The Unknown Gomer
12-19-2009, 05:32 AM
Dudes! A tree with lights and decorations that is put up at this time of year IS a Christmas tree. If you don't want to offend people of other religions, either put up symbols of what they celebrate as well, or don't put anything up. But don't put up a symbol that is Christmas specific and NOT call it a Christmas tree. Sheesh.
What gets me is I work right across the street from the Cary town hall. So unlike when I got hacked off about them not putting up the Christmas trees at all in front of the library in Chapel Hill last year, it wasn't something I had to look at (or NOT look at, since they weren't there) all the time, so after the initial "Grrrrr" wore off, I didn't have to think about it.
THIS is going to bug me for the rest of the Christmas season, until they take down their Just "tree", because I see it every day when I pull in to work, and every day when I leave. Fortunately that's really only 4 more days of "piss me off" though, since the office will be closed between Christmas and New Years again this year, so maybe by the time I drive back there after New Years, Cary's Christmas - err sorry - HOLIDAY decorations will be down.
Ugh. Can't believe they'd put up a Christmas tree and then try to call it something else. Why bother?
Some miss 'Christmas' in Cary's trees
CARY Several residents, including two Cary Town Council members, are urging the town to reinstate the use of the word "Christmas" when referring to what Cary now calls its "community tree."
The town opted not to use the word "Christmas" when describing the tree that sits inside Town Hall -- the artificial one that hovers over wrapped boxes and is adorned with ornaments donated by community groups, including churches.
Ditto for the decorated, 30-foot cedar on North Academy Street, which the town has simply called "tree."
Officials say that the town wants to be respectful to residents who don't celebrate the religious holiday.
But some worry that Cary has gotten a little too politically correct.
"This town has gotten so P.C. that they're no longer P.C.," said Cary resident Steve Steinbeck, who sent an e-mail complaint to Town Council members this month. "It is politically correct to say Christmas, and it's politically correct to say Christmas tree."
Councilman Don Frantz wants to address the issue at the Town Council's first meeting in January.
"While we want to be all-inclusive and respectful of others' beliefs," Frantz said, "there should be a way to compromise and be all-inclusive while still honoring those who celebrate Christmas."
Other towns in western Wake have differing traditions. Fuquay-Varina calls its tree a Christmas tree. So does Apex. Holly Springs, which holds an annual Christmas parade, lights a tree that goes by no other name. In Morrisville, it's a "holiday tree."
Cary councilman Jack Smith is the Town Council's liaison to the Sister Cities Commission, which fosters relationships with foreign communities and promotes global understanding. He said critics often forget that Christmas isn't exclusively linked with religion, the source of much dispute over the use of the word in public celebrations. "It's a national holiday," he said. "We tend to lose sight of that fact."
Frantz, with Smith's support, said he hopes that his council colleagues will be open to a compromise on the issue. He said he's not asking for Christmas to replace words like "holiday" or "community" in the names of other town property or events, such as the seasonal Heart of the Holidays celebration.
"When we get together for our tree-lighting ceremony, it needs to be called the Christmas-tree lighting," Frantz said. "That's just what it is; it's a Christmas tree."
What gets me is I work right across the street from the Cary town hall. So unlike when I got hacked off about them not putting up the Christmas trees at all in front of the library in Chapel Hill last year, it wasn't something I had to look at (or NOT look at, since they weren't there) all the time, so after the initial "Grrrrr" wore off, I didn't have to think about it.
THIS is going to bug me for the rest of the Christmas season, until they take down their Just "tree", because I see it every day when I pull in to work, and every day when I leave. Fortunately that's really only 4 more days of "piss me off" though, since the office will be closed between Christmas and New Years again this year, so maybe by the time I drive back there after New Years, Cary's Christmas - err sorry - HOLIDAY decorations will be down.
Ugh. Can't believe they'd put up a Christmas tree and then try to call it something else. Why bother?
Some miss 'Christmas' in Cary's trees
CARY Several residents, including two Cary Town Council members, are urging the town to reinstate the use of the word "Christmas" when referring to what Cary now calls its "community tree."
The town opted not to use the word "Christmas" when describing the tree that sits inside Town Hall -- the artificial one that hovers over wrapped boxes and is adorned with ornaments donated by community groups, including churches.
Ditto for the decorated, 30-foot cedar on North Academy Street, which the town has simply called "tree."
Officials say that the town wants to be respectful to residents who don't celebrate the religious holiday.
But some worry that Cary has gotten a little too politically correct.
"This town has gotten so P.C. that they're no longer P.C.," said Cary resident Steve Steinbeck, who sent an e-mail complaint to Town Council members this month. "It is politically correct to say Christmas, and it's politically correct to say Christmas tree."
Councilman Don Frantz wants to address the issue at the Town Council's first meeting in January.
"While we want to be all-inclusive and respectful of others' beliefs," Frantz said, "there should be a way to compromise and be all-inclusive while still honoring those who celebrate Christmas."
Other towns in western Wake have differing traditions. Fuquay-Varina calls its tree a Christmas tree. So does Apex. Holly Springs, which holds an annual Christmas parade, lights a tree that goes by no other name. In Morrisville, it's a "holiday tree."
Cary councilman Jack Smith is the Town Council's liaison to the Sister Cities Commission, which fosters relationships with foreign communities and promotes global understanding. He said critics often forget that Christmas isn't exclusively linked with religion, the source of much dispute over the use of the word in public celebrations. "It's a national holiday," he said. "We tend to lose sight of that fact."
Frantz, with Smith's support, said he hopes that his council colleagues will be open to a compromise on the issue. He said he's not asking for Christmas to replace words like "holiday" or "community" in the names of other town property or events, such as the seasonal Heart of the Holidays celebration.
"When we get together for our tree-lighting ceremony, it needs to be called the Christmas-tree lighting," Frantz said. "That's just what it is; it's a Christmas tree."