I blog from Boston, where officials have renamed the city's giant Christmas tree a "holiday" tree. The tree's donor is bothered. "I'd have cut it down and put it through the chipper," Donnie Hatt, the Canadian logger who felled the tree, is quoted in the Reuters piece as saying. "If they decide it should be a holiday tree, I'll tell them to send it back. If it was a holiday tree, you might as well put it up at Easter." Secularism creeps. The Christmas tree is a more secular symbol of Christmas, than say, a nativity scene. The nativity scene that I remember seeing in my hometown as a kid is long since gone. It offended an atheist. Now that the nativity scenes are mostly gone, evangelical atheists have gone after Christmas trees. What's next?

It won't be long before they go after the Bible. Reading in public or selling it. Does not Canada's new hate crimes laws have some problems with what's in the Bible? Isn't it one of the country's around Norway or in that region, where a priest was arrested for speaking out against homosexuals? It's not far away in this country.

ok i have a few questions?? Where in God's name have all the normal people in this world gone? When did they disappear exactly and when should the rest of us become like lemmings and leap off a cliff?

I'm not sure when postmodernism crystallized in the American zeitgeist, but I'm assuming it happened sometime around 1973, when Americans couldn't even muster the courage to force everyone out of office and reshape the Supreme Court through democratic force. Suffice it to say that nobody believes in absolute truth anymore. Anything goes.

Christianity condemns. I'm not a Christian anymore, but I do find it hilarious and profoundly sad that people are so rabidly desperate to absolve themselves of guilt that they refuse to accept moral truths dictated by natural law. They'll do anything to never feel guilt, to never once examine their lives truthfully and honestly, so even the mere image of a symbol that points to a religion that forces people to think about ethics is anathema to them and their feeble, botched little minds.

Menorah = Holiday Candelabra?

Let's see if Boston keeps consistent...

I will buy no products from a retailer that does not post the words Christmas, Hanukkah, et cetera somewhere in their store. The marginalizing of things religious during December caters to whom? I'm not even a believer, but I find this a denial of who we are and what our culture and traditions are. The increased reflection on spiritual matters during Christmas is a positive in my life and it amazes me that businesses cater to the weirdos who are offended by a CHRISTMAS TREE.

You really are an ignorant shithead so let me explain this to you and your bible-thumper followers. The so-called "Christmas" tree is related to the Peagan winter festival. You see, the Roman Catholic church tried to stop Peagan festivals that were centered around the lunar calendar. When it was clear they wouldn't stop, the church invented the "Christmas" story to turn the Peagan celibration into a Roman Catholic religious holiday. The church even incorporated Peagan symbols like evergreen trees which Peagans revered (not worshipped like you ignorant monkeys believe) because they were always green. That's where "Christmas" trees came from. You see, your whole religious belief is based on a lie. Call it a Christmas Tree if you want, it's still just a religious lie and you are too stupid to know what's the truth and what isn't.

Happy Holidays

Pagans worshipped Christmas Trees? Now I have even less respect for Wicca.

Jeepers, Dan. Did you really think they nailed Christ to the Holiday Tree? Thank goodness we have the stalwarts from mensa to straighten us all out on the details. I suppose you will be taking everything back now that your every point has been refuted by the reincarnation of Emily Post.

That part of the Xmas celebration incorporates elements of paganism is not news. It's barely history, either. It's an afterthought or a footnote to the holiday, but not a corrective to it.

GaLiberal completely missed the mark when he attempted to give us a history lesson that wasn't needed. We're talking about the burgeoning secular postmodernist worldview in American society. It has little to do with Bible-thumping and fundamentalism and much to do with the weakening moral and ethical fabric of our society. It's too bad your little rant couldn't address these issues.

Romanticism and Idealism have been replaced with postmodernism and ethical relativism, which are completely illogical. The implications of a worldview that doesn't accept logic and absolute truth to which people like GaLiberal subscribe are terrifying. An ethical relativist will make excuses for all sorts of morally unjustifiable behavior such as female genital mutilation, child rape, and the oppression of women in Islamic societies, because as they so pathetically state, "Who are we to judge?"

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

Whoever is pretending to be'Galiberal'please stop.Your guise is very obvious,no adult who can use the internet is that disturbed or has such bad spelling...right??

Is saying 'Kwanza' tree ok? Probably. Considering that it's not a real holiday.

"The church invented the 'Christmas' story to turn the Peagan celibration into a Roman Catholic religious holiday." -GAliberal

Oh, THAT'S why they invented all that "Christmas story" stuff about the emanuel and the virgin birth and the Bumpus's dogs. Now it all makes sense!

You really are dumber than shit. I didn't miss any mark with my so-called "rant". The point, which you stupid shitheads can't seem to grasp, is that the whole story of "Christmas" was made-up specifically to expand the Roman Catholic church's power. The fact that "Christmas trees" never really existed except in the mind religious zealots seems lost on you whackos. Instead you use this false religious holiday to spread your narrow-minded and intolerant way of living. Anyone that doesn't march in lock-step (or is it goose-step) with you religioNazis is not a "good" person providing you with cover to dismiss them and their views as irrelevent. In fact, it is you that force your views on everyone else through a series of lies and twisted half-truths. As for my "bad" spelling, potato man, only an retarded inbred hick would attack something so trivial. I wish I was perfect like you, but then I would have no self-respect.

So, let's get this straight...according to GaLib, everybody is "an ignorant $hithead", or they are "dumber than $hit".

Really got this $hit thing down GaLib. Seems you know a lot about it.

GaLiberal,

I cannot continue to engage in rational discourse with you because you resorted to low-brow ad hominem logical fallacies and you continue to fail to address the points Mr. Flynn and others have made. Come back later when you've learned how to argue like an adult.