I am a student at the University of North Carolina School of Law, which is on the UNC-CH campus. I’ve never actually been in the Davis Library or the Undergraduate Library because the law school has its own library, and, well, there’s no point for me to go to the other libraries.

This story is also well-reported in the campus newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel. It’s been blown out of proportion on both sides. There is no policy banning Christmas trees. The director of the library decided to direct her employees not to put up the decorations this year. The use of the word “ban” was a bit too much. If she had just said, “I decided not to have my employees spend their time decorating the libraries and instead to have them helping students and faculty with their work,” I think this would have been an entirely different story. Undoubtedly, Sarah Michalak made a mistake, but her mistake was not in her decision to not display Christmas decoration but to make it a ban on Christmas decorations.

The original DTH article is here, the editorial response is here, and a letter to the editor on the topic is here.

It’s gone far beyond Ms. Michalak’s intent at this point.

When my family comes over on Dec. 25 and they see the seven foot tall fake blue spruce made in China covered with fake poinsettias made in China and fake holly berries also made in China, and they say “My what a nice idea for a Christmas tree,” just as they take a swallow of eggnog I’ll say cheerily “Oh that’s an atheist bush.”

She made the right decision.

I have a difficult time deciding about that. The tree isn’t a religious symbol (because its theological significance isn’t even Christian, as discussed amply above); it’s a cultural one. I would value the experience of learning about other cultures from Chinese New Year, Passover, or Samhain displays in a venue that gives no special privileges to any one tradition.

Of course, not every facility has the resources for that. So I can’t say they did anything wrong, but it’s certainly nothing to be excited about.

Please help me to understand how you can dismiss all the Christian connotation and say that in our culture today a decorated pine tree, even decorated with no other obviously religious symbols, is not still primarily a Christian religious symbol.

Richard, I don’t think you’re wrong, but I’m not sure you’re exactly right, either. I agree that the fact that it’s a co-opted pagan symbol is irrelevant. (Heck, large sections of the Torah are co-opted stories and legal codes from other cultures, but I don’t think that anyone’s going to argue that the Bible isn’t Jewish or Christian.) Present-day connotations are what are important. But I think it’s unclear whether a Jesus-mas tree is currently “primarily a Christian” symbol.

As writerdd points out, there are really two Christmases—a religious one, and a secular one. They’re both pretty strong in America, and so the connotations of a Christmas symbol depend a lot on the viewer. A creche clearly always connotes the religious Christmas. But the associations of a decorated conifer depend a lot on the viewer—and that the dividing line isn’t just Christian vs. non-Christian. Most Jews I know, as well as strongly religious Christians, tend to primarily see the religious holiday. Most non-Jewish agnostics and atheists I know, as well as most nominal, high-holiday, Christians, tend to primarily see the secular holiday. I’m an atheist, who was brought up to celebrate the secular Christmas, so for me, Christmas trees celebrate a secular holiday that I really like. But I understand that Christmas has different connotations for you, and for a lot of other people. I’m not really sure what the most appropriate way is for the government to handle the fact that it has such different meanings to different people.

My fairly religious mother always told me Christmas trees were pagan, while my spouse who was raised Jewish always says they’re Christian. So try to square that circle.

Last year the kids nagged enough and we finally got them a tree which we put menorahs and dreidels lights with Christmas ornaments. They are going to be so confused when they grow up.

Putting up glowing mangers with tacky colored lights flashing around the plastic baby Jesus symbolizes what’s “crass” to me about Christmas. I’m just waiting for the big blow-up inflatable Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus to come out…those huge snowmen, santas, snow globes, penguins, polar bears, etc are all the rage this year in my town. And people can’t just buy one for their yards…they have 3-4 at a time!

I drove by a house this evening and a huge Santa was flat on his back because of the wind and his arms and legs were flailing around—it was hilarious. Santa was having a fit.

Actually, I think the way to win the war on Christmas is to continue to co-opt the holiday as a secular celebration. Go crass commercialism!