A Victory....Of Sorts

We haven't even gotten through Halloween, yet the flap over Christmas trees and "holiday" trees has reared it's head....again. Christmas tree makes comeback City council restores evergreen's name

Maybe it was the chill in the air that had aldermen thinking about Christmas in October, but the Milwaukee Common Council voted 9-5 Tuesday to rename the large green object in Red Arrow Park as the city's "Christmas tree," dumping the "holiday tree" label that has been used since 1995. That action was praised by a Christian group in Florida and condemned by an atheist organization in Madison.

At least it passed!

"If we don't have the fortitude to call the city's Christmas tree what it is, then what do we have the fortitude to address as far as city issues?" Bohl said.

Darn good question!

Bohl said the term "holiday tree" was a product of political correctness, because Jews and Muslims don't recognize evergreens as holiday symbols.

Excuse me, but doesn't Milwaukee "celebrate" Cinco de Mayo? If it's ok for an American city to celebrate a Mexican holiday, political correctness has run amuck!

"There is no reason other than religious hostility to call a Christmas tree anything other than a Christmas tree," Stanley said. "When you try to cleanse Christmas of all religious references, you demonstrate hostility to Christmas."

The hostility has grown to Biblical proportions!

But Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, said the resolution "sounds like a very Christian-centered and very backward thing" that is "excluding Jews and other non-Christians." She said aldermen "just capitulated entirely to (television talk show host Bill) O'Reilly and Fox TV."

She doesn't like Christmas, she doesn't have to celebrate. It is nice of her not to bring lawsuits over Christmas trees though.

Ald. Michael McGee mocked the measure, saying, "Let's just change Red Arrow Park to Holiday Park, and then all the trees in the park can be holiday trees."

Can this guy ever say anything reasonably intelligent? No, that tree really wasn't a part of Christianity originally. The evergreen grew (no pun intended) to symbolize the never ending love of Christ, at least that's my understanding. Let's face it, if it weren't for Christmas, there wouldn't be the "season". Kids wouldn't have any reason to get out of school for 2 weeks, people would have no reason to take the day off from work, and businesses would never have the sales they do now. Take away Christmas, and ya might as well close the doors to Wal Mart! No, shopping isn't the purpose of Christmas, although walking through a store at the end of September, it'd be tough to believe that, decorations all over the place. If we are suppose to be a nation of diverse cultures, with respect for all faiths, why can't we recognize the faith this on which this country was founded?