{"id":30243,"date":"2025-12-23T16:11:55","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T21:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=30243"},"modified":"2025-12-23T16:11:55","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T21:11:55","slug":"its-about-the-birth-of-jesus-south-carolina-committee-stands-firm-as-nativity-scene-stays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2025\/12\/its-about-the-birth-of-jesus-south-carolina-committee-stands-firm-as-nativity-scene-stays","title":{"rendered":"‘It’s About the Birth of Jesus’: South Carolina Committee Stands Firm as Nativity Scene Stays"},"content":{"rendered":"
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New-York-Post-Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Christmas Nativity scene in a small South Carolina town has become the center of a growing faith and free-expression debate after a local committee refused to comply with a mayor’s request to remove it from public property.<\/p>\n

The display sits in a market parking lot in Mullins, South Carolina, where the Mullins Beautification Committee had been preparing for the town’s first Christmas season in its newly developed marketplace area. Committee Chair Kimberly Byrd said the goal was simple: to decorate downtown “like a Hallmark movie” and encourage families and shoppers to gather during the holiday season.<\/p>\n

Byrd and her small team spent roughly two weeks setting up decorations they paid for out of their own pockets. The display included wreaths, lights, a snowman, Santa Claus, and a modest 3-by-4-foot Nativity scene. Shortly after the decorations went up, Byrd said she received a text from Mayor Miko Pickett asking that the Nativity be removed, citing concerns for residents of other faiths and beliefs.<\/p>\n

The request, Byrd said, came as a shock. Having lived in Mullins for more than five decades, she described the town as deeply rooted in Christian tradition. “Our small town, we have a church on every corner,” Byrd told Fox News Digital. “It’s a faith-based community in the Bible Belt. I’ve been here 53 years of my life and never heard of anything like this happening here.”<\/p>\n

Rather than quietly comply, Byrd said she reached out to city council members and found support for keeping the display intact. She ultimately decided the Nativity would stay. “Christ is why we celebrate Christmas,” she said, adding that she hoped the mayor would reconsider or open a broader discussion. “But nothing.”<\/p>\n

Mayor Pickett later posted a statement<\/a> on Facebook explaining that her concern centered on the presence of a religious symbol on public property, which she said violated the separation of church and state. She clarified that she had not objected to other decorations, only the placement of the Nativity in the parking area.<\/p>\n

For Byrd, the issue goes beyond a single decoration. She said that if the Nativity is ultimately removed, she would also take down all the other Christmas decorations. “How are we supposed to explain to our kids that we have to hide our religion, hide our beliefs, and hide what Christmas is about?” she asked. “Christmas is not about Santa Claus. It’s about the birth of Jesus.”<\/p>\n

Support for Byrd’s stance has poured in from both residents and people nationwide. Mullins councilman Albert Woodberry told<\/a> ABC15 News that he sees no issue with the display remaining through the season, noting that families and children pass by daily to enjoy it.<\/p>\n

The controversy has also drawn national attention from religious liberty advocates. Becket awarded Byrd its 2025 “Tiny Tim Toast” award, praising her willingness to stand up for the Nativity and public expressions of faith. Becket president Mark Rienzi called her actions “admirable and patriotic,” saying they brought added joy to the Christmas season.<\/p>\n

As the Nativity remains in place, Byrd says she never expected to find herself at the center of a public dispute\u2014but believes the stand was necessary. “At the end of the day,” she said, “we have to stand for what we believe in and what is right.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Christmas Nativity scene in a small South Carolina town has become the center of a growing faith and free-expression debate after a local committee refused to comply with a mayor’s request to remove it from public property. The display sits in a market parking lot in Mullins, South Carolina, where the Mullins Beautification Committee…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":30264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n'It's About the Birth of Jesus': South Carolina Committee Stands Firm as Nativity Scene Stays<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A South Carolina town committee defies the mayor's order and keeps a Nativity scene up, saying Christmas is about the birth of Jesus.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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