Well, we've all seen the hubub over the removal (and apparent restoration) of Christmas trees at SeaTac airport.The whole thing is laughable at one moment and pitiful the next.
Laughable because of the sheer irony that Christmas trees are totally pagan holiday trimmings that have nothing to do with the central purpose of Christmas. In fact, the practice was condemed by Christians, including the Puritan "pilgrims". Apparently both sides of the argument have been proceeding under the erroneous impression that Christmas trees are actually Christian. LOL! Honestly, that's like saying jack-o-lanterns are the Christian symbols of Halloween.
Pitiful because I, as a Non-Christian, have always loved Christmas festivity and decorations, and I like to see the trees. I guess it's always been the pagan in me. But it saddens me to see any group call for the removal of trees, especially on the premise of some weird perversion of tolerance. It's hardly worth the effort to diagram the chaotic cyclone of twisted logic and contradiction involved with this simple issue.
I say, let the trees go up, along with menorahs or stars or crescents or pentagrams or whatever people need to remind them that the winter holiday is, to a very few of us, a season of giving and sharing and joyful invitation to join the celebration.
8 comments:
I couldn't agree more. When I heard this story on NPR this morning, my first thought was, "But Christmas trees are not Christian!" Of course, they have come to be linked in people's mind to the celebration of Christmas--which is a holiday that has an awful lot of devoted Christians celebrating it and putting up Christmas trees in conjunction with that Holy Day, so it is understandable that people make the connection.
My next thought was, "Why didn't the airport just put up a menorah and whatever else represents whatever else people celbrate?" I suppose their thought was, "Where does it all end?" which is sad because I can also see the point given the tendancy of Americans to abuse the legal system.
I am far more interested in leadership that has no problem bringing all ideas into the fold with respect and without fear and unnecessary freaking out...Seatac leadership completely failed.
Ubergirlelijah
Hope I got that right - what a great name.
I heard the spokesman for the airport last night say (paraphrasing):
In such a short time, they couldn't see how to assemble all the symbols of all the religions who would be standing in line behind the Rabbi demanding their place in the sun.
It was simpler to remove the tree.
Since the airport is a public entity, I'm sure the Rabbi thought he was on sound legal ground and he may have been.
It still seems like one of the silliest things I've heard yet.
Our old Courthouse/museum features a display of trees along with caroling every year. Refreshments are served too.
I wonder when someone will come along and tell them they can't do it.
Our elementary schools are doing nothing for the "winter festival" this year. The little kids aren't even cutting out snowmen and reindeer. No classroom parties and no special evening watching the little ones sing offkey. I don't know how much of it is due to the constraints of that obscenity, No Child Left Behind, and how much to their fear of being somehow politically incorrect even though they've tried to be inclusive (hence the name change).
As one who's sneezed his way thru millions of pine trees in the last 7 years, I don't care if I ever see another one!!
Where was all the rage and self indignation when they drove past said tree before it was cut down, and before it was Christmas? Are the snake worshipers going to have a snake up there? "Oh Arthur, put that snake in that tree next to that star of David! Don't you think that's so darling???" If we put as much effort into improving ourselves as we do idiotic symbolism, we wouldn't have such airheaded crap.
Absurdity is another way of spelling Politically Correct which is another way of spelling our doom.
Leve the trees alone...they are the perfect sign of corporate capitalistic greed run amok with our holiday.
leave things alone..can't we just get alone? geeze, i leave blogger space for a short time and it all goes to hell...
perfect post.
Hello, paganism is not atheism. It is religion also.
Anonymous: We all know that, and I never claimed otherwise. Your point is - ?
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