A recent Portland, Oregon tree lighting at Pioneer Courthouse Square ceremony sparked outrage after the city completely removed the word “Christmas” from the event. City council member Candace Avalos celebrated the city’s 41^st annual tree-lighting ceremony by singing “holiday songs” while the beautifully lit Christmas tree had a sign that referred to it simply as “the tree.” The word “Christmas” was not mentioned during any of the ceremony, nor was it used in any of the event’s promotional materials online, according to Fox News. During a search of the city’s social media accounts, Fox News found the last time the ceremony was referred to as a “Christmas Tree Lighting” ceremony was in 2019. “Celebrate the highlight of the Downtown Holiday Season as Santa Claus flips the switch, illuminating more than 9,500 colorful LED lights to shine bright on our City’s 75’ Douglas-fir, generously donated by Stimson Lumber for all to enjoy. SEE YOU TONIGHT, PORTLAND!” the city said of this year’s event.

The event’s kickoff speaker was another woman from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. She thanked the crowd for attending during Native American Heritage Day. “The tree that we stand beside was once rooted in its own home bringing it here holds a complexity that indigenous people, tribal peoples feel deeply in our teachings, the trees, rivers, mountains, all living beings are family more than the objects and more than the symbols that they might stand for,” said the woman. The event also featured a Muslim women with a Palestinian flag who attempted to have the crowd cheer “Free Palestine.” “There’s a full blown genocide happening, live streaming in 4k. This is the perfect time to bring this up. There are a lot of genocides going on,” the woman said. Afterward, she sang the “Strong Woman Song,” saying it “felt appropriate since we’re representing our matriarchs up here.”

An hour into the event, city mayor Keith Wilson did bring out Santa Claus. Santa Claus did have some “holiday carols” for a sing along, which included traditional songs like “Angels We Have Heard on High.” The lack of “Christmas” in a traditional Christmas celebration was not lost to onlookers, with one social media user writing, “They can’t even say Christmas tree in Portland. They call it ‘the tree.’” Others responded to the city’s social media accounts with cheeky responses referring to the city’s “Christmas tree.” “Call it what it is. It’s The Christmas tree lighting,” said one user. “We sing carols and light up the tree! At least, that’s what it used to be stop ruining PDX, and stop allowing other countries flags to be waived at our annual event.”