Fox & Friends is covering the defining controversy of our time pic.twitter.com/OSUYGUrZQK— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 12, 2019
Oh, this is what's going on (and the Scott Walker connection):
Let me must pause to note:
a) No tree was put in the Rotunda until 1916. How did the state of Wisconsin survive until that year? How did they even know it was Christmas? Maybe the solution is to not put up a tree at all. Or maybe to not worry about calling it a 'holiday' tree, since Christmas is a holiday (the religious significance of it is all but lost, especially in idiotic squabbles like this).
b) Christmas is a "holiday." The origins of the Christmas Tree go back to 16th century German passion plays involving a Paradeisbaum, a representation of the tree from the second chapter of Genesis (because the feast of Adam and Eve falls in December. Which also has nothing to do with the solstice, but we'll get to that.)
c) Apparently nobody minds if the tree has "science related" ornaments. Then again, the bulk of Hallmark ornaments are Harry Potter, Star Trek, or MCU characters; when they aren't Peanuts characters or Disney Characters. You could fill a big tree with just Hallmark superhero ornaments sold over the years. Really brings Christmas close to a person, donchaknow.
d) I don't think the Reverend Andrew Kurz would ever think of putting a Christmas tree in the chancel, or even the nave, of his chapel. The only ones I ever saw in Protestant churches were labeled "Chrismon trees," to make them acceptable; and then the ornaments had to be arcane religious symbols, usually Greek letters like chi, rho, or alpha and omega (because apparently Jesus didn't say "I am the A and the Z," although he spoke Aramaic, not Greek, so, well, you know: different alphabet there, too.). A Christmas tree is NOT a religious object of veneration or even worship space decoration; certainly not for the Catholic church (K of C is a Catholic group).
e) Please stop with the "Christmas is the winter solstice appropriated by mean Christians." It's ignorant history, ignorant anthropology, and just plain wrong. The idea stems from the Puritans of the 17th century, not from the "Free Thinkers" of the 19th century.
I was going to provide individual links to some of those items, including the Hallmark ornaments even; but you can read the group here, if you're so inclined. I just get sick of all the ignorance. And can't we at least get through Thanksgiving before we start all this nonsense?
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has gone back to calling the evergreen on display at the state Capitol a holiday tree, reversing his predecessor who declared it a Christmas tree. Former Governor Scott Walker made his displeasure known on Twitter with a comparison between Christmas trees and a Hanukkiah, the candle holder used in Hanukkah celebrations more commonly known as a menorah.
The state Department of Administration places a huge evergreen in the Capitol rotunda every year ahead of Christmas. The tree has been a tradition in the Capitol since 1916.
Politicians called it a Christmas tree until 1985, when they began referring to it as a holiday tree to avoid perceptions that they were endorsing religion. DOA allows other groups to place displays in the rotunda as end-of-the-year holidays approach, including a menorah and a Festivus pole, a nod to the fictional holiday in the "Seinfeld" television series. But the controversy over what to call the tree has never really died.
Walker also tweeted a picture of a holiday tree, writing "this is a Christmas tree used by people celebrating Christmas. This is not a holiday tree."
Evers, a Democrat, called the tree a holiday tree on Friday. He announced the tree's theme will be "Celebrate Science" and asked schoolchildren to submit science-related ornaments to adorn the tree.
Evers spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff didn't immediately respond to an email asking why the governor has gone back to calling the tree a holiday tree.
Republican Scott Fitzgerald, the state Senate majority leader and a 2020 congressional candidate, tweeted that Evers' move was "'PC' garbage. It's a Christmas Tree (sic)."
Tweeted Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos: "We all know it's a Christmas tree no matter what @GovEvers calls it ..."
Asked for his thoughts on calling the tree a holiday tree, The Reverend Andrew Kurz, the Knights of Columbus Wisconsin state chaplain, said in an email that "anyone who is intent on keeping Jesus Christ out of Christmas could be considered as working against our mission, but we would forgive them with an invitation to find the way, the truth and the life that is Jesus Christ."
Asked in a follow-up email if he was saying Evers is removing Christ from Christmas, Kurz said he wasn't sure what the governor's intentions are.
Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, applauded Evers' decision to rename the tree. She said the move shows the governor is trying to be inclusive and noted the Christmas tree originates from pagan traditions.
She also praised Evers for promoting science, saying the real reason for the end-of-the-year holidays is the winter solstice, the day in the northern hemisphere with the shortest period of daylight and longest night of the year.
"So many people don't even know that that means," Gaylor said.
Let me must pause to note:
a) No tree was put in the Rotunda until 1916. How did the state of Wisconsin survive until that year? How did they even know it was Christmas? Maybe the solution is to not put up a tree at all. Or maybe to not worry about calling it a 'holiday' tree, since Christmas is a holiday (the religious significance of it is all but lost, especially in idiotic squabbles like this).
b) Christmas is a "holiday." The origins of the Christmas Tree go back to 16th century German passion plays involving a Paradeisbaum, a representation of the tree from the second chapter of Genesis (because the feast of Adam and Eve falls in December. Which also has nothing to do with the solstice, but we'll get to that.)
c) Apparently nobody minds if the tree has "science related" ornaments. Then again, the bulk of Hallmark ornaments are Harry Potter, Star Trek, or MCU characters; when they aren't Peanuts characters or Disney Characters. You could fill a big tree with just Hallmark superhero ornaments sold over the years. Really brings Christmas close to a person, donchaknow.
d) I don't think the Reverend Andrew Kurz would ever think of putting a Christmas tree in the chancel, or even the nave, of his chapel. The only ones I ever saw in Protestant churches were labeled "Chrismon trees," to make them acceptable; and then the ornaments had to be arcane religious symbols, usually Greek letters like chi, rho, or alpha and omega (because apparently Jesus didn't say "I am the A and the Z," although he spoke Aramaic, not Greek, so, well, you know: different alphabet there, too.). A Christmas tree is NOT a religious object of veneration or even worship space decoration; certainly not for the Catholic church (K of C is a Catholic group).
e) Please stop with the "Christmas is the winter solstice appropriated by mean Christians." It's ignorant history, ignorant anthropology, and just plain wrong. The idea stems from the Puritans of the 17th century, not from the "Free Thinkers" of the 19th century.
I was going to provide individual links to some of those items, including the Hallmark ornaments even; but you can read the group here, if you're so inclined. I just get sick of all the ignorance. And can't we at least get through Thanksgiving before we start all this nonsense?
I wonder what they'd do if the "left" suddenly said, OK, call it a friggin' Christmas tree, put up a manger scene on public property, etc. Would the automatically have to take up the opposite side to fill in the vacuum?
ReplyDeleteI have never enjoyed Christmas so much since I went to doing it as a presents-free religious holiday that had nothing to do with commerce or the state. Have yourself a Mammon riddled Christmas, the Christmas song of FOX.
I started sending out home-baked goods about 30 years ago. Now I share with people I never thought to buy a gift for, and I actually look forward to mailing out the boxes.
ReplyDeleteI haven't enjoyed Xmas this much since I was a kid. It's even more spiritually significant to me.