Merry Christmahanakwanzayule

State-owned 'holiday tree' not accurate or fair to other faiths

By: Nathaniel Shuda

Posted: 12/6/07

As the song goes, "It's the most wonderful time of the year," but is it really?

With the holiday season approaching, I always find it hard to stay politically correct out of polite consideration for those who might believe differently than I do. In fact, I have come to embrace that philosophy even more as I am taking Religions 100 this semester.

Starting somewhere between Thanksgiving and the first weekend of December, I can't help but start to think of Christmas. But in the last few years, I've been finding myself consciously making the decision to say "Happy holidays," especially if I wasn't 100 percent sure the person I was talking to was a Christian.

However, I find it sad how what should be the "season of giving" always seems to result in conflict over whose religion is better.

State Rep. Marlin Schneider, D-Wisconsin Rapids, is sponsoring a resolution that would change the name of the tree that sits in the State Capitol, according to a Nov. 26 article in The Capital Times.

The state-owned fixture is currently referred to as the "holiday tree," but the resolution would rename it as the "Wisconsin State Christmas Tree," a proposed change that has caused quite the controversy in Madison and around the nation.

"A rose is a rose is a rose," said Schneider spokesman Michael Schoenfield in the article. "Whatever you call it, it is going to be a Christmas tree, so call it what it is."

While opponents to the resolution said by using the word "Christmas," it is offensive to non-Christians, Schoenfield said he disagrees.

"As a Jew, I have a problem calling it a holiday tree," he said in the article. "It's not my holiday."

A state Christmas tree first appeared in Wisconsin in 1916. The state changed the name to "holiday tree" in 1985.

I find there to be a lot of merit in Schneider's argument. There are many other religious symbols that adorn the halls of the Capitol building that are specific to other individual religions, including Judaism, Schneider said.

Mike Westling of the state's Department of Administration said the Capitol is displaying a menorah, which will continue to reside in the building until Dec. 13, according to the article. The state is also hosting a Baptist church holiday sign this week and will exhibit an interfaith awareness display Dec. 10 through 14.

In a Nov. 28 article in UW-Madison's Badger Herald, Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, said part of the problem is that the menorah is sponsored by a group of "ultra-Orthodox" Jews who had to apply for special permits to place the candelabra in the building.

"The menorah has a name attached to it," Gaylor said in the Herald article. "The tree is owned by the state. It does not require a permit because it's put up by the state."

In fact, no matter what the religion, the timing for most December holidays stems from indigenous traditions, with the concept of decorating trees coming from pagan ritual, she said.

While I agree with Schneider's proposed resolution, Gaylor does make a valid point. If the state owns the tree, it makes sense that people would support it being called a "holiday tree." But no matter what you call it, "it is what it is," as Schneider put it in the Herald article - it's still a Christmas tree.

With that said, I do find it somewhat disturbing that by having a state-owned Christmas tree, it could send the message that the state favors Christianity. A solution to this would be to either find a private organization to pay for the tree or for the state to sponsor the other objects of importance as well.

In a nation founded on freedom of religion, I think it's important that the government not support any particular religious holiday but rather foster an "all-or-nothing" attitude when it comes to the holiday season. It is in that spirit that I wish you all happy holidays, and a very merry Christmahanakwanzayule!

Oh, and Happy St. Nicholas Day too, by the way.