United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 20-1881 REBECCA WOODRING, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JACKSON COUNTY, INDIANA, Defendant-Appellant. ____________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, New Albany Division. No. 4:18-cv-00243 — Tanya Walton Pratt, Judge. ____________________

ARGUED NOVEMBER 12, 2020 — DECIDED FEBRUARY 2, 2021 ____________________

Before WOOD, HAMILTON, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges. ST. EVE, Circuit Judge. This case concerns the constitution- ality of a nativity scene on government property. Each holi- day season, Jackson County, Indiana allows private groups to set up a lighted Christmas display on the front lawn of its his- toric courthouse. The display comprises a nativity scene, Santa Claus in his sleigh, a reindeer, carolers, and large candy-striped poles. Rebecca Woodring, a resident of Jackson County, sued the County to enjoin the nativity scene. In her 2 No. 20-1881 view, the nativity scene violates the First Amendment’s Es- tablishment Clause because it conveys the County’s endorse- ment of a religious message. The County defends the nativity scene as part of its secular celebration of a public holiday. The district court sided with Woodring and permanently enjoined the County from displaying the nativity scene, at least in its current arrangement. The County now appeals. We agree with the district court that Woodring has stand- ing to sue, but we hold that the County’s nativity scene com- plies with the Establishment Clause. The district court thought itself bound by the “purpose” and “endorsement” tests that grew out of the Supreme Court’s decision in Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971). We hold, however, that the Supreme Court’s recent decision in American Legion v. Ameri- can Humanist Association, 139 S. Ct. 2067 (2019), requires us to use a different, more historical framework to gauge the con- stitutionality of the County’s nativity scene. Applying Ameri- can Legion, we conclude that the County’s nativity scene is constitutional because it fits within a long national tradition of using the nativity scene in broader holiday displays to cel- ebrate the origins of Christmas—a public holiday. We thus af- firm the district court’s ruling on standing, reverse its Estab- lishment Clause ruling, and vacate the injunction. I. Background A. The Nativity Scene A historic courthouse sits on Main Street in Brownstown, Indiana, the county seat of Jackson County. These days, “courthouse” is something of a misnomer for the building. In December 2018, the county courts and judicial offices relo- cated from the courthouse to a new Judicial Center, which sits No. 20-1881 3 behind and across the street from the courthouse. The county treasurer, auditor, assessor, recorder, surveyor, planning and zoning offices, and public defender’s office remain in the his- toric courthouse, along with a Purdue University extension program that operates in the basement. The courthouse sits in the middle of a park-like square, bordered on all sides by in- tersecting streets. It has a large front lawn that faces Main Street. Permanent fixtures on the front lawn include a bell, a flagpole, a tank, and a granite monument that serves as a me- morial to veterans. The front lawn is on the west side of the courthouse. The Judicial Center is on its east side. The east and west sides of the courthouse have main entrances. Every year, from around Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, a Christmas display goes up on the front lawn of the court- house. The display—a collecti