Is this a Christian season only?

In Green Bay, Wisconsin the city government has decided that if they are going to have a Christmas nativity scene then it must allow for other religions to display their particular symbols for this season as well. This decision was immediately jumped upon by a local Pagan and a wreath encircled pentagram was placed on display next to the nativity scene above the northwest entrance to city hall.

The president of the city council, Chad Fradette, stated, "Its pretty. I'm glad there's something else up there."

Other people have notified city council they will be supplying their religious symbols soon to be placed on display at city hall.

This story has apparently invoked the anger of many people but mostly Christians. While reading some of the reader comments to the story on the website of the Green Bay Press I came across everything from a simple, "It's called Christmas! You can either play nice or LEAVE OUR HOLIDAY ALONE." To one person who wrote an entire post repeating, "The national and state holiday called Christmas is not a World Religions Day. It's Christmas Day. Christmas is constitutional." In fact they posted this last message nine times in one comment.

Then in the early morning of December 17th someone climbed the side of the city hall building and threw the pentacle down. Jim Schmitt, the mayor of Green Bay, decided to place a moratorium until city council meets on Tuesday, December 18th on any more religious displays atop city hall due to the comments and adversity for the pentacle and other possible displays. The nativity scene remains in place.

Meanwhile in Orlean, New York a wreathed pentacle was placed next to the nativity scene in front of city hall. The same reasoning was cited in Orlean as in Green Bay; If one particular religion's display is allowed then displays representing other faiths must also be allowed. The mayor of Orlean, David Carucci, told people they could place symbols of their religion in order to remain unbiased.

On December 9th someone backed over the pentacle and took off. The F. B. I. has been contacted to investigate as a possible hate crime. Meanwhile the nativity scene has been moved to the lawn of a nearby church.

Yes, Christmas is for Christians. It is the time of year their son of God, Jesus, was born. Yes it is a time for families to get together to enjoy one another's company and to worship the birth of their personal savior.

It is also the time of the winter solstice; the longest night of the year and the shortest day of the year. It is the time when the sun is reborn.

This is also the time when Jews celebrate Hanukkah; the celebration of the reclamation and rededication of the temple by Judas Maccabee in 165 BC after it had been profaned by Antiochus.

This is a time of many holidays, traditions and celebrations.

While a "separation of church and state" is observed in this country the Green Bay city council attempted to cross this line in an honourable way. They knew that the nativity scene would be accepted by most inhabitants of the city but took the extra step and allowed those of non-Christian faiths to display symbols of their celebrations next to the Christian one.

We are, after all, a country of many peoples, cultures and faiths.

And now some very basic information. Believe it or not this country was NOT built upon Christian fundamentals. While evangelists will cite quotations form the Bible that shows our laws and system of government are fundamentally Christian, the founding fathers saw that there should not be any association between one's faith and one's government. There I seven documented evidence from our own founding fathers that this is not a country based upon Christian ideals.

This document is the little known Treaty of Tripoli.

Written in 1796 during the final term of George Washington the Treaty of Tripoli was read aloud to the Senate and ratified unanimously during the presidency of John Adams in May 1797 and signed by John Adams on June 10, 1797. The interesting thing about this treaty was Article 11 which starts out "As the Government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion..."

Now how can that be? We are always hearing about how the United States is founded upon the Christian principles and religion but here is a document, written during the term of our first President, approved unanimously by the Senate and signed by our second President that clearly indicates otherwise.

So, is there an inherent right for the government to display Christian symbols on government property based on the country being formed upon Christian ideals?

Does not seem so.

Can the government display different symbols of the season from different religions on government property? Due to the diversity of the population, displaying different symbols would be acceptable since it would help celebrate that diversity and hopefully end any division by supporting only one religion's symbolism for a season that is celebrated by many religions.