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FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A spokeswoman for Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear says he's calling the tree on the Capitol's front lawn a "Christmas" tree this holiday season. A statement from the administration last week sparked Christmas consternation by referring to the yet-to-be-chosen evergreen as a "holiday" tree. Some Christians were perturbed by the terminology. Spokeswoman Kerri Richardson says the administration received a steady stream of e-mails and phone calls about the "holiday" tree. She says it's always been a Christmas tree to the governor, and it will be this year, too. The governor is inviting critics of the "Christmas" tree to...

Reporting from Shepherdstown, W.Va. - Still growing somewhere here on Eric and Gloria Sundback's 100-acre tree farm is the two-story fir that will stand resplendent in the Blue Room of the White House this Christmas. This is because the Sundbacks -- he's 82, she's 83 -- have just turned out a grand champion Christmas tree for a record fourth time, a feat they once mistakenly assumed they were too old to pull off. Now the Sundbacks will once again watch a tree they nurtured from seed, fed and pruned, cast as the glittery showstopper at almost nightly holiday parties, then...

PHOENIX, Arizona, September 30, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) called on Arizona state and federal officials on Monday to stop enforcing a requirement prohibiting the state's schoolchildren from expressing religious viewpoints through Christmas themes while decorating ornaments for the 2009 Capitol Christmas Tree. Arizona was chosen this year to present 4,000 handcrafted ornaments made by elementary, middle-school, and high-school students to decorate Washington, D.C.'s annual Christmas tree. Guidelines for the ornaments include specifications for their size, weight, composition, and the directive that "Ornaments cannot reflect a religious or political theme… Instead share your interpretation of...

The Alliance Defense Fund sent a letter to Governor Brewer and other officials saying that it goes against the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. By KFYI News (KFYI News) Federal and Arizona officials, including Governor Brewer, were sent a letter by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) to stop enforcing a requirement banning kids from creating ornaments with religious themes for the 2009 Capitol Christmas Tree. Click here to read the entire letter. Arizona was given the honor of providing Washington D.C. their annual Christmas tree and having schoolchildren from around the state decorate the tree with some 4,000 ornaments....

After the ceremony, Rev. Schenck thanked Speaker Pelosi for keeping, as he said it, "Christ-mas" at the US Capitol, emphasizing “Christ.” Speaker Pelosi politely acknowledged the remark, then pursued Rev. Schenck to tell him she had been “mugged” for doing so. Rev. Schenck commented, “At first I didn't understand what Mrs. Pelosi was saying, so I simply nodded and thanked her again, but she repeated it emphatically. I realized the Speaker was saying she had paid a serious price politically for allowing the Christmas celebration to go on. She obviously took some political heat for it. For that, Nancy Pelosi...

The annual tree lighting in December at the U.S. Capitol is representative of many things, including hope, faith, patriotism, Christmas and the birth of Jesus Christ, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said during the tree-lighting ceremony on Tuesday. The speaker attended the event with the Montana congressional delegation, the state which donated this year’s Capitol Christmas tree...

Christmas shoppers may have expected a little better when they popped out for a last minute present or two. Looking forlorn, threadbare and decorated with just a dozen multi-coloured lights, this sorry looking Christmas tree is on display at a shopping centre in County Durham. The tree is the centre piece for festive celebrations at the Castle Dene Shopping Centre in Peterlee. Shopping centre bosses got a shock when the tree arrived just hours before pop star Natasha Hamilton, a singer with girl band Atomic Kitten and now a solo artist, switched on the Christmas lights. Too late to send...

Four illegal immigrants sneaked into the country hidden in a 32ft artificial Christmas tree, it was claimed. They were discovered inside a lorry at a council depot in Northampton. The aluminium and nylon tree - and two other smaller ones - were destined for the town centre's Christmas display. But staff at the depot opened the vehicle to discover the men, and immediately dialled 999. A spokesman for Northamptonshire Police confirmed that four men - two from Iraq, two from Iran - were arrested and are being questioned by officers from the UK Border Agency. Click on the link above...

