Bushes Send Out Christmas-Themed Hannukah Card

The New York Post reports:

Merry Hanukkah from the White House!

The president and the first lady invited leaders of America's Jewish community for a Hanukkah reception at the White House next month - but raised more than a few eyebrows by putting a picture of a Christmas tree on the invitation.

DCist adds that the First Lady's spokesperson apologized on Laura Bush's behalf.

Comments

[haval2]

BLAIN ...you are an idiot and Jewish symbols are not on government buildings in South Florida. Rosh Hashanah has nothing to do with the idiocy of the people still in the White House. They are out of touch. No, the Christmas tree is not religious but it is linked to Christmas which is decidedly NOT a Jewish holiday. A more intelligent, sensitive selection of a card might just have chosen something without an obvious Christian symbol. Jews don't have Christmas trees.

[paulfree17]

BRAVO haval2.....you'd think the president and the people who work for him have IQ'S above 2!

[Blain]

Thanks for the personal attack but I thought we were having an intelligent discussion. I live in Wellington, FL and our publick library here puts out a HUGE menorah every year. It's beautiful and I think well received. My point is there should be mutual respect for all religions.

[who38]

Who pays for it?

[Blain]

public

[JDHART]

Yet another example of how clueless the Bush's are. God almighty, can't they just go away?

[endymian]

its no big deal--except that it bespeaks the total mess the bush has made of everything---
having wrecked the economy, destroyed the bill of rights, violated the geneva war, fought an illegal and immoral war, destroyed our foreign policy and stadnign around the world, and you expcect them to be able t send out a chanukah card wihtout tripping over themselves, and making the same mess of it, they make of everythign else. perhaps they should lie about this one too, like everything else they have done, and say that it is not a crhistmas tree, but the "bush" family coat of arms!

[who38]

Good one.

[Blain]

I'm not offended by the menorah or the star of David and I'm christian but I guess people of the jewish faith have a righjt to be offended by christian symbols. I didn't know a Christmas tree had religious significance, I thought it was secular. Is Santa Claus a religious symbol too? What about holly and reindeer? I live in south florida where the jewish symbols are very prominent on government buildings during the holidays and I don't know of any complaints about that. Maybe it's time for everyone to show mutual respect for all religions. Christians aren't allowed to say Merry Christmas anymore but it's okay to say Happy Hanukah or celebrate Rashashana? That's where the resentment comes from and there should be a balance somewhere.

[Yish]

Ommmm. . . You completly mss the point, It was an invitation for a Hannukah party! When you invite Jews for a Hannukah party, you don't mix in non-Jewish symbols. And Blain, the fact that you don't know that the tree, reindeer and Santa Claus (santa=saint) are Christmas symbols just prooves the point -- it is called lack of cultural sensitivity!

[Bongborg]

No, it is cultural blindness. Some folks can't understand how anything THEY do could POSSIBLY offend anyone.

[Blain]

I asked were they "religious symbols" not if they were Christmas symbols. There is a difference as many who celebrate Christmas do so in a secular way and it has nothing to do with religion for them. Similar to Easter and the easter bunnys etc.

[buckbuck11]

This story is not about anybody being offended.

This story is not about the manufactured "War on Christmas," although you'd like to pretend it is.

This story is about ignorance, pure and simple.

[mamala4]

It's about BOTH!

[rekky]

Jews are not offended by Christian symbols. Many are offended, though, by having those symbols shoved down their throats. You can say "Merry Christmas" all you want, but I prefer to say "Happy Holidays" when I am not sure that the person to whom I am speaking is a Christian. That's the logic behind stores having ads and signs stating "Happy Holidays"; the goal is to avoid offending non-Christians, not to insult Christians as has been insinuated by many of the rabble-rousers.

[mamala4]

Yes we are...please don't speak for me.

[paulfree17]

BLAIN....I agree that people need to have respect for one another and for what they believe in. The problem with your thought waves is that you don't get it! A Christmas card will never have a menorah on it unless the family celebrates both holidays. The standard card for christmas is to have anything and everything that represents christmas on it. The same applies to Chanukkah. The president not only knows better but he doesn't care. He hasn't cared about anything except his own bank account and what decisions he can make for our country that will PAD his account! Please

[KrautMan]

Maybe it's time to start not respecting anyones faith. That would balance pretty much everything.

