One battle is brewing in Texas, where a town called Athens got a letter from a Wisconsin group demanding it remove a Nativity scene from its town square.

In California, a coalition of churches and a police association are crying conspiracy over their treatment.  A coastal park in Santa Monica has protected, cage-like, vandal-proof space for up to 21 displays.

In years past, two-thirds of those displays featured the story of the birth of Jesus. But a new lottery system saw athiests claim 18 of the spaces this year. They are using only three, and those to promote their mesage of athiesm.

These fights over Nativity scenes and religious displays on public property crop up every year like dandelions on a lawn.

Is there a way to make everyone happy, or are these battles a ritual like the swallows returning to Capistrano? Should a group in Wisconsin get involved in a fight over a Nativity scene in Texas?

Are these disputes really over the Constitution and freedom of religion, or are they about something else?

For the record, I don't say happy holidays. I say Merry Christmas.