Pelosi to Light Capitol's Energy-Efficient Christmas Tree @ 5:10 pm by Hill Staff This year's U.S. Capitol Christmas tree will bring the gift of light–energy-efficient light–to Washington, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office (D-Calif.) said Monday. Pelosi's office said the Speaker, joined by the Montana's congressional delegation and governor, will participate in a ceremony Tuesday, December 2 to light the tree, a 70-foot subalpine fir from a Montana national forrest. The tree won't be the only "green" component in the Christmas celebration, though. The tree will be decorated with energy-efficient LED lights, part of the Capitol's efforts to conserve energy. The...

How Riggers Raise the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Thanksgiving is still two weeks away, but the Christmas season officially began today—at least here in New York City—with the installation of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. Problem is, how do you install a monster tree in the middle of a crowded plaza? With about 10 guys, a crane, cables and a little eyeballing. Bob Gerosa, a third-generation rigger, runs the family business that erects the tree each year. He told PM that this year's tree weighs approximately 13,000 pounds (about 8 tons). That's actually light for a Rockefeller tree—two years ago...

'Father, 3 Kids, Missing in Northern California Mountains Found Alive','All four members of a family that went missing Sunday in the Northern California mountains while searching for a christmas tree have been found alive, FOX News reported The search area in rugged mountains of Butte County, Calif., where a father and three children vanished Sunday All four members of a family that vanished Sunday in the Northern California mountains while searching for a christmas tree have been found alive, FOX News reported Wednesday. "They have found all four, and they appear to be OK," said Paradise Police Sgt. Steve Rowe....

Pembroke Pines - The Pembroke Lakes Mall appears to have the standard holiday decorations. There's a photo booth with a Rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer theme by the food court; presents are wedged between palm trees; poinsettias rise from flower pots and combine into the shape of a Christmas tree. And next to a pair of benches in front of Dillard's, on a white-and-blue pedestal, stands a 5-foot-tall menorah. But for Len Torres, 79, of Plantation, who campaigns every holiday season to get Broward malls to include nativity scenes, that Jewish religious symbol makes Pembroke Lakes' refusal to set up a creche feel like...

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 13, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The 85-foot Christmas tree in St. Peter's Square, decorated with more than 2,000 ornaments, will be officially lit Friday.Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, will preside at the official lighting ceremony. Civil and religious authorities from the region of Bolzano in northern Italy, which donated this year's tree, will attend.The 140-year-old, 3-ton fir stands beside the Nativity scene in the square, which is still under construction.The Nativity scene, which will be unveiled on Christmas Eve, has 17 life-size statues. Of these, nine are the original figures donated by St....

This year, for the first time, Chatham Borough's holiday tree will be joined by a giant menorah. The borough agreed to a request for a public menorah display by Shalom Lubin, who over the years has gained approval for menorahs in neighboring Madison, Florham Park, East Hanover and Chatham Township. Lubin, a rabbi and director of the Chabad of Southeast Morris County, said word is spreading and towns are saying "hey, you have one in your town, why don't we have one in our town?" "More and more towns are realizing that in the spirit of the holiday, being inclusive...

SIERRA VISTA — Ron and Joanne Wagner were guests of honor during a special celebration at Sierra Vista Middle School on Monday. The Wagners, who had purchased a Christmas tree that had been donated to the Festival of Trees by the middle school, gave the tree back to the school for students and staff to enjoy. This marked the fourth year the Wagners purchased a tree at the Festival and returned it to the school that donated it. All the ornaments on the tree were hand made by special education students. Now on display in the school library, the tree...

Today the President discussed Housing in the Roosevelt Room and took place in the annual Lighting of the National Christmas Tree and the Pageant of Peace on The Ellipse near the White House in Washington. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice attended a Transatlantic working dinner held at the Egmont Palace in Brussels. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates left Iraq and travelled to Bahrain where he attended a meeting with the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Al-Khalifa and visited US troops on the USS Vicksburg. The First lady is given a tour of the exhibit: "The Presidential Dish: Mrs. Woodrow Wilson...

