Is It Time to Ban Bicycling at Night?
The Desertification of Seattle Has Begun
Elevator or Hellevator? Maybe Take the Stairs
Dammit, do we really have to open up a front of the "War on Christmas" in Seattle? The Port removed a bunch of holiday trees from the airport this weekend ("holiday trees" are evergreens that have been decorated with lights and garland and small hanging ornaments - They're similar to Christmas trees, except holiday trees don't go to heaven when they drop their needles). The holiday trees were removed because a local rabbi sued the Port to get his 8' holiday menorah put up alongside the trees.
"I am devastated, shocked and appalled at the decision that the Port of Seattle came to," he [the rabbi] said Sunday. As news coverage about the airport's trees spread from CNN to ABC to the Paris-based International Herald Tribune, Bogomilsky on Sunday began to receive hateful messages from people holding him responsible for the removal of the trees.Harvey Grad, the rabbi's attorney, said the vitriol against Bogomilsky is misplaced, emphasizing that the rabbi neither objected to the trees nor said he found them offensive.
How long has this rabbi been in Seattle? If it's longer than a month you'd think that he'd know that the Port, when faced with a decision, will always always always make the wrong choice. So don't put them in that position! Enjoy the damn holiday trees and shut the hell up.
On the other hand, Bogomilsky looks like he's had some success getting menorahs put up in more unlikely places than Sea-Tac. Here's an article on an 8' menorah he got installed on a guided-missile frigate in Everett. If he can do that, why not try the airport?
An airport spokesperson said:
"What we have are holiday trees," she said. "If we are going to display symbols representing other cultures, we have to think what that means and what's respectful and what would make a good display. Maybe it would be 'Holidays of the World.'
Think about what that means, Seattle. It is a slippery slope from trees to menorahs to Flying Spaghetti Monsters to the Islamic holiday displays that surely indicate the end of the World as we know it. But who cares? Put them all up! A holiday, uh, whatever cute branding device indicates the Islamic holidays isn't going to make flying any less or more safe or indicate that anyone has won or lost or fail to support the troops somehow.
At least some of the businesses within the airport have the good sense to holiday it up where the Port is falling down. The news this morning showed a small tree on the Delta ticketing counter and apparently Anthony's has put up a few trees of their own.
Here's 439 articles from a Google News search for "war on christmas" + seattle.
Update: The trees are back.
add to digg
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
email this
add to facebook
add to del.icio.us
there is no such thing as a 'holiday tree'. the only holiday this time of year that has a tree is christmas. if you don't celebrate christmas then there is no tree in the holiday. stop infringing christmas on everyone. we do not all celebrate your holiday...we don't even care and we don't believe in it. if you want to celebrate the holidays then you should put up decorations for all holidays, period. don't be ingnorant of other peoples beliefs.
thank you
There is no such thing as a holiday tree? You and rabbi tit are ignorant my beliefs, so hi kettle I am black. No one is stop infringing Christmas on everyone, the problem is the weak and stupid always threaten law suits to get their way, no matter how stupid their beliefs are.
What frickin nonsense. As if anyone is harmed because they put up a Christmas tree. It's long since stopped being a religious holiday among most celebrants, myself included. The actual tree has absolutely no religious context.
The fact that the Rabbi threatened a lawsuit just takes the cake. The man obviously has too much money at his disposal if this is what he chooses to spend it on.
As far as the indignation of 'Charlie', my holiday belief is that you should be forced to sit in front of a television watching a loop of The Christmas Story, Scrooged, the Santa Clause (part 2!) and whatever other christmas movies I can scrounge up you oversensitive uptight buffoon.
Didn't the custom of the Christams tree come from co-opting the "pagan" rituals centered around the winter solstice?
while it's fun to point out that the tree was co-opted from pagans, there is no question that it is universally recognized as a symbol of christmas. i really don't care if someone attaches a religious connotation to their own tree, or just bows down at the altar of santa, a decorated tree in the public square is for christians. there is no such thing as a 'holiday' tree. nobody else uses it to celebrate... sukkot was months ago.
i'm personally not offended by the trees as i'm cynical enough to expect it by now. it's a christian country and this time of year sucks. that said, the rabbi made a reasonable request & the port freaked out. it was tremendous PR on their part to make the rabbi look like the bad guy for their own incompetence. if they'd just put up the menorah, nobody would even have known it was ever an issue.
