Many people love decorating for Christmas, and this year, since it has been such a difficult one, many of us have been decorating earlier than ever before. Sure, stores have been selling Christmas decorations in September and October for a long time, but this is the first year we have personally pulled out our Christmas decorations before packing up the ones from Halloween, and we’re not the only ones.

A man named Chris Kennedy posted a photo of his outdoor Christmas decorations on Facebook back in October. He said that he just wanted to make sure they would all still inflate properly. They did, and the photo looks especially cheerful.

Kennedy has featured Black Santa as part of his Christmas decor ever since he and his family moved into their home in North Little Rock, Arkansas, three years ago. Nobody ever really commented about it or had a problem with his decor, but this year was different. Kennedy received a racist letter in the mail addressed from Santa Claus, but Kennedy knows that in reality one of his neighbors wrote the letter, he just doesn’t know which one.

Kennedy will probably never know who sent the letter. The return address was to the Lakewood Property Owners Association (LPOA), and when Kennedy asked the LPOA’s executive director, Evan Blake, about the letter, Blake said that the LPOA had nothing to do with it and knew nothing about it. As an apology, he also gave Blake a free membership to the LPOA. Blake explained to CNN, “We have never had anyone attack anyone based on their race. Racism is something that we do discriminate against and we will not stand for it.”

After receiving the letter, Kennedy went live on Facebook to read the note. He also shared his story on a couple news stations. In response, his neighbors have come together offering Kennedy support in the form of letters and gifts.

 

Kennedy has no plans to change his Christmas display. He said that he loves decorating for Christmas because it reminds him of his father who died on Thanksgiving Day more than 15 years ago.

It’s probably safe to say that whoever wrote that hateful letter would not have sent it if they knew it was going to result in such an outpouring of support for Kennedy. He feels very grateful for the love his neighbors have shown him.

How do you usually decorate for the holidays? Have your neighbors ever complained about your holiday decorations? How would you react if they did?