During part of my daily scanning of news articles last week, one headline caught my eye: “Rhode Island Holiday Tree Lighting: Gov. Lincoln Chafee Gives Short Notice to Avoid Protest.”
At first, I was shocked. Surely the Jewish community of Rhode Island wasn’t threatening to protest?
After all, Hanukkah is a relatively minor Jewish holiday, and Jews are accustomed to the various public displays of Christmas cheer that arise this time of year.
I have never known a Jew to take offense to the wreaths, trees and carolers of this time of year, nor have I heard of anyone in the Jewish community being adamantly opposed to hearing expressions like “Merry Christmas,” so long as they aren’t adamantly proselytizing.
Who was it, then? A group of freethinkers and atheists? Muslims? Hindus?
After reading the article, I found that the answer was none of the above.
The protesters Chafee was referring to were Christians who, in 2011, disruptively barged in to the lighting ceremony and turned the event into, as Chafee put it, a “disrespectful gathering.”
And what was it that these individuals were protesting?
The fact that the governor chose to refer to the tree as a “holiday” rather than a “Christmas” tree.
This is absurd.
As a non-Christian, I respect Christmas as a time for many families to come together and for individuals to be thankful and charitable.
It is a time of year when lights fill the street, friends exchange gifts and the world seems just a little more cheerful.
For the Catholics and Protestants in my family, it is a celebration dear to their religious beliefs.
For the half that is largely secular and nonreligious, it is a time for family bonding and reflection.
For those that don’t celebrate Christmas at all, it may be nothing but a fact of life: something visible on television, seen in stores and heard on the radio.
But one thing is for certain, the holiday of Christmas is inescapable for anyone living in America.
So why must so many Christians take issue with the omission of “Christ” from the name of a tree that resides in a government building and represents an entire state?
Specifically in Rhode Island, a state founded by Roger Williams in 1636 as a safe haven for Catholics, Jews, Quakers and all other groups seeking religious tolerance, why is a small, symbolic step toward inclusivity so hotly argued against?
I have something to say to these people.
We all know what time of year it is.
We aren’t blind, deaf or dumb.
We see it all around us.
We know that Christmas is important to you.
We respect that, and wish you a holiday that is joyful and spiritual fulfilling.
But insisting that specific verbiage that affirms your particular religion is mentioned in literally every reference to or glimpse of Christmas shows an intolerance of other beliefs and perhaps even insecurity in your own.
No, your religion is not under attack, and no, Christianity is not disappearing from the United States of American anytime soon.
And as much as you lament this annual controversy that Christmas time brings, it appears that nine times out of 10, it isn’t us that’s causing a problem.
It’s you.
Happy holidays, peace on Earth and a restful winter break to all.
— kabeasle@umail.iu.edu
