WASHINGTON — A law firm has given Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee its 2012 “Ebenezer Award” for his insistence that the 17.5-foot fir tree in the local state house rotunda is a “holiday tree,” not a Christmas tree.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a non-partisan, interfaith group of attorneys, said the award is given to “the public figure responsible for the most ridiculous affront to Christmas and Hanukkah.”
It takes its name from Ebenezer Scrooge, the churlish character from Charles Dickens’ famous 19th-century work “A Christmas Carol.”
The dubious honor continues a controversy over a year old.
Last year protesters showed up at the governor’s tree lighting ceremony in Providence to sing “O Christmas Tree” to show their objections to the tree’s generic name.
The law firm said that this year Chafee announced the lighting ceremony only 30 minutes ahead of time so that no protest could happen.
“Heaven forbid the joyful singing of ‘O Christmas Tree’ would happen again by the tree … at Christmas time,” the Becket Fund said Dec. 19.
In various interviews, Chafee has said his office calls the tree a holiday tree because that is what his predecessor did. He said the name of the tree is also inclusive.
“There are many religions in Rhode Island. And everybody pays for the State House,” he told CNSNews.com Dec. 5.
He additionally told the Providence Journal he didn’t want the ceremony to be turned into a controversial event.
Last year, the governor’s office received 3,500 calls of protest, though only 700 came from in state.
The Catholic Diocese of Providence had also held a Christmas tree lighting at St. Patrick’s Church one block from the Statehouse to provide an alternative to the governor’s.
The diocese’s chancellor Father Timothy Reilly in December 2011 told the New York Daily News that the governor’s effort to be inclusive was laudable but he chose the wrong way to do it. Father Reilly said he hoped reflection on Christmas would outweigh the dispute over the tree’s name.
“He probably had the best of intentions but somewhere, somehow we lost hold of the true meaning of the season,” Father Reilly said of the governor. “It’s all about the baby Jesus. We tend to almost forget this.”
The Becket Fund didn’t criticize only Gov. Chafee in its 2012 announcement. It also singled out the U.S. Navy, which canceled a live nativity scene in Bahrain after a military atheist group complained.
The law firm criticized the City of Santa Monica, Calif., which ended the more than 50-year-old tradition of having a nativity scene in a city park. Some objectors to the move then staged a living nativity scene in the same park.
In its announcement, the Becket Fund also praised actions nationwide in support of Christmas.
This year the State of Pennsylvania reinstated the practice of placing a Christmas tree on the front steps of the state capitol, a tradition that had been neglected for 30 years.
The Becket Fund has successfully defended the place of Christmas and Hanukkah in public life. It defended a Utah public school that include religious songs in holiday concerts and two New Jersey cities that faced lawsuits from the American Civil Liberties Union that sought to remove their holiday displays.
The law firm has also defended the federal government’s recognition of Christmas as a federal holiday.
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Poor idiot. Gotta pray for him!
May God in His Infinite Wisdom have Mercy on us.
We have diluted the values which this great country was founded on.
We are are now a Nation which caves in. It’s almost like America is ashamend to be called Christian. And the word christian means
“Christ Like.” My Christmas Tree stands upright in my home awaiting for the joyful coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who’s birthday we celebrate.
Merry Christmas to All!
Somebody ought to remind this Gov that the word “holiday” comes from “holy day” and then ask himself why it’s a HOLY day. So, go ahead ... everybody there pronounce it a HOLY day tree.
There is a way we can make our voices heard to all of these atheist, secularist protesters. I am 74 and I remember the beautiful Christmases of my youth and I miss it terribly. I am so tired of hearing “happy holidays” that I do not nor will I ever patronize any business, state or institution that cannot acknowledge Christmas. It is sheer stupidity to deny the fact that this is Christmas. I do not deny the Jews, Muslims, etc. their beliefs, so that we may all live in peace. However, this is a concerted effort to rid this country of Christians and I hope that someday before I die, there is a serious wake up call to all of these dissenters.
Even atheists know that Christmas is celebration of the birthday of Christ Jesus. It is not atheism that plays havoc in western countries but the ignorance and madness that have captured the brain of some zealots Let us pray Jesus to give them wisdom , removing their ignorance and madness.
I get far more upset at Nativity Scenes that are banned than a “holiday” tree, but thats the secularists for you. Now I think “holyday” instead of “holiday"and know that most people have no idea what they are really saying, the holyday of Christmas, the holyday of the Epiphany and of course the holydays of Mary. Christ is the important thing, not matter what we call the tree. And yes, I insist on saying “Merry Christmas” though to the retailers who insists on happy holidays, especially in this state as the majority are Mormons, who still believe in Christmas, but not the way we do.
Perhaps the wake up call is coming loud and clear. And why are we now having more and more shootings and other crimes of violence? if we remove God from our lives, schools and our country something or someone else will come to fill the void.
Even church-going families in our parish tell us to have a happy holiday, send us cards and e-cards saying happy holidays. And, all these “happy holiday” greetings are directed to us (me, my family) directly, as in face-to-face, email-to-email or home-to-home. So, essentially, Christmas-celebrating people are not even saying “Merry Christmas” to other Christmas-celebrating people! (And they KNOW we all celebrate Christmas!!!) What is wrong with this country? What is wrong with American Catholics?
At a store I asked if they had any Christmas <whatever>. The not-so-salesperson told me, “Yes, the Holiday <whatevers> are over there.” Sorry, I don’t celebrate “Holiday”, I’m looking for Christmas stuff.
Lincoln Chafee—for which holiday do people put up a decorated tree? Do they do that for Hanukkah or Kwanzaa? Why are you trying to pretend that a symbol of one particular holiday is supposed to somehow, magically, represent others that do not use that symbol, just because you say it’s a “holiday” tree? You don’t think the Jews are stupid, and will somehow think it represents Hanukkah too? Just because it’s a “holiday” tree? Whom does this not insult?
JD
Anything that is an assault to my Lord is offensive to Him thus making it offensive to me.
I have to say this year has been pleasantly festive as I have experienced even retailers saying Merry Christmas!!! Made me smile HUGE. The HH thing has been quipped quickly ‘Happy Generic Meaningless Winterfest’ with a Merry Christmas to and God Bless to follow:). I did borrow this appropriate HH response from a Catholic Blog or Website. Sorry my memory failed to give proper credit.
2x I used that response this year! Gives me tremendous hope thus far but realizing we have even longer to go. 50 years of bad Catechisis is not going away overnight. Stay strong in Christ. One encounter at a time with at least an hour of Adoration per week and watch your tides turn:)
In Christ and God Bless
Scrooge saw the “light” by the end of the book/play. Let’s all pray that Gov. Chafee sees the “light” also.
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