{"id":10733,"date":"2011-12-20T19:26:49","date_gmt":"2011-12-21T00:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/watchwomanonthewall\/?p=10733"},"modified":"2011-12-20T19:26:49","modified_gmt":"2011-12-21T00:26:49","slug":"u-s-capitol-christmas-tree-pays-homage-to-obama%e2%80%94but-not-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/watchwomanonthewall\/2011\/12\/u-s-capitol-christmas-tree-pays-homage-to-obama%e2%80%94but-not-jesus.html","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Pays Homage to Obama\u2014But Not Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By\u00a0Terence P. Jeffrey<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Capitol<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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This ornament, celebrating President Barack Obama, adorns the Capitol Christmas Tree that was officially lighted on Dec. 6, 2011. (CNSNews.com\/Terence P. Jeffrey)<\/em><\/p>\n

(CNSNews.com)<\/strong> – The 63-foot Sierra White Fir lighted at the U.S. Capitol Grounds on Dec. 6 as the official 2011 Capitol Christmas Tree includes a prominently displayed ornament paying homage to President Barack Obama, but includes no ornament readily visible to a person standing near\u00a0the tree’s\u00a0base that uses the word \u201cChristmas,\u201d or includes an image of the Nativity, or bears the name or image of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

On the north side of the tree–at a height of about 4 feet and easily visible to people standing near it—there is an ornament that says: \u201cI \u2665 President Obama.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

When asked whether the tree included any ornaments that mention or depict Christmas or the birth of Jesus, the office of the Architect of the Capitol, which is responsible for the tree, told CNSNews.com that it \u201cdoes not have a policy nor any restrictions concerning the themes for the ornaments\u201d that go on the tree. The office could not say, however, whether or not\u00a0this year\u2019s Christmas tree does in fact include even a single ornament that directly references or depicts\u00a0Christmas or Christ.<\/p>\n

\"Capitol<\/a><\/p>\n

The 2011 Capitol Christmas Tree (CNSNews.com\/Terence P. Jeffrey)<\/em><\/p>\n

The office of the Architect of the Capitol also did not directly respond to the question of whether any other elected official\u2014in addition to President Obama\u2014is mentioned on any ornament hung on the tree.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere may be ornaments like those you describe near the top of the tree, or they could have been obscured or moved due to wind or weather,\u201d the architect\u2019s office said in a written\u00a0statement to CNSNews.com.<\/p>\n

Each year since 1964, Congress has been decorating a Christmas tree on the Capitol Grounds. Until 1968,\u00a0the decorated tree was\u00a0a live tree planted on the Grounds. Since then, the tree has been cut down\u2014usually in a National Forest–and brought to the Capitol from somewhere in the United States. Since 1970, the U.S. Forest Service has been responsible for providing the tree.<\/p>\n

Over the years, the Capitol Christmas Tree has come from an irregular rotation of states\u2014including, not exclusively, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, Vermont, and California. The state that sends the tree in any given year, according to the Architect of the Capitol, chooses the theme for the ornaments it will bear. People from that state create the ornaments and donate them to the government.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s tree came from the Stanislaus National Forest in Tuolumne County, Calif., which sits on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, due East of San Francisco.<\/p>\n

\"Christmas<\/a><\/p>\n

The view looking past the Capitol Christmas Tree toward the Washington Monument. (CNSNews.com\/Terence P. Jeffrey)<\/em><\/p>\n

The theme for this year\u2019s ornaments was \u201cCalifornia Shines.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOrnaments should be designed to reflect our theme \u2018California Shines\u2019 by showing how the rich cultural and ecological diversity of this state make it shine,\u201d says the\u00a0tree\u2019s official website<\/a>, which was funded by corporate sponsors.\u00a0 \u201dFrom the Pacific Ocean to the sparkling deserts, from the high mountain peaks to its forests, rivers and abundant Central Valley, the diversity of nature and the people who live here are what make the great state of California shine.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the website said that all Californians were invited to submit ornaments, it put a special emphasis on getting students to participate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe invite participation from all Californians,\u201d said the website. \u201cFrom individuals, artists, crafters, young and old alike, any and all are invited to create and send in an ornament.\u201d<\/p>\n

But\u00a0a flyer<\/a>\u00a0distributed by the website said: \u201cAlthough anyone can participate, a special invitation goes out to school classes, after-school programs, home school groups, scout troops and all other interested youth groups to create the ornaments for the outdoor tree.\u201d<\/p>\n

In keeping with this special invitation to students, the official website also produced some environmental \u201clesson p<\/a>lans\u201d that teachers could use in helping their students create ornaments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ask that all ornaments for the Capitol Christmas Tree be made out of natural or recycled materials,\u201d said the introduction to the lesson plans. \u201cPlease share the thoughts in our mini-lesson \u2018There is No Away\u2019 with your students when they create an ornament for the Tree.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Psalm<\/a><\/p>\n

This ornament shows gold miner, backed by a Bible, circled by a quote from Psalm 19. (CNSNews.com\/Terence P. Jeffrey)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAsk students where they think that trash goes when they throw it away,\u201d said this introduction. \u201cWork with them until they understand that trash eventually ends up in a landfill. Show students the image of a landfill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the Capitol Christmas Tree, as it stood on the morning of Dec. 19, included no readily visible ornament that mentioned or depicted Christmas or Jesus, it did include one ornament that pointed to the Bible and Psalm 19. This ornament, made from an aluminum pie tin, shows a miner panning for gold with a Bible behind him. There is a gold\u00a0cross on the cover of the Bible. Around the interior wall of the pie tin, these words are written\u00a0with what appears to be a\u00a0blue marker: \u201cMore precious than Gold\u201d and \u201cPsalm 19.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Psalm<\/a><\/p>\n