[grantlingel]

this isn't news.. this is just the Bushes being complete morons as usual.. is anyone actually surprised?
http://grantlingel.blogspot.com

[zull2]

These people know exactly what they're doing...EVERYTHING is vetted these days, anything that goes out to the public undergoes scrutiny.

I'm dead serious when I say that this is the neoconservative idea of a joke. These people think it's funny to push their own various holidays on others in various ways, because they don't feel like they should have to respect anyone else's holidays. The notion that the White House is just incredibly ignorant should have gone out the window a long time ago...these people hide behind a false notion of ignorance so they can get away with doing whatever strokes their ego.

[who38]

Neoconservatives are being very solicitious in relation to Jews; they need them for the rapture. Where have you been?

[fussygorilla]

On December 9th, it is the most important Islamic Holy Day (the day of sacrifice). Is it on the American Calendar? Is Bush and Co. going to send Happy Qurban cards to Ameican Muslims?
Of course not. Why is Jewish holiday of Hanukah on our Calendar? Why is Christmas on our calendar? If there is a separation of State and Religion, then it should be for all religions.

[hnealehcn]

I not a muslim but I fully agree with you.

[exhale09]

My question is..."Why is any of this SYMBOLISM so important that it actually causes people of all three Religious, who ALL profess GODLY PEACE and LOVE on their RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS..to get ANGRY at each other?

It's a curious reaction.

[who38]

Hear, hear. Eastern religions should be included as well.

[who38]

Hear, hear.

[who38]

I agree but, as usual, follow the money. Christian and Jewish holidays are acknowledged because people of those religions don't show up at work or at school on those holidays. School districts have so many absences on those days that they have added holidays to their schedule. If the students don't show up, the district doesn't get the tax dollar and it is not cost effective. The same is true for government offices and private industry. However, I do get upset when I don't get my mail on Columbus Day; I truly do not understand why we honor the birthday of a confused Italian.

[Rexford]

Typical!!! How many more days is this buffo in office and how much more damage can he do? He is an embarassment to all Americans. Every time he does something, anything, we as Americans have to endure the inevitable idiocy that results.

[AlteSoldier]

A Christmas tree is not a Christian symbol.

[madisonhack]

An evergreen tree isn't a Christian symbol, but a decorated Christmas tree is PERCEIVED as a Christian symbol. Bad taste has gray borders.

[ZTB]

"A Christmas tree is not a Christian symbol"......maybe not a "Christian" symbol, but certainly a
"Christmas" symbol....which is a Christian holiday. The Christmas tree has become the most
popular symbol of Christmas. It would be like sending a "Christmas card" with a menorah on it.
Some would say a "menorah" is a Jewish symbol, others would say it is just a candelabra....
It is not so much WHAT it is.......it is what it REPRESENTS.

There is no excuse for this...it is not only bad taste, but pure ignorance as well.

[exhale09]

Oh, I thought they ALL "represented" sending GOOD WISHES to others....whether it be a TREE, a CANDELABRA...or WHAT EVER.

I do not belong to any organized religion. If I get cards from any of my friends..no matter what their religion...I feel honored that they are THINKING of me and wishing me well, in the spirit of PEACE.

It is their INTENT that should be important...not which symbol they use that has HEART FELT meaning to them, to convey their INTENT.

[theJuanStar]

A Christmas tree is not a Christian symbol? I'm fully aware of the Pagan history of the tree but let's keep it real. If you're gonna call it a Christmas tree, by definition it would be a Christian symbol. That is unless you don't know why Christian celebrate Christmas. The card is in poor taste.

[BlackbirdHighway]

Bringing an evergreen into the house for the solstice festival goes back to the ancient Romans who were Pagans. It is not originally a Christian tradition, but it was so popular that the Christians eventually gave up fighting it and incorporated it into their celebrations.

I know quite a few Jewish folks who have privately done the same thing.

[sheaftosser]

You're mixing up pagans with the so-called barbarians. Generally speaking, pagans were non-Christian Romans. Barbarians were non-Roman non-Christians. The barbarian tribes were probably the first to employ a tree in a winter solstice ceremony, and this was adopted from those tribes by the Romans , primarily in the British Isles in the late antiquity period when Christianity was spreading to the furthest reaches of the waning Roman Empire.

