Obama Quotes On Christmas Decorating

Fact Check: Yes, Virginia, it's still a Christmas tree

Saturday

Dec 25, 2010 at 12:01 AM

Many Times-Union readers want to know:

An e-mail quotes a letter saying that the annual White House invitations to artists to paint Christmas ornaments specifies that Christmas trees will be called holiday trees in President Barack Obama's White House and that the ornaments should not have a religious theme. Is that true?

The White House denies that it sent the letter and there is no evidence to show otherwise.

And yes, Virginia, there is still a Christmas tree in the White House.

The chain e-mail that started showing up in mid-2009 comes from an anonymous person who quotes another anonymous artist friend at church who for several years has been one of the artists asked to paint ornaments for White House Christmas trees.

FactCheck.org, Snopes.com, Truthorfiction.com and David Emery, who researches rumors for the urban legends section of the information website About.com, all were satisfied after their research that there was no basis in fact for the claims.

Specifically, White House spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield told Snopes.com late last year:

"There is no truth to this, and the letter referenced in the e-mail does not exist. No letter has gone out yet from the White House pertaining to Christmas tree ornaments. The trees in the White House will be called Christmas trees and the tree on the Ellipse will be called the National Christmas Tree. There will be no name changes."

When the first family lit the National Christmas Tree on Dec. 9, the president didn't shy away from the traditional greeting. Obama wished everyone "Merry Christmas" three times during his remarks, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The final time: "On behalf of Malia, Sasha, Michelle, Marian - who's our grandmother-in-chief - and Bo, don't forget Bo, I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a blessed holiday season."

The fact-finders report that during President George W. Bush's administration, first lady Laura Bush chose various non-religious themes for holiday decorations. She sent ornaments to different groups and asked them to pick local artists to decorate them.

For example, as FactCheck.org and Snopes.com report, the theme in 2007 was "Holiday in the National Parks," and ornaments were sent to all 347 parks for their selected artists to decorate.

In addition, FactCheck.org notes that the Bush White House didn't invite the same artists to create ornaments each year, as the e-mail message suggests.

The Obamas did continue the holiday decorations theme, though not exactly as Laura Bush had done. According to various 2010 media accounts, "Simple Gifts" was the theme for this year's Christmas.

The official White House Christmas tree, with a theme honoring county and state fairs, is decorated with prize ribbons from each state and territory, The Associated Press reports. Students from the Savannah College of Art and Design helped design the ornaments using natural, locally sourced materials.

Other White House trees are decorated with recycled newspapers and natural materials. One features gingerbread ornaments decorated by 300 children of military parents.

The fact-finding groups do point to a controversy last year over guidelines surrounding the National (or Capitol) Christmas Tree, which is separate from the White House tree. A different state supplies that tree each year and schoolchildren from the state are invited to create ornaments.

In 2007, Vermont relayed word to schools that "ornaments with [a] religious theme are not acceptable." In 2008, Montana told artists that "ornaments cannot reflect a religious or political theme."

Strangely enough, Emery reports, no one objected at the time.

In 2009, however, when Arizona repeated those guidelines, a group called the Alliance Defense Fund complained. The group, which objects to "censoring" Christmas, sent a letter threatening to sue the government on behalf of a mother whose son wanted to submit an ornament saying "Happy Birthday Jesus" and another depicting a manger scene, according to FactCheck.org.

An official of the U.S. Forestry Service, which sponsors the National Christmas Tree program, wrote back to say that the ban would be removed, FactCheck.org reports. The official said the service had gotten "outdated guidance," and that "we regret the concerns this has raised."

carole.fader@jacksonville.com,

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