This lonely religious ornament cites Psalm 19 with what appears to be a blue marker. (CNSNews.com\/Terence P. Jeffrey)<\/em><\/p>\n

Psalm 19 says in part: \u201cThe decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tree also includes an ornament that from a distance looks like it could be a cross–but closer up turns out to be a road sign, pointing the direction not to California\u2014but 4837 miles to Hawaii.<\/p>\n

Other prominent ornaments on the tree tout Disneyland, Hollywood, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Dodgers.<\/p>\n

The tree also includes a number of ornaments representing Christmas gift packages. The ribbons on these packages are arranged in a cross pattern–but all of them have “Happy Holidays” ensribed on them.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0official website<\/a>\u00a0of the Capitol Christmas Tree has posted 87 photos of Californians making ornaments\u00a0or posing with ornaments they have made. One of these photos shows a young girl holding an ornament that depicts one of the missions founded in California in the 18th century by Spanish Franciscan missionaries. It is unclear whether this ornament\u00a0was placed\u00a0somewhere on the 63-foot\u00a0tree.<\/p>\n

\"Hawaii,<\/a><\/p>\n

From a distance, this ornament appears as if it could be a cross, but turns out to be a a mile marker pointing toward Hawaii. (CNSNews.com\/Terence P. Jeffrey)<\/em><\/p>\n

CNSNews.com sent a series of question about the ornaments to the U.S. Forest Service office in Tuolumne County, Calif., that was responsible for securing the tree and collecting the ornaments and sending them to Washington, D.C. These questions asked if any ornaments had been excluded because of their content and if there were any ornaments actually hung on the tree that expressly mentioned or depicted Christmas, or the birth of Jesus, or any Christian cultural site in California, such as the California missions.<\/p>\n

Along with these questions, CNSNews.com sent the Forest Service a photograph of the ornaments that said \u201cI \u2665 President Obama\u201d and that quoted Psalm 19, and asked if there were any other ornaments on the tree that mentioned an incumbent elected official or that cited a biblical passage from either the Old or New Testament.<\/p>\n

\"Christmas<\/a><\/p>\n

A number of ornaments depict Christmas packages tied with ribbons in a cross pattern–but all say: “Happy Holidays.” (CNSNews.com\/Terence P. Jeffrey)<\/em><\/p>\n

The Forest Service said that it had simply sent all ornaments that had been donated by Californians–along with the 63-foot White Sierra Fir–to Ted Bechtol, who works under the Architect of the Capitol as the Superintendent of the Capitol Ground. The Forest Service also said it had forwarded CNSnews.com\u2019s questions to Bechtol.<\/p>\n

Separately, CNSNews.com sent the questions and photos directly to Bechtol and Eva Malecki, communications officer for the Architect of the Capitol. Malecki responded with this statement:<\/p>\n

\"Christmas<\/a><\/p>\n

An ornamental star celebrating Hollywood on the Capitol Christmas Tree. (CNSNews.com\/Terence P. Jeffrey)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for your inquiry.\u00a0The Office of the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) does not have a policy nor any restrictions concerning the themes for the ornaments donated for the Capitol Christmas Tree. Each state determines its own theme each year, and the U.S. Forest Service collects the ornaments from communities throughout the state from which the tree is donated.\u00a0 (For more information about the types of ornaments collected and collection process, I recommend you speak with the U.S. Forest Service.) Thousands of ornaments are delivered by the U.S. Forest Service to the U.S. Capitol in large boxes along with the Capitol Christmas Tree.\u00a0There is no selection process to determine which ornaments were to be placed on the Capitol Christmas Tree and which were not based on theme or content.\u00a0 Rather, the Capitol Grounds crew has to decorate a 65-foot tree in a matter of days, therefore they place ornaments on the Capitol Christmas Tree until it is fully decorated.\u00a0 Their only concern is that the ornaments stand up to the weather (durable and waterproof).\u00a0We cannot provide you with the information you requested as to the location of specific ornaments on the Capitol Christmas Tree.\u00a0As I noted earlier, the Capitol Grounds crew placed thousands of the hand-crafted ornaments on the 65-foot tall Capitol Christmas Tree. There may be ornaments like those you describe near the top of the tree, or they could have been obscured or moved due to wind or weather.\u00a0The Capitol Christmas Tree has been a wonderful tradition on Capitol Hill for more than 45 years, and it is not the AOC\u2019s policy or practice to exclude the display of donated ornaments on the Capitol Christmas Tree because of any viewpoint of those individuals who created them.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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CNSNews.com is\u00a0not funded<\/em>\u00a0by the government like NPR. CNSNews.com is\u00a0not funded<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0by the government like PBS.\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Read More at CNSNEWS.com: \u00a0http:\/\/cnsnews.com\/news\/article\/us-capitol-christmas-tree-pays-homage-obama-not-jesus<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n

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Subscribe to Terence P. Jeffrey’s posts<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Terence P. Jeffrey This ornament, celebrating President Barack Obama, adorns the Capitol Christmas Tree that was officially lighted on Dec. 6, 2011. (CNSNews.com\/Terence P. 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