Liberty Counsel targets K-Mart, Sears for refusing to use 'Christmas' in ads Allie Martin OneNewsNow.com December 7, 2007 A Christian law firm is targeting two retail giants after they offended Christians with their advertising. Officials at Liberty Counsel say K-Mart and Sears have renamed "Christmas trees" to "holiday trees" in their advertising. According to Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver, a ministry supporter asked K-Mart why it took the action. "A representative from Sears Holding Corporation, which owns K-Mart as well, wrote back and said that Sears is a diverse company and it did not want to offend any of its...

Missouri State University has reversed a decision to take down a 20-foot Christmas tree and will instead reinstall it along with symbols from other religions, the university said today. The tree had been removed from Strong Hall on the university’s campus on Monday, after a Jewish faculty member complained that it showed a “lack of sensitivity” to other religions. But the tree will be reinstalled along with symbols from other religions... “We decided this is the right thing to do, and I am glad there was widespread agreement about it,” Missouri State President Michael Nietzel said in a statement. The...

Merry Christmas! Didn’t you get enough the first time? Of all the rotten, no account tricks for which, the Clinton’s have been accused, the 1994 Christmas Tree stunt tops them all. Who can forget the reports of Mrs. Clinton hanging sex toys from the White House Christmas Tree? As with everything else, surrounding the Clinton’s, these reports could not be confirmed and were probably denied by some meaningless White House staffer at the time. Forget the Whitewater affair. Don’t worry about an entire stack of FBI files found in the White House residence. Sure, Chuck Colson did some time in...

Lowe's refuses to call them "Christmas trees," chooses to call them "Family trees" Dear R J, In an effort to avoid the use of the term "Christmas tree," Lowe's has renamed their Christmas trees and are now calling them "Family trees." In their Holiday 2007 catalog, containing 56 pages of Christmas gifts, Lowe's advertises hundreds of gift items, including scores of "Family trees." In fact, the word "Christmas" only appears two times in the entire holiday catalog. The ads mentioning "Christmas cover only 12 square inches of the 5236 square inches available. Lowe's even has one of their Family trees...

CAMBRIDGE, Ill. - A teenager is being hailed as a hero for saving his aunt from a fire at their house, but he lost his own life when he went back into the burning building to search for the family's two cats, authorities say. Seth A. DeShane, 14, was pronounced dead late Thursday at the family home, which was destroyed in the fire. "He really saved his aunt," said the Rev. Kris Dietzen, pastor at Cambridge Lutheran Church. "He woke his aunt up and told her the Christmas tree was on fire. "He got her out of the house. She...

A Hawaii county erected a Christmas tree to protect a Chanukah menorah from a church-state separation challenge. The American Civil Liberties Union complained to Maui County this week after seeing the menorah, accompanied by a dreidel, in front of the county building. A local rabbi had asked authorities for permission to set up the menorah. The ACLU cited laws that say that displaying a religious symbol by itself could constitute endorsement of that religion. County workers scrambled Wednesday to find a Christmas tree, in short supply in Hawaii this late in the season. One was found at a local botanical...

Governor Chris Gregoire lit a Menorah in a celebration at the state Capitol on Monday, and at the same celebration, accepted the gift of a Menorah for her home. The Menorah that was lit during the ceremony is displayed in the Capitol rotunda with a Christmas tree. However, when a local resident asked for a Nativity scene to be displayed with the Menorah and the tree, the Governor refused. This morning, at the request of a local resident, Liberty Counsel faxed a letter to Governor Gregoire along with our Legal Memorandum on the constitutionality of displaying religious symbols during the...

A friend of mine thought she had no room for a Christmas tree in her crowded, tiny house. But she solved the problem by deciding to place (a little more) than half of an artificial tree on the wall.Here's a picture of their jury-rigged solution, which uses a leg from an old Christmas tree stand which Mr. DumbRedDown shaped into a bracket.

