Xmas trees removed from Sea-TacConsidering that the winter tree and decorations stems from the pre-Christian German Yule celebration of the Winter Solstice and it was co-opted by the Christians as they took over. We need to have some Wiccans and Pagans write nice letters to the administration at Sea-Tac and ask to have their trees returned to their proper place. Hand delivered might be fun... (The mental image of about 20-50 Goths and other 'interesting' people standing at Ms. Betancourt's desk brings a smile to my face.) I must say thought that refusing to have a Menorah shows a remarkable lack of class. Seattle has a large Jewish population and to deny them this is a slap in the face. And for more on Festivus: Festivus The Wagner Companies manufacture Festivus Poles Posted by DaveH at December 9, 2006 11:18 PM
All of the Christmas trees inside the terminal at Sea-Tac have been removed in response to a complaint by a rabbi.
A local rabbi wanted to install an 8-foot menorah and have a public lighting ceremony. He threatened to sue if the menorah wasn’t put up, and gave a two-day deadline to remove the trees.
Sea-Tac public affairs manager Terri-Ann Betancourt said the trees that adorn the Sea-Tac upper and lower levels may not properly represent all cultures.
She said that since this is their busiest time of year and they don't have time to add a fair representation of all cultures, her department decided to take down all of the decorations, review their policies, and decide if they need to make a change for next year.
"You know, our focus is on customer service, getting our passengers through the airport, and we thought if we could take the trees down and avoid litigation because we don't want to litigate with this individual, we want to reach some kind of solution," Betancourt said. "But that is going to take some thoughtful discussion and we would like to have time to have that thoughtful discussion."
Until then, no Christmas decor at Sea-Tac.
The same decorations have been put up for at least 10 years, she added.
I live in Seattle. If they are going to put up a Menorah then I am going to contact them to put up a Festivus pole. It will be a Festivus for the rest of us. The whole Seatac thing is a mess. They should have just put up the Menorah and moved on. Here is another Festivus resource: www.whatisfestivus.com
Posted by: Frank at December 19, 2006 1:09 AM