O Christmas Tree

Last Night we finally got the tree up. We had a bit of a family discussion about the tree this year, Kendra and I with our newly refinished oak wood floor, wanted to get a simple “fake” tree. Brianna was disappointed. She likes how the “real” ones smell. Finally we agreed, Brianna could have another tree in her room, and that seemed to satisfy her.

There has been a lot of hubbub about trees this week. I received an e-mail from “The American Family Association” who is all upset that Senator Murray refused to say “Christmas” tree instead calling it a “holiday” tree. Ugh. I don’t know why she didn’t call it a Christmas tree. The AMA seems to take this as an attack on Christmas. Politically I think it is silly to try to call a Christmas Tree a holiday tree instead. Have people of other religions all the sudden wanted to claim the Christmas Tree as a symbol? IS a “Christmas Tree" a Christian symbol at all, or is it simply a popular thing to do from the Victorian era? What “holiday” is the tree representing if not Christmas? Are evergreen trees part of Hanukah?

Then there is the well known story about Sea-Tac Airport and its removal and eventual un-removal of said trees. Sea-Tac officials, when asked to display a menorah, decided instead to remove all the Christmas Trees from the airport. Ugh. You have to love the overreaction. Apparently, now all is good and the tree are back as is a menorah.

Here’s the thing. There are a number of Christians who complain about the “commercialization” of Christmas. I too become annoyed when the Christmas decorations and store advertisements appear on November 1st. So why do some of those same people have a problem when “Christmas” trees become “holiday” trees? Wouldn’t it be good for the Christian faith if those who are not followers of Jesus, those who are not professing Christians, stopped celebrating Christmas? What if Christmas was a time set apart for Christians and everyone else went about their normal business?

Of course that isn’t going to happen. Christmas has become a national holiday along the lines of 4th of July. Atheist and Agnostics don’t go to work on December 25th, they don’t refuse Christmas presents, or tell their children that Santa is a Christian Saint and so there will be no presents from Santa this year. So we will continue to struggle with the separation of church and state, Christmas trees and holiday trees, until the Christian faith reclaims Christ’s Mass is its own unique time.

I propose that Christians reclaim the 12 days of Christmas. So that when everyone else has packed up the decorations, stopped playing the songs, returned the unwanted gifts, there will be Christians who are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Let the Senator call the tree whatever she wants to call the tree. Let the airport decorate its halls however it chooses (or not) to do. Let us give thanks to God for sending the light of Jesus Christ into this dark and troubled world.