T.O. judge orders Christmas tree out of lobby Updated Thu. Dec. 14 2006 5:31 PM ET toronto.ctv.ca A Toronto judge has ordered a Christmas tree out of a downtown provincial courthouse lobby, saying it's not an appropriate symbol to non-Christians. The move by Justice Marion Cohen has upset staff, some of whom call the decision stupid and insulting. Cohen says she understands the small tree has stood in the lobby at 311 Jarvis St. for years during the Christmas season, but in a letter to employees says non-Christians are "confronted" with the artificial decoration, which makes them feel "they are...

One thing I've come to realize is that many of us have an innate, enduring loyalty to our preconceptions. We'll stick with them through thick and thin, no matter what reality sends our way. I first realized this some twenty years ago when a friend and I, as two young Chabad-Lubavitch rabbinical students, spent our summers canvassing the state of Montana looking for Jews. We'd drive from town to town--some of which only had one or two Jewish families--and try to do our bit to encourage Jewish identity and observance. We were quite a curiosity, and were often featured in...

A mutant tree all aglow BY DAVE BARRY This classic Dave Barry column was originally published Dec. 14, 1997. Tis that special time of year, The Holiday Retail Purchasing Season, a time when we traditionally print heartwarming human-interest stories designed to make you feel better about running up a level of debt normally associated with Mexico. I have such a heartwarming story, which was published by The London Times and sent in by alert reader John Nicholls. The story, which I am not making up, concerns a man named Neil from Devon, England, who discovered an owl nesting in his...

Exhibit criticizes Democratic Congress: A left-leaning Christmas tree, newly elected Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi pictured as an angel at the top and presents labeled "minimum wage raises" and "higher taxes" were part of a demonstration by the College Republicans on Tuesday. The demonstration in Free Speech Plaza was hosted by the College Republicans to joke about the newly elected Democratic Congress. "We want to raise awareness of the Republican party," English sophomore Laura Springer said. "There's a tendency of people to forget the policies and reasons they align with a particular party in the first place after a...

Christmas tree makes comeback City council restores evergreen's name By LARRY SANDLER lsandler@journalsentinel.com Posted: Oct. 24, 2006 O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, thy name is not unchanging. Advertisement Maybe it was the chill in the air that had aldermen thinking about Christmas in October, but the Milwaukee Common Council voted 9-5 Tuesday to rename the large green object in Red Arrow Park as the city's "Christmas tree," dumping the "holiday tree" label that has been used since 1995. That action was praised by a Christian group in Florida and condemned by an atheist organization in Madison. Aldermen uprooted the...

The fresh fragrance released by trees in northern pine forests is a significant component in slowing climate change, according to research. The particles that carry the forests' olfactory assault also help to cool the planet by bouncing energy from the sun back into space. Now researchers have worked out that the forests produce enough microscopic particles to load the atmosphere around them with 1,000-2,000 particles per cubic centimetre of air. The discovery will help plug a big hole in climate change models and so help scientists to make more accurate predictions of global warming from greenhouse gases such as carbon...

ANAHEIM, Calif. - A 35-foot Christmas tree caught fire early Wednesday in the lobby of the Disneyland Grand Californian Hotel, forcing the evacuation of more than 2,000 guests, officials said. No one was injured except for a guest who complained of a strained back and another with symptoms of stress, officials said. The sprinkler system kept the 3 a.m. blaze in the artificial tree in check, and firefighters were able to quickly put it out, said Maria Sabol, a spokeswoman for the Anaheim Fire Department. She called the fire "electrical in nature," saying it started after employees changed some lightbulbs...

Pine-sap transfusions could save your Christmas tree's life BY DAVE BARRY (This classic DAVE BARRY column was originally published on Dec. 12, 1999.) TODAY'S HOLIDAY TOPIC IS: Christmas Tree Care. The Christmas tree is a cherished holiday tradition that dates back 500 years, to the early Germans. What happened was, one night right around Christmas, a bunch of early Germans were sitting around, and one of them, named Helmut, said: ``I know! Let's chop down a perfectly good fir tree, drag it inside, and see if we can get it to stand up again!'' ''Why in the world would we...

