Yes, Virginia, it's still called a Christmas Tree

It seems that every year we go through the same debate as to whether it is a holiday tree or Christmas tree. Rhode Island was apparently "outraged" that Gov. Lincoln Chaffee had the temerity to call it a "holiday tree," but this is just the tip of the iceberg. A Ben Stein meme is finding its way around facebook (not the first year) in which he reportedly said the White House is calling the Christmas tree a Holiday tree for the first time.

As you can see, the Obamas still refer to it as the National Christmas Tree with Michelle reading the Christmas classic, The Night Before Christmas, to the audience. Of course, the White House also pays respect to Ramadan and Hanukkah as well, as well as makes a tribute to Kwanzaa each year.

So why all the fuss? It's not like the Christmas tree is an inherent part of Christianity. The idea of worshiping trees is traditionally pagan and this time of year would have been in conjunction with the Festival of Light, still celebrated in many parts of the world. The first recorded public "Christmas" tree was in the 16th century in the town square of Ryga. Such celebrations didn't come to America until the 19th century and the first Christmas tree was presented in the White House by Benjamin Harrison in 1889.

In fact, there have been several years without a Christmas tree in the White House. Teddy Roosevelt apparently being the biggest humbug, not putting up a tree three times. He reportedly chalked it up to procrastination. Since 1922 it has been an annual affair, growing in stature each year to the point it has become tantamount with Christmas itself.

Of course, many Conservatives refuse to accept the Obamas as Christian, despite their dutiful attendance of church for many years, and the poignancy they give to Christmas in the White House each year. The only mishap this time around was when a little girl was knocked over by the Obama's new dog, Sunny, at an earlier White House ceremony for military families. Of course, this was quickly picked up on the Internet and became subject to all sorts of speculation.

It seems the meme comes in part from Ben Stein's Confessions for the Holidays, which first appeared in 2005, and the bit about the "Holiday Tree" began to appear in 2009, with no link between the two. Too bad so many persons accept these stories without looking at the White House page to see the real story.

Comments

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Welcome to this month's reading group selection. David Von Drehle mentions The Melting Pot , a play by Israel Zangwill, that premiered on Broadway in 1908. At that time theater was accessible to a broad section of the public, not the exclusive domain it has become over the decades. Zangwill carried a hopeful message that America was a place where old hatreds and prejudices were pointless, and that in this new country immigrants would find a more open society. I suppose the reference was more an ironic one for Von Drehle, as he notes the racial and ethnic hatreds were on display everywhere, and at best Zangwill's play helped persons forget for a moment how deep these divides ran. Nevertheless, "the melting pot" made its way into the American lexicon, even if New York could best be describing as a boiling cauldron in the early twentieth century. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America takes a broad view of events that led up the notorious fire, noting the gro

Dylan in America

Whoever it was in 1969 who named the very first Bob Dylan bootleg album “Great White Wonder” may have had a mischievous streak. There are any number of ways you can interpret the title — most boringly, the cover was blank, like the Beatles’ “White Album” — but I like to see a sly allusion to “Moby-Dick.” In the seven years since the release of his first commercial record, Dylan had become the white whale of 20th-century popular song, a wild, unconquerable and often baffling force of musical nature who drove fans and critics Ahab-mad in their efforts to spear him, lash him to the hull and render him merely comprehensible. --- Bruce Handy, NYTimes ____________________________________________ I figured we can start fresh with Bob Dylan. Couldn't resist this photo of him striking a Woody Guthrie pose. Looks like only yesterday. Here is a link to the comments building up to this reading group.

Team of Rivals Reading Group

''Team of Rivals" is also an America ''coming-of-age" saga. Lincoln, Seward, Chase et al. are sketched as being part of a ''restless generation," born when Founding Fathers occupied the White House and the Louisiana Purchase netted nearly 530 million new acres to be explored. The Western Expansion motto of this burgeoning generation, in fact, was cleverly captured in two lines of Stephen Vincent Benet's verse: ''The stream uncrossed, the promise still untried / The metal sleeping in the mountainside." None of the protagonists in ''Team of Rivals" hailed from the Deep South or Great Plains. _______________________________ From a review by Douglas Brinkley, 2005

Dispatches from Vilnius

Search This Blog