New Yorkers Squabble Over Christmas Decorations in Their Buildings

New York Times ^ | 12-10-10 | Vivian S. Toy

[van_erwin]

Holiday decorations can easily become controversial because Christmas is both a national and a religious holiday, and anything that refers to Christmas can feel like “an alien symbol being forced upon a non-Christian population,” said Jack Santino, a professor in the department of popular culture at Bowling Green State University.

[Godwin1]

“......forced upon a non-Christian population....” What is he talking about? Even where they are strongest, in urban islands like NY,LA and a few suburbs around Chicago and Cleveland, non Christians—Jews, Muslims and Buddhists— are still small minorities. The vast majority of people in America remain at least nominally Christian. It is appalling that a handful of cranky Jews or aggressive Muslims can demand that Christmas be driven from the public square. And make no mistake: it also creates deep seated divisions and resentment.

[Cheetahcat]

Well just leave if you do not like it.

[gogeo]

I’m sorry, but if seeing a Christmas tree makes you feel “alienated,” perhaps the United States of America is not the country you want to be living in...

...and if walking by something makes it feel "forced upon" you, then I have bad news for various forms of Islamonuttiness...and burkas are definitely our of here.

[blu]

In my office, we have a ceramic Christmas tree (rescued from a random storage room). Snowflakes hanging from the ceiling, tinsel with little green and red ornaments hanging in the windows.

On Monday, next to the tree, I will set up a Nativity scene.

On the table with the tree and Nativity will be a card, which says: “These Christmas decorations represent my feelings about Christmas. They help me to “be of good cheer” during this busy, stressful time of year. They are in no way meant to influence you, your religion or lack thereof. Any attempt on your part to portray this display as a violation of the separation of church and state clause of the Constitution will be met with the following:

1. I will school you on the constitution.

2. I will say “Dude, seriously? You really wanna sue the Prosecuting Attorney’s office?! Bring it!”

(Oh, did I forget to mention that I work in a totally government building, and at some level, actually work for the State? LOL! And, to top it all, our entire office is either Christian or Catholic (not that I consider there a difference, but some do) and we frequently talk about biblical issues. I love my job...where I am allowed to express my beliefs. Hey, wow, that kinda sounds like the America we all want, doesn’t it?)

[Alice in Wonderland]

Sounds like what we did in our building in the Rockaways. But our super decorated the tree and was there at our get-together looking for his Christmas bonuses from the tenants. Most tenants also decorated their doors and fire escapes.

What I found interesting from the article is that Lefrak City is now known as LeFrak City.

[AU72]

“an alien symbol being forced upon a non-Christian population,”

Kinda like building a mosque near Ground Zero.

[scottiemom]

I am an art teacher in the state of Texas. I am also a committed Christian who has been instructed that I may not introduce ANY art project that has any reference to Christmas. As all public schools in Texas, we have a mid-winter break to celebrate what used to be Christmas. How long will God tarry in His judgement of this outrageous hypocracy? How sad it makes me to be part of it for a lousy paycheck.

[truthguy]

Articles like this convince me that the NY Times and indeed even the city of New York have a very bleak and dismal future in store. It will be a happy day for me when the New York Times closes its doors. Good riddance.

As for the city of New York. It becomes more irrelevant as each day passes. We need to figure out ways to make New York less important and as fast as possible. We don't want to have New York as the intellectual capital of the US. We also need to discard Los Angeles as well. Los Angeles will fall before New York. The economy there is now nearly third world. Most manufacturing has left the area and about the only thing produced in LA these days are Porno Films.

Anyway these are the two cities which have done the most damage to American civilization.

[mewzilla]

And that’s from Basement Cat!

[BunnySlippers]

I so totally agree!

[numberonepal]

At the building's annual HOLIDAY party, the kids play dreidel literally in the shadow of the tree, as the adults sip eggnog and listen to Christmas carols.

Now that's America in a nutshell right there folks.

[Domestic Church]

As we always had a creche with the Holy Family under the tree and Baby Jesus ornaments on the tree, you couldn’t define our tree anyway but as a Christian Symbol.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Nice! I don’t know how you get done all you get done! You are the epitome of the description of the good wife in the Bible — worth more than pearls. Something like that. Here it is:

Proverbs 31:10-31 ESV

An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. ...

[afraidfortherepublic]

I am an art teacher in the state of Texas. I am also a committed Christian who has been instructed that I may not introduce ANY art project that has any reference to Christmas.

My daughter is a music teacher in her first year at a Catholic school and delighted to be free of such restraints on her music. How can you take the Christian out of classic music? Not that she's averse to teaching the kids music from other cultures, but you can't remove Christmas out of Catholic, or catholic, music.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

You are very kind ... thank you.

[afraidfortherepublic]

I was thinking of you over Thanksgiving in South Carolina. They were picking cotten (mechanized) in the fields across from my son and jamming the fluff into those modules like you showed us on your place. I’ve never seen that method before. It was fascinating and far different from what I grew up with in California. Much neater, and I should think that the recovery percentage is better too. They can certainly go through a field FAST.

Your decorations are gorgeous and you put me to shame because I haven’t done a thing. We’re heading to VA and NY to visit other grandchildren and I’m not sure that i want to put up decorations if we’re not going to be here.

[jmcenanly]

Oh yeah, well worth $17K+ a year. And then they wonder why they can't get a job. Oy.
There are jobs waiting for people with such an education, just not what they expect

[Hound of the Baskervilles]

I say, "Merry KwanzaChristmaHannuka and Festivus for the rest of us."

Geez such angst over a fir tree made pretty with lights and ornaments. It's a winter thing, it's a Christian thing, or it's just a tree made to look pretty. Christmas trees are pretty and cheery. Why object to them? Some people have no life.

[Hound of the Baskervilles]

Celebrate Christmas at home, at friends and at church! Have a wonderful time!

There’s no need to celebrate Christmas at a public school. It should never have been done in the first place. Christmas is a religious celebration and really it should not be forced on anyone. However on private property both residential or business and on every church lawn, people who want to celebrate Christmas can and should put up the most elaborate nativity scenes and Christmans decorations yet created. There’s plenty of ways to make Christmas visible without the taxpayer footing the bill.

[red irish]

I like it!!!!