In an effort to eliminate all religious symbols from the shopping center, management of Paseo Colorado is ending an annual Hanukkah menorah display. But the mall's towering Christmas tree stays: Paseo Colorado managers said the tree isn't a religious symbol. The shopping center has displayed the 13-foot-tall menorah - sponsored by Chabad of Pasadena, a Jewish congregation of about 300 people - for the past three years. The menorah is not allowed because religious symbols are not appropriate in the commercial center, which has no religious affiliation, said Colleen Dunn, regional general manager for Ohio-based Developers Diversified Realty, which manages...

Today would have been my Father’s 100th birthday. There aren’t many folks left who will remember that, and take note. But I do, and here’s his story. Before I sat down to write this, I read an e-mail about a lady who wrote about “A Simple White Envelope.” Her story began: “It's just a small white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so. “It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas -- oh, not the...

Rhode Island Statehouse Christmas tree dead from flame retardant PROVIDENCE, R.I. --It's a Charlie Brown Christmas for Rhode Island's official Christmas tree. The 18-foot Colorado Blue Spruce lost its needles and died after Statehouse workers dried it with commercial fans and sprayed it with a fire-retardant chemical. The workers were following the stringent new fire code enacted after a deadly 2003 nightclub blaze. Decked in white lights beneath the rotunda just last week, the balding embarrassment was ignominiously hustled out of the building on Wednesday night. Gov. Donald Carcieri sheepishly explained the tree's demise -- and suggested the state might...

The pendulum swings both ways. Last year in Denver, it was Mayor John Hickenlooper proposing to replace the city's traditional "Merry Christmas" sign with one that said "Happy Holidays." The mayor wisely backed off in response to the public outcry, as did the Parade of Lights, this year, reversing its policy barring religious floats. Earlier this month, Speaker of the U.S. House Dennis Hastert, issued a directive instructing the architect of the Capitol to drop the name "Capitol Holiday Tree" - adopted in the late 1990s under the authority of no one who's now willing to admit to it -...

(12-22) 19:23 PST ENGLEWOOD, Pa. (AP) -- Mary Kathleen O'Connor, 16, doing some studying for school about 6 a.m. Tuesday, said she was the first to be startled by an apparent Christmas tree stowaway. "I'm looking at the tree and the angel just pops off," she said. "And a second later, this head just popped up. The eyes were, like, glowing. I was thinking, 'Oh my God!' And I screamed." Other family members came running. "We looked at it and I thought it might have been a fake," said her father, Michael O'Connor, a Frackville attorney. "But then it moved...

The Christmas tree has become a symbol of the spirit of Christmas in many countries and many, if not all, our homes. What led Christians to adopt this custom? The first mention in history of fir trees used in Christmas celebrations was in 12th century Germany. A fir tree was used in mystery plays as the so-called "paradise" tree. These dramas were held outside during the Advent and Christmas seasons and the fir tree symbolized the tree of life in the Garden of Eden. The evergreen fir tree is a sign of hope throughout the winter season--hope in the promise...

WATERFORD CRYSTAL is selling Christmas tree decorations in support of American troops serving “overseas”. The company website advertises the product asking its American customers to “support our forces at home and abroad with the Waterford Crystal USO Trees for the Troops ornament.” Waterford will donate $1 (83c) from the sale of every ornament, which has a retail price of $59, to United Services Organisation, a charity that supports American troops and their families. The firm is also manufacturing crystal menorah, the Jewish candelabrum. A spokesman for the company confirmed that the crystal trees and menorahs were manufactured in Ireland. The...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - It might just take a Christmas miracle to deck out these spindly branches with ornaments or arrange a pile of gifts around their slender, bare trunks, but they've all been snatched up, and it's hard to argue with success. The trees, rented out by San Franciscans for $90 each during the holiday season, are designed to give residents an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional, firs and pines. The fruitless olives, Brisbane boxes and others range from six to 12 feet and aren't quite Charlie Brown's sad sapling, but they're definitely not the full-bodied evergreens most Christmas...

