Opinion

What’s so offensive about a Christmas tree?

Posted December 20, 2012 4:00 am

Recently I read a disturbing series of articles. There were two that really stuck out. The first was a story about a nursing home whose management decided that they could no longer have a Christmas tree in the seniors’ main area because they did not want to offend anyone. The seniors were furious! They are people who already can no longer experience the outside world as usual, yet now they can’t even celebrate the simple joy of a tree.

The second and perhaps more disturbing comes from Rhode Island. Their governor, Mr. Chafee, has declared that trees put up in government buildings will no longer be called Christmas trees, but “holiday” trees. To back this up, Mr. Chafee claims that it is not tradition to call it a Christmas tree. Really? Last time I checked, we’ve had a holiday called Christmas for the past 2000 some years.

Nathan Solak

Arlington Heights

Article Comments

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.