My comment about the tree being co-opted was in response to the original comment about Christmas being "the only holiday this time of year that has a tree". Given that the solstice is a few days before Christmas, that would be incorrect (If I'm right in remembering that the tree was used in solstice celebrations).
I'm just happy that the tree shown in the story is topped by a representation of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I think all holidays (and everyone posting here) should be touched by his noodly appendage. That is all.
I think that many well-meaning Christians really just want us non-Christians to feel comfortable embracing the tree, and so they take the crosses and santas and all other identifying features off and call it a "holiday tree." I want to say "Thanks, but no thanks." It's really not necessary, as we have our own cultural traditions and will always see it as a Christmas tree. (If I draped a menorah with green and red tinsel and painted it candy cane colors, would you for one minute believe it was anything other than a badly decorated Jewish menorah?)
But the more important point is that no one should have to disguise their holiday symbols to make them acceptable! That's not fair to Christians, Jews, or any other group. What would make me happy is if anyone wanting to would just put up a kick-ass holiday display on their own property or the property of their houses of worship. Let's all eave the public spaces alone. Besides, I think putting up displays in stores and malls is a crass misuse of religion and just cheapens the religious significance of the holidays.
My two cents. Peace to all, Merry Christmas! Happy Hannukah! Joyous Kwanza!
Holiday/Christmas Tree's are not a religious observance, they are a holiday tradition.
Further, there was to be a lighting ceremony with the menorah. Religious.
To the first poster: What about Thanksgiving and other American Holiday's. Are they ok with you? We should just keep the holiday's and be nice to others. We deserve our holidays as much as any other country, we even need them.
This is going too much, I mean, this country was built on Christian principals, and the bible was the symbol that used to swear people to public office, so i don't care if 10 million jewes live here and 20 million muslims live here, so people come out and say it out loud and don't be affraid of what you beleif in, this is too much, let other faiths here from you as much as you hear from them , enough is enough, those christmas trees should go back where they belong,
First, the airport is a publicly funded and supported facility (not a church although there probably is a lot of praying at take off and landing.) Religious displays of any religion do not belong in a public space as this is a form of government endorsement of religion.
Our tax dollars should not be used to put up any these kind of religious displays or pay for the lighting of them. To a non-Christian like myself, a Jew, they are religious displays. Why do you think people call them "Christmas trees? If we truly believe in the concept of the separation of "church" or religion and state, then the decision is correct.
Second, if we accept the equal opportunity position of allowing Christmas trees, Menorahs (celebrating a Jewish religious military victory), or Kwanzaa (some family values there, whew) displays, then we would have to allow a display from alleged devil worshippers with an upside down broken crucifix, the numbers 666, the words "believe in Satan and yee shall be saved" and a sacrificial altar filled with human blood. It is only fair, after all. If you are going to allow one, then you must allow all. Is that what you really want?
Third, imagine what it would be like to live in a country (like Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iran, or Afghanistan to name a few) where Christians are the minority and/or are not allowed to put up their symbols and have the dominant religion shoved down their throat. Then maybe you would understand how the rest of us feel about these so-called secular but religious displays.
We are a diverse country. Putting up displays like this separates us. Religion belongs in the home and in the appropriate religious institution. Public buildings are for public use. Period.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO EVERYONE? IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYONE TAKES OFFENSE TO EVERYTHING. I FEEL LIKE I LIVE IN A WORLD OF BABIES, BECAUSE PEOPLE CRY AND WHINE ABOUT EVERYTHING. GROW UP PEOPLE. SOME OF YOU ARE TAKING AWAY THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT. IT'S A CHRISTMAS TREE, IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN AND IT ALWAYS WILL BE. AND IF YOU SEE ME, I WILL SAY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, WELL TOUGH. I'M NOT RELIGIOUS, BUT THIS IS GOING TOO FAR. THE REST OF US NEED TO GROW A PAIR AND SIMPLY SAY, IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT....TOO BAD. CRY TO SOMEONE WHO GIVES A CARE ABOUT YOUR PATHETIC LIVES IN WHINYLAND.