Remember The Great Christmas Tree Drama at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport two years ago? You may recall all the hullabaloo about the airport’s decision to remove the lighted trees from the airport in the middle of the night after a local rabbi, Elazar Bogomilsky, requested a Hanukkah menorah also be displayed. Port officials said the threat of a lawsuit left them with no time to consider all the issues.
Bogomilsky, who some felt was made to look like the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, said he never wanted the trees taken down, only the menorah to go up. “At the end of the day it’s not about trees, but adding light to the holiday, not diminishing any light,” he said.
For its part, the Port said if it added Hanukkah lights, then what about all our society’s December traditions. How about Kwanzaa? How about the pagan ritual of the winter solstice? What about Muslim December traditions? Or those of other cultures or faiths? How shall we accommodate them all?
Muslims observe the Day of Hajj on Dec. 29, commemorating the concluding revelation to the Prophet Muhammad. This day is observed by those on pilgrimage. Two days later is Eid-ul-Adha, the Islamic Festival of Sacrifice, the most important feast of Islam. It concludes the Hajj, or pilgrimage, and is a three-day festival recalling Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience to Allah, or God. It is celebrated by both those who have, and have not, made the pilgrimage.
What are we to do about this? In a pluralistic society, what are we to do?
And what about Ghambar Maidyarem, also Dec. 31, which on the Zoroastrian calendar begins a five-day festival celebrating the creation of animals and is a time for sharing of food with those less fortunate? There are many Zoroastrians living in the United States. And what about this month’s Karrtika-Purnima festival, which in Jainism celebrates the end of the rainy season? There are thousands of Jains living in the country, too.
And how shall we celebrate this month’s Guru Tegh Bahadur Martyrdom, which commemorates the execution of the ninth Sikh Guru (1621-1675), who stood up in defense of religious liberty for both Sikh and Hindu faiths against Muslim power in India at the time? And we cannot forget our Buddhist friends, who on Dec. 8 observed Bodhi Day, a celebration of the enlightenment of the Buddha.
And what about legal holidays? Christmas is a legal holiday in the United States by congressional decree. Will the next step be that we make national holidays of Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, the winter solstice, Eid-ul-Adha and Bodhi Day? Should we make holidays of every festival or observance of every culture represented in American society?
Christmas is a time in which we speak of “peace on Earth, goodwill to men.” In a pluralistic society, what, exactly, does “goodwill” mean? Does it mean treating everybody — and everybody’s traditions and belief systems — equally? That is the question I want to ask you today.
And, for now, have a very merry and happy…
…ChristmasHanukkahEid-ul-AdhaGhambarKwanaaBodhiDayMaidyaremKarrtika-PurnimaMartydomofGuruTeghBahadurJi.
And may all your Whatevers be bright.
(By the way, the trees went back up the next day after hundreds of people, including many Jewish people, said the airport authority was being silly and complained.)