Swinging past Law Park en route to downtown Briarcliff Manor,
N.Y., this morning, the corner was bare. The tall pine, formerly
decorated with lights, was dark. The menorah? Also gone, after a
federal judge's ruling: Either let a local resident add a
Christmas creche, or take the whole thing down. The disgruntled
town officials chose the latter.
I don't actually live in Briarcliff Manor anymore, but most
mornings find me in the village diner, sipping coffee and reading
the New York Post. This is the year, in other words, the
Christmas wars came home.
In Seattle, it was not baby Jesus but the threat of a menorah
that prompted harried airport managers to pull down all Christmas
decorations. After a raft of negative publicity, the holiday
trees came back (with a promise of a menorah next year).
In Warwick, N.J., after one parent objected, the local school
district hastily changed "Breakfast With Santa" to "Winter
Wonderland Breakfast." (The mom is still not happy, though,
because Santa was allowed to attend, along with Frosty and the
Gingerbread Man). In Yorktown, N.Y., the local school board
issued guidelines welcoming Santa and other "secular" symbols,
including menorahs, so long as the menorahs are not actually
lighted. Apparently a light bulb is all that separates an
innocuous secular symbol from a radioactive religious one. This
exquisite line-drawing prompted a dissatisfied local resident to
suggest schools display a creche with baby Jesus absent: Would
that be the legal equivalent of an unlighted menorah? Coming soon
to a federal courthouse near you.
Why all the fuss? In the spirit of the season, let us let
Scrooge speak for himself:
In Seattle, according to AP, "Airport managers believed that
if they allowed the addition of an 8-foot-tall menorah to the
display ... they would also have to display symbols of other
religions and cultures. Airport workers didn't have time to do
that during the busy travel season."