I have seen the following survey circulating on Facebook for the last few days: “President Obama says that they will have a Holiday Tree this year instead of a Christmas Tree. Do you agree with this?”
Since no such statement was made, the question is misleading. Therefore, the only correct answer is to not answer and to call-out the questioner’s motives for lying.
To my eyes, the question is intended to be divisive. If you answer “No,” you probably believe that Christianity is under attack in a culture war with Liberals and/or a spectrum of people who are, in a word, unChristian and you need to defend your faith — even if it means pushing the Church into the State. If you answer “Yes,” you probably believe that Conservative Christians are waging a culture war of intolerance against the broad spectrum of people of other faiths who have a right to either get equal representation in the public forum or to not have one religion’s culture dominate theirs — even if that means altering or removing traditions that Christians have had the luxury of enjoying in the public sphere by virtue of their historical majority in America.
Being an independent moderate, I’m going to analyze this and come to my own answer.
I tend to be a Literalist. If you are going to call it a Christmas Tree, it had better be a Christmas Tree and by Christmas, I mean concretely tied to Christ’s birth, or at least his life. Sounds Conservative of me, right? To that end:
- Where is the Biblical support for the tradition?
- What about the Christmas Tree makes it Christian?
- What is on your Christmas Tree that you would use to defend calling it Christmas or Christian?
The Bible does not say there was a pine tree next to the manger — or even that the manger was made of pine lumber. At the Last Supper, Jesus didn’t say, “The bread is my body, the wine is my blood, and the pine tree is my birthday cake.” Instead, Jesus upholds the Old Testament commandment to not worship idols (Matthew 4:10, “Then Jesus saith to him: Begone, Satan: for it is written: The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and him only shalt thou serve.”) Christmas Trees are merely rebranded pagan decorations and may not be consistent with some more fundamentalist Christian folks. Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Amish, and the United Church of God are all very devout Christian groups who do not have Christmas Trees and would probably either not care about a “Holiday Tree” or would, more conservatively, object to any tree at all.
Most of the time, a “Christmas” Tree is a secular abstraction, and a Literalist would be hard-pressed to find much concretely Christian about it. At best, the star on top (if there is one) might be claimed to be the Star of Bethlehem. And some Conservative Christians might adorn it with ornaments that have Christian meanings. Nevertheless, the vast majority of people, including those who conservatively insist on calling it a Christmas Tree, have ladled this abstract icon with a mélange of secular, commercial, and even pagan ornaments.
Sometimes, the pagan ornaments find their way on there without the Christian even recognizing them as pagan in origin. Most Americans who would describe themselves a Christian also include Santa Claus in their Christmas celebrations and decorations. Yes, he did have a Christian origin in Saint Nicholas. However, he has become Santa Claus, the jolly old elf who has a factory full of elves. Elves? We’re back to pagan influences. Moreover, the modern Santa Claus is similarly questioned by the most conservative religious groups as being a secular tool of commercialism. Finally, he has many of the attributes of God (he watches you, he keeps a list of who is naughty or nice), which opens the question about whether he violates the first commandment.
I would ask that anyone who so publically defends calling it a Christmas Tree really stand back and take a long, hard look at their own tree this year. Are all of your ornaments religious? No Mickey and Minnie or other cartoon characters? No pagan fairies, pixies, elves? No golf clubs, sports team emblems, or other symbols of your favorite leisure activities? Nothing secular or commercial at all?
The logic of calling it a Christmas Tree is not supported by the Bible, the history of the tradition, or the way in which most people use it.
So I have, in an odd way, my own “conservative” side that would put me on the side of some of the most Conservative Christians — even more Conservative than most of those who insist it should be called a Christmas Tree. However, I am an independent moderate and see another side, as well. I will now lean toward a Liberal way of thinking…
People hold strongly to what they have known in their own lifetime, as if that is the way that it has always been. “Call it a Holiday Tree?!? Why, it’s always been a Christmas Tree and to change it would be unChristian!” However, it has only been a Christmas Tree since the 16th century — and even then started within a sub-culture of Christianity until it spread in the 19th century. Let’s also not ignore that its popularity coincided quite well with Commercialism and Consumerism, and the marketing of this tradition accounts more for its widespread use than any religious tradition.
By calling it a Holiday Tree, it allows a broader range of people to come together in peace and celebration — and isn’t that what Christianity is supposed to be about? I have open-minded Jewish friends who put up a Hanukkah Bush every year. I have open-minded pagan friends who put up a Winter Solstice Tree. I even have open-minded atheist friends who put up a decorated tree. None of this changes the core of their Judaism, paganism, or atheism, but it does allow all of us to celebrate together. And I have friends of all stripes who don’t put up any tree at all – and they are still fine people.
So do I call it a Christmas Tree or a Holiday Tree? Well, I call it a Christmas Tree when it is overtly Christian, devoid of anything secular or pagan, and is in a church or the home of someone who is a devout Christian, which is not very often. Or, sometimes, to at least show respect to gracious and polite hosts who insist on calling it a Christmas Tree within their home. Most of the time, however, calling it a Holiday Tree is more inclusive, expresses more love for my neighbor of any faith or lack thereof, and fosters peace on Earth (or at least here in America) and goodwill toward humanity — and to object to that would be unChristian.
Besides, would you rather there be no tree at all?
Footnote: As noted elsewhere, I am what would variously be called a FreeThinker, Agnostic, Atheist, Skeptic, or a number of other non-religious terms. Nevertheless, I do have a tree every year. Moreover, I have explained to my sons that some people celebrate Christmas as the birthday of a renowned philosopher named Jesus. I’ve also ensured that my boys know about Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. When they are ready, I do want to give them a broad education in Comparative Religion and History of Religion. I really do wish I could have sheltered them from the Commercial/Consumerist Santa Claus, but that battle may take another generation to win. Who knows, maybe someday, people of all faiths will not need an object to unite around in peace and good will, nor to deforest the land. Maybe in December 2109, they will just go out to look at live trees and marvel at the beauty, whether they believe it to be by God or by natural science.
