It’s never too late (or too early?) to fight the “War on Christmas,” even in January. Five Republican members of the Rhode Island State House have introduced a resolution to protect the name of the Christmas tree by preventing the state from using terms such as “‘holiday tree’ or other non-traditional terms.” The First Amendment Center first reported on the efforts of the five legislators to make sure that Rhode Island’s state employees don’t refer to Christmas trees by any other name. The resolution declares:
RESOLVED, That it is the policy of the state that state officials and departments refer to the tree customarily erected or displayed in celebration of the period from Thanksgiving of each year to January of the following year as a ‘Christmas tree’ and not as a ‘holiday tree’ or other non-traditional terms; and
RESOLVED, Further that the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to send a duly certified copy of this resolution to each state agency and department.
The Right’s anger over the so-called “War on Chrismtas” has died down since December, when Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe boycotted his hometown of Tulsa’s annual parade because it used the word “holiday” instead of “Christmas,” Liberty Counsel introduced a “Christmas Action Pack,” and the American Family Association went after “Companies Against Christmas” such as NASCAR, Starbucks, and Barnes & Noble. But as the case in Rhode Island suggests, the fight against the “War on Christmas” abides.
