Hey! They waited till after Halloween..
Some haven't!

"Holiday tree." Good grief.

This could open the door to all kinds of mayhem. Next thing you know they will be reporting on criminal suspects to be on the lookout for, and actually mentioning the suspect's race or skin color in the description.

"...it will be presented by Stimson Lumber officials to City Commission [sic] Nick Fish...."

"The lights use 91 percent less energy and last 50 percent longer than standard holiday tree lights."

But the carcass still gets tossed after a few weeks?

Perhaps Mr Fish could suggest a more contemporary, more sustainable focal point for the municipal commemoration of paganism?

I've quit shopping for Christmas things in Portland. Never once over several years has my Merry Christmas after a purchase been returned.Always, "Happy Holidays." to which I reply, "Allah uh Akbar."

We should just change the moniker to "Happy Christ-less!" and everyone will be happy, especially the Saudis, who, working perfectly through Orwell's concept of "oligarchical collectivism", have managed to secure a spot on the UN's women's rights commission, a scorchingly would-be-funny-if-it-weren't-so-terrifying example of modern day doublethink.

Thank you, father Orwell, for your prescience. My catholic roots are calling, and I am ready to rethink, everything.

What would the season be without the complaints about the War on Christmas. I think it's our nation's longest war.

When I was growing up in the '60s and '70s, many Christians were complaining about the commercialization of Christmas. This is what led to the widespread use of "Happy Holidays." It wasn't intended to be multicultural (the concept was all but unknown at the time), it was an attempt to avoid offending Christians. Now the same people (or their descendants) complain that Christmas isn't commercialized enough!

Honestly, what's wrong with the word "holiday"? It means "holy day" after all.

Semi-Cynic, I remember the change a little differently here in Oregon. In early 50's a few times you'd hear Happy Holidays versus Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! When a few people used Happy Holidays I asked my parents why the change. Their explanation was, "It's shorter to say". Since we didn't have much multiculturalism to address in rural Oregon your explanation usually wasn't the answer. Not until the 70's did I hear that some people didn't want to offend anyone. But how could it be when you are recognizing someones religions most sacred day?

"C-mon man," look how easy it is to shop downtown! http://courts.oregon.gov/sites/Multnomah/Services/Online_Services/Parking_Citation_Payment.page

"But how could it be when you are recognizing someones religions most sacred day?"

But of course the pagan Soltice festivals, hijacked by the Church for the celebration of the unknown date of the birth of the figure assigned to carry the collective amalgam of middle eastern mythology that makes up the Messiah story is not the most sacred day in Christianity by a long shot, which is why there was no particular religious sentiment for celebrating it in Puritan New England (where it was officially ignored). You're thinking Easter.