Arizona was given the special privilege this year to provide Washington, D.C., with the 2009 Capitol Christmas Tree. Students from elementary, middle, and high schools were given criteria to construct and decorate 4,000 handcrafted ornaments for the 65-foot tree as a coordinated effort with the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, the Apache Natural Resources Conservation District, the Arizona Public Education Department, students, businesses, and the community.
Guidelines for the ornaments include specifications for their size, weight, composition, and the directive that “Ornaments cannot reflect a religious or political theme… Instead share your interpretation of our theme ‘Arizona’s Gift, from the Grand Canyon State.’” It is also stated that the ornaments “will provide wonderful opportunities for Arizona school children to demonstrate what Arizona means to them… Whether they represent our world-renowned landscapes, our diverse cultures, or other aspects of our state, the ornaments will help convey the particular beauty that is Arizona.” But, if students want to convey that Arizona has a religious significance to them, they are denied the opportunity offered to students with non-religious views.
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JMC Ministries Thoughts
How do you have a Christmas Tree without it being about Christ and religious beliefs? This just proves to us that we have no freedoms even when it comes to what we put on a Christmas tree!! The government sends out Criteria literature into our schools and forces our children to follow what they want. If you don't think the government hasn't infiltrated into our school systems they have now. Children are being forced to conform to what the government wants, even on their Christmas tree. What has happened to America? Where has it gone? We don't even recognize it anymore!
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