Claim: The White House has decreed that its 2009 Christmas trees will be referred to as "Holiday trees" and will not display ornaments bearing religious themes.
Example:[Collected via e-mail, August 2009]
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.
Origins: During the eight years of the George W. Bush administration, First Lady Laura Bush chose particular (non-religious) themes for the White House Christmas trees, and then sent ornaments to related organizations and asked them to select artists to decorate them in accordance with the given
theme. In 2007, for example, the theme was "Holiday in the National Parks," and ornaments were sent to each of the 391 national parks in the United States for decoration. Likewise, for a "Red, White and Blue Christmas" in 2008, Mrs. Bush asked members of Congress to pick artists to decorate ornaments showcasing the 435 congressional districts in the United States. (That latter year's effort prompted a minor controversy when a Seattle artist rudely submitted an ornament bearing the words "Impeach Bush.")
In mid-2009 an e-mail began circulating claiming that this year the White House sent out a letter brusquely informing past participants that henceforth arboreal adornments would be referred to as "Holiday trees" (rather than "Christmas trees") and that submission of ornaments decorated with religious themes would not be welcome. We could not confirm (through anyone connected with the White House or otherwise) whether the practice established by Laura Bush will continue throughout the Obama administration, but according to White House spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield, the claims made in the e-mail are untrue:
There is no truth to this, and the letter referenced in the e-mail does not exist. No letter has gone out yet from the White House pertaining to Christmas tree ornaments. 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.
The closest match to the events described in this e-mailed rumor appears to be an earlier brouhaha involving the Capitol Christmas Tree, which is set up every Christmas holiday season on the West Front lawn of the U.S. Capitol. Each year one of the fifty states is afforded the honor of supplying that season's Capitol Christmas Tree, along with 75 smaller trees to be dispersed around the Capitol, and residents of that state are invited to create and submit ornaments for display on those trees. In 2009, that honor fell to the state of Arizona.
The Capitol Christmas Tree program spurred a controversy in the autumn of 2009 over guidelines issued to the sponsoring
U.S. Forest Service agency by the Architect of the U.S. Capitol's Office stating that submitted ornaments could not reflect religious or political themes. However, according to that agency, those were outdated regulations that had been inadvertently disseminated via the Capitol Christmas Tree web site and had since been rescinded:
There was information that no religious or political ornaments would be allowed on the tree.
But according to USDA forest service spokesman Jim Payne, it came from old information posted on the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree website and has since been removed.
Payne said the only restrictions on the ornaments is that they have to be weatherproof and meet size requirements.
An examination of past Capitol Christmas Tree web sites shows that a prohibition on religiously-themed ornaments was indeed in effect over at least the past few years (prior to the Obama administration), although that policy apparently did not become a target of organized protest until 2009. Ornament criteria information linked from the 2008 site, for example, states that:
Ornaments cannot reflect a religious or political theme. Instead, share your interpretation of our theme "Sharing Montana's Treasures."
Likewise, participant information linked from the 2007 site directs that:
Ornament[s] with religious themes are not acceptable.
Last updated: 14 October 2009
The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/politics/christmas/ornaments.asp
