Tammy Bruce: Baby Jesus Manger Now "A Place for the Animals"

Baby Jesus Manger Now "A Place for the Animals"

And for other fun and completely ridiculous euphemisms to help you avoid the fact that Christmas actually has the word "Christ" in it for a reason, I take you to St. Albans, West Virginia. In that town, the Baby Jesus is just too controversial to be included in a town's crèche. Actually, everyone's too controversial, so, well, you'll have to use your imagination when looking at the empty "place for the animals."

Jesus a no-show at ‘nativity'

Every year, people ask the same question about the St. Albans Festival of Lights.

Why doesn't the manger scene have a baby Jesus?

"We try to explain that by law we can't do that. We have been advised by (city) council not to get into that," said David Cunningham, superintendent of St. Albans City Park.

Instead, there is a scene that looks remarkably like depictions of the night Jesus Christ was born. There's a star, a couple of sheep, some camels and a structure that could be taken for the barn where Mary and Joseph had their baby.

"You could call it a manger," he said. "We call it a place for the animals. It looks like two things coming up on the sides with a roof-like structure. What it looks like depends on your imagination. We have never had a baby Jesus or a Mary, a Joseph or wise men."[So, I guess it's just a thing that happens to be there at this time of year for no special reason and could really be anything at all and could hold anything you could imagine because it's really nothing and everything for this winter holiday of lights time here on Earth, even though people in Australia celebrate the same thing and it's not winter there, so maybe whatever the thing is that happened that we will not name or discuss around this time of year isn't related to weather but we but we don't want to think or speak about that. Absolutely not.--ed].

Hundreds of visitors come to the annual holiday light display each year. Most pass by without complaint. Others get upset that a scene that seems to represent Christ's birth doesn't actually have a heavenly baby...

[Melinda] Ashby, 35, called the scene one of the dumbest she's ever seen in her life.

"I asked ‘where is the baby Jesus?' I was told that it is a desert scene and to use my imagination," she said. "I would be less offended if the manger scene had not been there at all. Jesus is the reason for the season."...Officials have never had a nativity scene in order to avoid complaints from the American Civil Liberties Union, [Ah, the epitome of threat-based conditioning--get your target to do what you want without even asking. What a bunch of lemmings--ed].

"The Oglebay Winter Festival of Lights contains dozens of symbols of the holiday season," Dalby said. "Although one of these is the nativity scene, no particular focus is given to the nativity or to the menorah display which the festival also contains. Oglebay Park and the Wheeling Park Commission do not advocate or endorse Christianity or any other religion."

In the Ohio County city of the Village of Bethlehem, a large nativity scene on government property has greeted visitors for at least 35 years, said Mayor Garrett Daniel.

And to think that tonight I was going to start to look for my Christmas Tree. Now I know I need to find my For No Good Reason Winter Holiday Tree of Nothingness.

Comments

I suggest that they drop the "ST" and just become Albans. Wouldn't want to offend.

Posted by: brutepcm at December 2, 2006 02:45 AM

Awful. We have always loved decorating for Christmas. This year we made it a point to add a nativity scene to our lawn attire. I enjoy all the "fun" associated with the season but I think its important for us to remember what its all about. You would be suprised at how much attention the lawn draws. We have snowmen, deer, santa the kids love them, but nicely enough many of the little ones walking by coo at the baby Jesus. It's funny but if this many in our little community see the importance, imagine what people could do speaking out on a larger scale. Personally, I would like to see some of the local churches hold outdoor services (yep even in the cold) for Christmas celebration. I think it would send a powerful message of unity and pride.

Posted by: sue at December 2, 2006 06:28 AM

Someone might suggest to the mayor that one of the earliest users of Christmas Tree lights was Martin Luther. Wonder how long it will take them to remove these if they find out about this little tidbit of little known history...

Posted by: SLABBOTT at December 2, 2006 07:33 AM

Stupid on this level makes my head hurt.

If you want to ban the nativity, ban the nativity. Say it flat out and deal with the consequences (and that pesky document that says the goverment can't prohibit the free expression of religion... silly archaisms!). But saying, "Well, it's okay to put up something that will bring it to mind and then really annoy people by conspicuously omitting the central point of the scene"? That's mindbogglingly dumb. It will annoy both sides--the anti-religion types aren't so sheltered that they don't know what it is, and the Christians are reminded every time they pass it what as omitted.

Better solution: If people are feeling excluded by the nativity scene, add their own symbols around it in a public festival. Have people around to answer questions in a spirit of celebration. Guess what--most people will be curious and interested, and you'll get to know your neighbors.

Sigh. Can't have that, I guess.

Posted by: Miss W at December 2, 2006 09:59 AM

Well, I think David Cunningham, Superintendent of St. Alban’s City Park and the person behind this, is a genius. Of course the display is absurd. That’s the point. Cunningham says you could call the display a manger but by law they can’t have one. He says they keep it up because they see no reason to take it down. He’s making a serious point with wry humor. It’s the absurdity of it that provokes thought. It’s mocking the ACLU and the suppression of Christmas symbols. Mr. Cunningham says he can’t recall whose idea it was but it might have been his. You have to love this guy! "What it looks like depends on your imagination.” I think there’s more brilliance in St. Albans than the Festival of Lights. There’s the twinkle in David Cunningham’s eyes.

Posted by: pat_s at December 2, 2006 10:12 AM

Sometimes the best way to deal with fools and scoundrels is to let them speak. In the 1960s, when my dad covered city hall for our hometown newspaper in western Maryland, he told me that the then-mayor hated him because Dad made him look like a fool in one of his articles. When I asked how he managed to do that, Dad replied, "I quoted him."

With audio and video so readily available, we don't need to rely on second-hand quotes, as Senator Kerry found out to his chagrin recently.

Tammy, have you ever thought of inviting David Cunningham or one of his minions on the air and asking him to respond to some of your comments? Then let him talk.

You could do this with other cultural bullies, such as the decision maker in the Chicago Mayor's office, who could explain why they don't want the nativity movie trailer shown at a Christmas festival. Maybe call it the "Feet to the Fire" segment. But instead of using high heat, just turn it up slowly. It might make for good radio.

Posted by: TerryW at December 2, 2006 12:00 PM

I think I'll maintain my faith in humanity by taking Pat_S's point of view here. It's deliberate. Yeah. That works.

Posted by: Miss W at December 2, 2006 12:23 PM

I just read that the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is considering the same thing. The poor little Muslim dears want their own, separate, relgious space for prayer on the premises of publicly owned property--the airport. In order to avoid the "establishment" clauses'prohibitions, presumably it will be designated as a "place for animals."

Posted by: St. Thor at December 3, 2006 07:00 AM

Hey, Thor, I know what you mean by "a place for animals." Humor like that will cause riots in some parts of the world. (Just kidding, I hope.)

Posted by: TerryW at December 3, 2006 09:12 AM

A quick search of St. Albans shows that there are ten churches of Christian affiliation there. Any of those churches may display the Nativity complete with the Baby Jesus as they see fit, which I think would be beautiful. I don't think it is appropriate or necessary for the government to display the Nativity as well.

I can appreciate the beauty of Christ on Christmas (or any other day of the year) without an official statement of support from the government.

Posted by: jerryN at July 9, 2007 07:02 PM

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Baby Jesus Manger Now "A Place for the Animals"

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