A federal judge ruled today a Florida town must allow a display of the Christian Nativity this season.

U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia Altonaga granted a temporary restraining order requiring the town of Bay Harbor Islands to allow a Christian resident to display the Nativity alongside existing Jewish menorahs.

Altonaga said Snowden had shown a substantial likelihood of success on free speech and equal protection claims in her ongoing case and allowed her to set up the display on Causeway Island, which leads to her town.

A local synagogue's Menorah has been displayed each holiday season since December 2001.

Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, which is representing Snowden, said he was pleased with the judge's quick response.

"This is a great example of what can happen when Christians stand up for their right to celebrate Christmas in public," he said.

Town attorneys argue the Menorah can be displayed because it is a secular symbol and not a religious one, unlike the Nativity.

Prior to today's ruling, Bay Harbor Islands attorney Craig B. Sherman told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel he believes the town will prevail.

"All the town's holiday decorations are in compliance with applicable law," he insisted.

Altonaga also ruled Snowden had shown a substantial likelihood of success that the town had violated the Establishment Clause in 2001 through 2003 by displaying only Jewish religious symbols, to the exclusion of Christian symbols, during the December holiday seasons.

For the past several years, Bay Harbor Islands has adorned the lampposts lining its main street with Jewish religious symbols of menorahs and Stars of David and has allowed a Jewish synagogue to display its 14-foot Menorah on Causeway Island, the most prominent public location at the entrance of Town.

But every request by Snowden to display Nativity scenes purchased with her own money was denied by town officials, the lawsuit said.

Last year, the Law Center filed a similar lawsuit against the town of Palm Beach, Fla., for its refusal to respond to repeated requests to display a Nativity alongside town-sanctioned menorahs.

A federal district court judge acknowledged the importance of recognizing religious holidays and ordered Palm Beach in May to treat all religious symbols equally.

In New York City, a federal lawsuit is challenging the city's display of the Jewish menorah during Hanukkah and the Islamic star and crescent during Ramadan in more than 1,200 public schools while barring Nativity scenes during Christmas.

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