rancho ES 100ft S/O Cheyenne F/N – 1
Dan Barker, Foundation co-president, noted, “Most people think December is only for Christians and view our solstice signs as an intrusion, when actually it’s the other way around. People have been celebrating the winter solstice long before Christmas.”
The Foundation, which has more than 14,000 members, asks only that reason may prevail, all year round: “There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world,” as the Foundation’s signs now up in the Illinois and Wisconsin State Capitols say.
Annie Laurie Gaylor, Foundation co-president, said the winter solstice has been celebrated for thousands of years in the Northern Hemisphere, with festivals of light, evergreen trees, feasts and gift exchanges.
“We nonbelievers don’t mind sharing the season with Christians,” Gaylor said.