REAL OR FAKE? Choosing a Christmas tree can be an ethical quagmire for environmentalists The cultural minefield of December has another politically loaded question to tiptoe around: Will you purchase a real tree or an artificial one? And then, what will you call it? Your answer will speak to your commitment to protecting American jobs, reducing the trade deficit, preventing environmental destruction, helping us breathe and, of course, showing where you stand on the Rev. Jerry Falwell's efforts to counter what he calls the anti-Christian "war on Christmas."

Now we know why they did not call it a "Christmas Tree" Sorry, but every time we drive by this "Holiday Tree" on the north/west corner of Palm Drive & Pierson Boulevard, it does not remind us of Christ's birth. Instead, it reminds some of us of a real stupid movie shown a long time ago.

Cathedral Gets Offspring of Ancient Tree By JACOB ADELMAN, Associated Press Writer Mon Dec 12, 7:24 PM ET WASHINGTON - The National Cathedral will celebrate the holidays this year with an unusual Christmas tree: a pine seedling whose parent is said to be the oldest known tree on earth. The seedling is a gift from the Champion Tree Project International. It breeds and clones the world's oldest and largest trees in hopes of compiling a living archive of the genes that give them their longevity. "It's older than the great pyramids, older than Stonehenge," project President David Milarch said of...

Call a Christmas tree a Christmas tree, Madison, WI Bishop Robert Morlino insists. "Historically, that's what it is. I don't think we want to call a menorah a candlestick," Morlino told reporters Monday at a news conference. The bishop called the news conference to respond to questions about his role on an advisory board to the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation - formerly the notorious School of the Americas. But it was in protection of Christmas and its customs from the politically correct trend of watering them down to vague "holiday" references that aroused Morlino's first - and most...

On the First Day of Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me: http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_3297424 MELVILLE, N.Y. — When the Rev. Nick Zientarski uttered the name of Jesus Christ during his traditional blessing of the official Christmas tree lighting in Manhasset last week, he had no idea he had signed on as a soldier in the Christmas wars. Even as he spoke, the Roman Catholic priest said, he could hear North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman angrily objecting behind him, "this is inappropriate." Then, Kaiman got up and told the crowd, "I just want to make it clear that this is no way...

Huntington officials worked all night readying staff for the coming snow, but instead they woke up to a different storm Friday: a local lawyer sued to remove a nativity scene from the town's public lawn and stop Friday's Christmas tree-lighting ceremony. Mitchell Pashkin, 39, an attorney from Huntington, filed his suit in U.S. District Court in Central Islip, saying the nativity scene, Christmas tree and two signs on the Village Green that read "Peace on Earth" violated his constitutional rights because of their religious overtones.

Supervisor apologizes after outcry over his angry response to prayer that invoked Jesus MELVILLE, N.Y. — When the Rev. Nick Zientarski uttered the name of Jesus Christ during his traditional blessing of the official Christmas tree lighting in Manhasset last week, he had no idea he had signed on as a soldier in the Christmas wars. Even as he spoke, the Roman Catholic priest said, he could hear North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman angrily objecting behind him, "this is inappropriate." Then, Kaiman got up and told the crowd, "I just want to make it clear that this is no way...

The fir has been flying on Long Island over a Christmas tree-lighting celebration in the tony North Shore community of Manhasset. The North Hempstead town supervisor, who is Jewish, objected to a local Catholic priest's religious blessing at last Friday's ceremony......... What followed was a mini-holy war.....that ended with Supervisor Jon Kaiman bowing to public outrage and repeatedly apologizing to the Rev. Nick Zientarski......... In a widely circulated e-mail, "Father Nick," associate pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Manhasset, noted that when he was invited to the annual event, "I thought about what kind of blessing to give —...