Durham New Hampshire got all the attention. It announced that it was bailing on the Christmas thing – it’s been a struggle for the #woke town for years – and renaming it Frost Fest. But what about little Mason, New Hampshire. I hear rumors they’re doing something similar.
After decades of having a Christmas tree lighting and associated events at the town library, this year’s event will be to have a “memory” tree along with crafts and stories for children at the library.
And sure enough, there it is. Just like it was normal.
As in, I remember when we called it a Christmas Tree?
For the record, the only Memory Tree’s I can find online are for funerals. I guess that’s appropriate. Christmas has died in Mason.
But hey, they kept the fat elf in the red suit with the bag of free goodies. So, what’s the annual Gazebo Tree Lighting, and is it allowed to have anything to do with Christmas?
#Woke Little Town of Bethelem (Everyone sing!)
[Update 17:25 11-27-2019]
I just received an email from someone in the Town clarifying what has been described as poor communication.
Thank you for your email, and I’m sorry that the announcement you read about December 7th was so confusing. I do apologize that this has caused you to feel unwelcome at the library.
We are NOT changing the focus of our annual celebration, which includes Christmas carols, crafts and Lee Siegmann’s recitation of “A visit from St Nicholas”. As usual, Santa will arrive on the fire engine, and the Christmas tree at the Gazebo will be lit.
What IS different this year is that we will ALSO have a small Christmas tree just outside the library, called a “Memory Tree”. It starts off with colored lights, and people are invited to write the name of someone they wish to remember on a ribbon, attach the ribbon to a white light, and change it for one of the colored lights. They make a small donation. The tree gradually turns white. We had planned to have Judy Forty say a few words about remembering loved ones, at the end of the afternoon.
We had actually done this for a few years, many years ago (It could be 15 or 20 – I can’t remember), but clearly it was long enough that very few people can recall, and the term “Memory tree” is not in current use, so we should have done a better job explaining it.
Again, I am really sorry that this caused you concern, and I hope you will review your decision not to bring your family on December 7th. If you want to talk this over, please feel free to email me or call the library 878-3867. I will be here today until 4pm, and then next week Tues, Wed Thurs 9-4.
Merry Christmas,
Denise Ginzler
Mason PL
To answer the question posed in the title, No, I guess not. But it sure looked like they did. Thanks for the clarification (Town of Mason) and from our helpers all across the Granite State.
Merry Christmas!
