AUSTIN, Texas – Hallelujah! It appears that Texas schools and students will be allowed to celebrate Christmas this year!

Currently, teachers and school officials must refrain from any reference to the Christian holiday, or Hanukkah, or even utter the words “Merry Christmas” without fear of a lawsuit from the overly sensitive types.

But state lawmakers passed legislation Friday that will free teachers and school employees to openly embrace the Christmas tradition by allowing them to say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Hanukkah,” and to decorate with “Christmas” trees, instead of “holiday” trees, the Huffington Post reports.

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“Teachers have enough on their plate to worry about (whether) the school district’s going to be sued or if they can call a Christmas tree a Christmas tree,” Texas state Rep. Dwayne Bohac, sponsor of the legislation, told the media.

Bohac said the inspiration for the bill came after his six-year-old son talked about decorating his school’s “holiday tree with holiday ornaments,” according to the news site.

That incident caused Bohac to conclude that Texas’ public schools are too steeped in politically correct jargon.

“I was a little bit flabbergasted and a little bit upset that we’ve become so politically correct that we can’t call a federal holiday by its name,” the lawmaker said.

The premise behind the legislation is simple: “Kids love the holidays. Whether it’s Christmas or Hanukkah, our children, teachers, parents and school administrators should have the freedom to acknowledge these traditions in our public schools without fear of censorship, punishment, persecution or litigation,” according to MerryChristmasBill.com, a site set up to promote the Texas legislation.

The measure – which actually consists of identical bills in the state House and Senate – passed both chambers and now heads to Gov. Rick Perry for his signature, and the governor has indicated he supports the bill.

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State Sen. Robert Nichols explains why he introduced the bill in the Senate on the Christmas bill website:

“I have heard from many constituents who dislike that it is becoming less culturally acceptable to openly celebrate these holidays in the ways past generations have. To me this is a matter of helping our teachers and administrators feel safe talking about these holidays at school without fear of legal action being taken against them,” Nichols said.

“We’re currently standing at a cultural crossroads in our society, and this is one step forward for those defending our traditional values and beliefs.”

Despite regular reports on Fox News and other media outlets about the “War on Christmas” being perpetuated by liberal ideologues, Texas union officials don’t see an issue with the politically correctness run amok.

“I think we really have to say, does this help education when we are caught up in discussions that have become pure partisan discussions? That is not the way we should be looking at education,” Texas’ American Federation of Teachers President Linda Bridges told KTBC.

It’s an ironic statement considering that left-leaning union officials no doubt support the PC policy in public schools, and likely had a hand in implementing the no Christmas policies. Teachers unions are notorious for promoting their special brand of liberalism in public schools across the country.

The worst part is states now need specific legislation to allow teachers and students to embrace their traditions.