Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented today on the displacement of Christmas trees:
“The following venues have replaced Christmas trees with ‘Holiday Trees’: Hagerstown, Maryland; Duffy Square in Times Square, New York; Overland Park, Kansas; Roanoke, Virginia; Bangor, Maine; Westminster, Maryland; and Auburn University (a vote by the Student Senate to change the name to ‘Christmas tree’ lost 22-4).
“In lieu of a Christmas tree, the following venues have a ‘Giving Tree’: the Naval Academy; LSU; University of New Mexico; Madison, Wisconsin; and West Hollywood. At Medina Elementary School, outside Seattle, even the ‘Giving Tree’ was considered too controversial, so it was discarded.
“In place of a Christmas tree, there is a ‘Grand Tree’ in Atlanta; a ‘Union Tree’ at Purdue University; a ‘Peace Tree’ in Washington Park, Illinois; and a ‘Friendship Tree’ can be found in Hoffman Estates, Illinois and Manchester, Massachusetts.
“The display of secular ‘Holiday Trees’ alongside the Jewish religious symbol, the menorah, is commonplace, ranging from places like San Diego Hospice & Palliative Care to Langley Air Force Base in Virginia to the Village Hall in Gurnee, Illinois.
“Yesterday, I was told by a rabbi on the Tampa, Florida Fox News TV channel that the Christmas tree is a religious symbol. When I told him that the Supreme Court has rightly declared it a secular symbol, he said the high court was wrong. I then asked him if he knew any Christians who worshipped the tree, and he admitted he did not.
“First, the cultural fascists banned crèches, and now they want to ban the Christmas tree. All of this is done, perversely, in the name of tolerance and diversity.”