So, while the "Christ"mas tree was not oringally a Christian symbol, that doesn't change the fact that it clearly has been one for almost two millenia.

Therefore, the Bushes once again have proven themselves to be ignorant hicks.

[grf67]

Even though the bush administration is marked by incompetence, sometimes we worry about too many small issues.

[nolajam]

It's not an issue of worrying. It's an issue of diplomacy. Surely after nearly 8 years in the white house this family should have developed the skills to send greetings without offense. Intended or not.

[JoeAmerican]

So, after all that, the "Bush" Doctrine was literally a tree (smacks forehead).

[katykay]

It would have been more appropriate to have a picture of a large Schlepper's truck pulling up...that is the name of a moving company in NYC. Shlepper's is a Yiddish word meaning to laboriously carry and haul something away.

[AtticusinPa]

In what respect, Charlie?

[JoeAmerican]

(Sigh...explaining humor). Well, there was great controversy over Sarah Palin's being asked what was the Bush Doctrine and her not knowing what it was and the media admitting that they were not sure they themselves could have answered correctly. So I implied that the intellectual discussions of "pre-emptive strikes" etc. was actually not so intellectual at all, but in fact literally (i.e. "Bush"), a tree. The tree could be a metaphor for promoting Christianity all over the world (not necessarily Democracy), inviting humorous analogies of dangerous religions that Bush is "invading." Some Daily Show-inspired skits could be invisioned with Bush occupying some Jewish temple chained to a Christmas tree.

Or...it's simply a tree. Or a mistake, a mistake continuing America's reputation as insensitive and ignorant to the rest of the word. Or it's bad taste. Or, as one of my favorite posts said, "Ooops...sorreee, we just spilled America all over Saudi Arabia. My bad!" (Something like that.)

Let me know if you need any further discussion and anaylsis.

[Coattails]

I am only 24 years old.

When I was young, we acknowledged and explained Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and also Kwanzaa.

I do not think it is right for there to be one parent to complain to all of the sudden make an entire school change traditions they have had for decades, now no teacher in my school district can even acknowledge a secular or religious holiday because of fear of a lawsuit from someone.

Obviously our educational system needs work, it is doing worse now than it was even 15 years ago, even with all secular and religious holidays wiped off of the calendar.

How about, we go back to what we used to do which worked? It doesn't hurt children to at least learn about things? You cannot simply try to shelter kids from topics that used to be discussed only a decade before because some grad student decided to write an angry letter to their school board (which has happened in my district) to make a move that affects hundreds of students.

People will find out everything eventually, there is no need to shelter or hide from things that worked and helped in core concepts of vocabulary, art, history, sociology, and music in schools. Now schools are broke and too afraid of a lawsuit they won't even serve turkey on Thanksgiving week for fear of a complaint. What a country.

[FTP]

If there is seperation of Church and State - Then should not - all religiuos artifacts be banned?
That darn goose and gander thing - If one fought to throw out the other - then will not the other fight to have that one thrown out?
10,000 years and still have not learned anything.

[TheWombat]

Sheesh man, relax. It's a xmas tree - not a religious artifact. So many wowsers in the world these days.

[sheaftosser]

Wombat, it's not that we're naturally obsessive....we're just damn sick and tired of the ignorance and ineptitude of the last eight years. Time for a president who can actually draw a breath without pissing off large portions to the world's population.

[exhale09]

It's not the "ARTIFACTS" that are the problem. It's the hearts and minds of those who use the ARTIFACTS as a reason to proclaim their religious "superiority" over others and who will actually go to WAR and kill other human beings to maintain their so-called superiority and force it on others that's the problem.

A PICTURE of a TREE on a piece of paper can't harm anyone in REALITY.

[1differentdrummer]

I'm not sure we agree on the church and state thing. You as an individual may display whatever you desire, religiously. However, the state must be secular, favoring no religions. My hometown went secular in its winter stuff fifty years ago and it hurt no one. Go walk down the candycane lane in the park and enjoy a tree decorated with lights, just leave out the babe, angels, star and wise men. Put those up? It becomes religious and belongs on your property or your church's property, just not in the public square. By the way, what's the purpose of public support of any or all religions?

[FTP]

I thought - according to all The Christians - America is a Christian Country - When did that change?

[ggmome]

It changed, when the Religious Right became so WRONG!

[hnealehcn]

Ask the lobbyist.