Below The Beltway

There’s a new rumor floating around about President Obama.

No, it’s not the one about his being a “secret Muslim.”

It’s not the one claiming that he donned “Islamic garb” on a trip to Kenya after being elected to the Senate.

It’s not the rumor that he was going to mark the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China by raising the Chinese flag on the South Lawn of the White House. An event which never happened, by the way.

And, much to Orly Taitz’s chagrin, it has nothing to do with his birth.

This one claims that the Obama Administration has declared War on Christmas:

On the campaign trail, President Obama fought off rumors that he was educated at a radical Muslim madrassa. Now, in the White House, …

… there’s a growing urban legend that he won’t have a Christmas tree.

The White House Historical Association has been receiving calls and emails about an alleged Obama decree that the Christmas trees in the White House would now be known as “holiday trees.” And artists submitting designs for ornaments on the Blue Room tree were not allowed to depict Christian themes.

Here’s one version of the email:

White House will not do Christmas

Thought you might be interested in this information from the White House. This isn’t a rumor; this is a fact.

We have a friend at church who is a very talented artist. For several years she, among many others, has painted ornaments to be hung on the various White House Christmas trees. The WH usually sends out an invitation to send an ornament and informs the artists of the theme for the year.

She got her letter from the WH recently. It said that they would not be called Christmas trees this year. They will be called Holiday trees. And, to please not send any ornaments painted with a religious theme.

She was very upset at this development and sent back a reply telling them that she only painted the ornaments for Christmas trees and would not be sending any for display that left Christ out of Christmas.

Just thought you should know what the new residents in the WH plan for the future of America . If you missed his statement that “we do not consider ourselves a Christian Nation” this should confirm that he plans to take us away from our religious foundation as quickly as possible.

The truth, of course, is different:

” No less an authority than the National Christmas Tree Association states that this year’s tree was chosen in August and is a Fraser fir grown by Eric and Gloria Sundback of Shepherdstown, W.Va. The news was duly reported by the Associated Press, which noted that other trees grown by the Sundbacks also had been displayed at the White House during the terms of presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. The Christmas tree association states that “the Sundbacks will present the official White House Christmas Tree to First Lady Michelle Obama for the 2009 Christmas season.”

That’s confirmed by Semonti Stephens, deputy press secretary to Mrs. Obama. “The Christmas tree will be called the Christmas tree,” she told us in an e-mail exchange.

And as for the alleged instruction artists to only create non-religious ornaments this year, that’s not true either:

Under Obama’s predecessor, White House holiday decorations had a different theme each year, and every one was secular, not religious. Depending on the year, the tree has been decorated with figures of birds, historic homes, musical instruments and even Little Red Riding Hood and Wilbur the pig.

Furthermore, the Bush White House didn’t invite the same artists to create ornaments each year, as the e-mail message suggests.

In 2008 the theme was “A Red, White and Blue Christmas,” for example. That year, the tree was hung with 369 ornaments hand-decorated by artists who had been selected by their members of Congress. According to a fact sheet issued at the time, “Each ornament was specially designed to characterize the unique, patriotic spirit of the artist’s state, district, or territory.”

• • In 2007, the theme was “Holiday in the National Parks,” and the tree was decorated with 347 hand-made ornaments “whose designs represent America’s national parks, memorials, seashores, historic sites and monuments.“
  • In 2006 the theme was “Deck the Halls and Welcome All,” and the tree “sparkle[d] with crystals and ornaments of iridescent glass,” says a White House fact sheet, with no mention of hand-crafting artists.
  • The 2005 theme was “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” and the tree was “decorated with fresh white lilies, crystal garland and white lights.”
  • The 2004 theme was “Welcome to a Season of Merriment and Melody,” and the tree was hung with “a symphony of musical instruments hand-painted by members of the Society of Decorative Painters.”
  • In 2003 the theme was “A Season of Stories,” featuring readings of children’s tales. The tree was decorated with ornaments first used by the president’s mother, Barbara Bush, on the 1989 official White House Christmas tree and on loan from the Bush Presidential Library: “Look closely and you will find Rumpelstiltskin, Little Red Riding Hood, and ‘Some Pig’, Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web.”
  • The 2002 theme “All Creatures Great and Small.” That year, according to the official program: “Artisans from each of the U.S. states and territories and the District of Colombia were asked to participate in the decoration of the official tree. In appreciation of all creatures great and small, the participants were asked to create ornaments representing birds found in each artist’s locale.”
  • The 2001 theme was “Home for the Holidays.” Tree ornaments included “replicas of historic homes and places of worship from all 50 states and the District of Columbia” created by more than 180 artists, the White House said.

There’s been no public announcement about this year yet, and Stephens wouldn’t comment publicly on that. But the tradition of secular ornaments goes back a long way

So do paranoid delusions about political opponents.

H/T: Ron Chusid