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Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee has been branded 'Governor Grinch' after he defied lawmakers and declared that the state would have a 'holiday tree' instead of a 'Christmas tree'.
Rhode Island 'Governor Grinch' in trouble for deciding state would have 'holiday tree' instead of Christmas tree | Mail Online
Seeded on Wed Nov 30, 2011 1:35 PM EST
Article Source: the Mail online
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Holiday tree, huh? Which holiday is it? Oh yeah, Christmas, duh! So it's a Christmas tree. Why is this hard? I'm sure last week the governor enjoyed a nice helping of holiday poultry, while at my house we were having Thanksgiving turkey. Maybe next he will light a holiday candelabra for his Jewish constituents.
Hey, if you're an elected official and you're uncomfortable mixing politics and religious observances, then don't have the tree! But having the tree and calling it something else is just obnoxious.
#1 - Wed Nov 30, 2011 1:38 PM ESTWhat's obnoxious is those that steal traditions for their own celebration then try and claim it as their very own. The governor is right on on this decision.
It's also Yule and the solistice and more. The tree is a pagan tradition, as was parties, presents, the colors used of red/green, mistletoe, snow, snowmen, etc and also a birthday celebration for another 'crucified savior born of a virgin" type gods. The day was huge long before christianity came into being.
- 2 votes
What's obnoxious is those that steal traditions for their own celebration then try and claim it as their very own.
I suspect you say this only because you are thinking of this particular example. Christians borrowed the tree. Muslims did not invent washing your feet or prayer. Rock n' roll steals from the blues. Every tradition "steals" from something else, but I don't think it needs to be characterized as stealing. You could also see it as adapting, being inspired, etc. With religions, the technical term is syncretism.
None of this changes the fact that it's a Christmas tree. If you really think the governor is trying to honor other holidays that make use of the tree, I'd love to see some evidence for it.
the fact that it's a Christmas tree.
To you maybe but not me. I respect the original traditions and meaning of the day. For the governor to use a term that encompasses all citizens is as American as one can be.
I don't mind others using pagan traditions to celebrate their days. What I do mind is when they try and claim it as their very own. That's very dishonest but typical of that belief system.
- 1 vote
I find it funny how the Bible itself says the act of decorating a tree for the winter solstice is a vain practice only for heathens, now Christians get upset at the notion things like decorating trees aren't exclusively for them.
Jeremiah 10:2 Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the heathen are dismayed by them.
Jeremiah 10:3 For the customs the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
Jeremiah 10:4 They deck it with silver and gold, they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
- 1 vote
#2 - Wed Nov 30, 2011 4:49 PM ESTJeremiah has nothing whatsoever to do with Christmas trees. It describes the making of idols carved from wood. Jeremiah 10:5 (the very next verse, which you chose to ignore) says, "
Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,
their idols cannot speak;
they must be carried
because they cannot walk.
Good try, though.
Tell it to Christians like Jehovah's Witnesses who interpret Jeremiah differently than yourself.
I find it odd that in 4 it says it's fastened "with nails and hammers, that it move not" and then in 5 it's being carried, obviously moving. I thought it "moved not"? Seems to me 4 could be about trees and 5 is talking about the idols of those who have those unmoving trees decked out in gold in silver.
- 1 vote
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