BreakTheChain.org
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'Oh Holiday Tree, Oh Holiday Tree!'Date Added: 10/20/2009
A popular topic in e-mail chain letters is to propagate the notion that political correctness runs amok in America and that, left unchecked, our most cherished traditions and celebrations will be rendered illegal or sanitized beyond recognition. This chain builds on rumors that circulated during the 2008 presidential campaign and calls on Christians to be outraged... but does it have anything to it? Hello all, Thought you might be interested in this information from the White House. This isn't a rumor; this is a fact. We have a friend at church who is a very talented artist. For several years she, among many others, has painted ornaments to be hung on the various White House Christmas trees. The WH sends out an invitation to send an ornament and informs the artists of the theme for the year. She got her letter from the WH recently. It said that they would not be called Christmas trees this year. They will be called Holiday trees. And, to please not send any ornaments painted with a religious theme. She was very upset at this development and sent back a reply telling them that she painted the ornaments for Christmas trees and would not be sending any for display that left Christ out of Christmas. Just thought you should know what the new residents in the WH plan for the future of America. If you missed his statement that "we do not consider ourselves a Christian Nation" this should confirm that he plans to take us away from our religious foundation as quickly as possible. A surefire way to create popular and pervasive e-mail rumor is to claim that some government body or giant corporation has taken something with religious meaning and tried to make it palatable for the masses. Examples include the missive that Dr. Pepper opted to leave the phrase "under god" out of the Pledge printed on special patriotic cans, or the contention that the World War II memorial in Washington intentionally omits the phrase "so help us God" from an historic speech. So, what of the claim that the Obama White House has sent letters to past ornament contributors that their offerings this year should not depict religious themes? I always get nervous when the author of a chain letter feels compelled to point out that what he or she rights is not a rumor. Unfortunately, like may e-mail rumors, the above missive contains no identifying information about the author or the referenced "friend at church." You would think that if this had something to it, someone would have posted a copy of this supposed letter somewhere, at the very least. White House spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield told PolitiFact.com that the letter told about in this e-mail doesn't exist and that White House traditions have not changed: "There is no truth to this, and the letter referenced in the e-mail does not exist," she said. "No letter has gone out yet from the White House pertaining to Christmas tree ornaments." She added, "The trees in the White House will be called Christmas trees, and the tree on the Ellipse will be called the National Christmas Tree. There will be no name changes." According to the National Christmas Tree Association, White House staffers have selected the tree to be displayed in the White House's Blue Room. The tree has already been christened the "Blue Room Christmas Tree." Even under George W. Bush, the White House Christmas Tree always had a secular theme, such as: "A Red, White and Blue Christmas," "Holiday in the National Parks," "Deck the Halls and Welcome All," "All Things Bright and Beautiful" and "Welcome to a Season of Merriment and Melody." Also, the Bush White House did not invite the same artists to contribute decoration as the chain above suggests. Interestingly, the Obamas are not the first occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue accused of supplanting Christmas with a general holiday celebration. Similar charges were leveled against Presidents Bush and Clinton; none had any more validity than this one. It's probable that election-time rumors that questioned Obama's religious affiliations are fueling the popularity of this claim. Break this Chain References: PolitiFact.com, National Christmas Tree Association, FactCheck.org, Politico.com |