Piedmont residents show support for religion in cities largest Christmas Parade

Hundreds of participants in Thursday evenings Piedmont Christmas Parade carried signs showing their religion.

Parade organizers canceled the planned "Keep Christ in Christmas" theme, but the people of Piedmont put a big emphasis on their Christian faith and proclamations of Jesus as the reason for the Christmas season.

Mayor Bill Baker said the desire to have a religious theme for the Christmas parade was in response to a conflict earlier in the year with the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

The Wisconsin-based atheist organization contacted Piedmont City Schools earlier this year with the threat of a lawsuit if perceived school-sponsored prayer continued before football games.  The high school stopped using the stadium loudspeakers and instead began holding a moment of silence.  Many students and fans said the Lord's prayer during the break.

The FFRF learned of the "Keep Christ in Christmas" parade theme and sent another letter to city officials.  The city agreed to go back to the usual title, the City of Piedmont Christmas Parade.

That motivated Piedmont residents to exercise their freedoms of religion and speech Thursday night.  There was a prayer circle before the parade, and many marchers carried signs with "Keep Christ in Christmas" handwritten or printed on them.

 Mayor Bill Baker said that "This anti-religious group that started all this stuff, I really believe this has backfired on them.

Baker said the turnout at this year's Christmas parade was the city's largest ever.