A major shopping mall in Florida that receives millions of visitors every year had imposed a ban on Christmas songs and hymns about Jesus but was eventually forced to rescind the prohibition due to public criticism.
Officials from the University Town Center (UTC) Mall in Sarasota County earlier issued a controversial decree directing choral groups performing in the commercial area not to sing Christmas carols, particularly those written in English.
"For choral groups, the Mall prefers no clearly recognizable Christian music, such as carols," stated the decree, according to Life Site News.
In addition to banning Christmas carols, the mall's management also banned songs referring to Jesus Christ in every possible way, particularly "spiritual" and "Gospel" music.
The American Family Association immediately criticised the mall's action, triggering similar responses from Christian consumers.
Some Christians even threatened not to shop at the Florida mall anymore, telling the mall owners to take their business elsewhere because of their controversial action.
Facing public backlash, the University Town Center Mall's management eventually rescinded its order against Christmas songs and hymns referring to Jesus Christ.
In a statement after backtracking on the ban, the mall's management claimed that the prohibition on religious songs actually did not have the approval of higher officials. The mall's spokesman also came out with an assurance that Christian songs can now be played and sang in the commercial establishment.
"The materials created and distributed by a third party company relating to the hiring of performance groups for UTC were not reviewed by UTC staff in advance of distribution. These materials do not in any way represent an existing center policy or viewpoint. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused within the Sarasota community," the mall's management said.
