This weekend's column in Fort Collins Now:
The ice rink is open in Old Town Square. Crowded with children, it’s a festive part of an emerging Fort Collins tradition.
I’d like to register a complaint.
The rink clearly symbolizes Nootaikok, the Inuit god of icebergs and glaciers. As such, the ice rink should be exiled, along with all of the other religious symbols, to the Fort Collins Museum.
Separation of church and state, people!
(Not only that, but last Saturday I saw Santa Claus skating on the Nootaikok altar. Santa Claus? Saint Nicholas? Off to the museum with him and his workshop.)
For the past few years, Rabbi Yerachmiel Gorelik has asked
to put up a Menorah on public property in Old Town. Every year, his request has been
declined. This year, seeking to end the
controversy, the City created an official “Celebrations of Light” display at
the museum to highlight all of the “winter traditions” in Fort Collins.
(Meanwhile, Rabbi Gorelik has successfully – and without controversy – erected Menorahs on public property in Greeley and Loveland this year.)
Religion relegated to a museum exhibit? Sacred traditions rewritten by museum
staff? What could possibly go wrong?
Why don’t you drop by the outside exhibit and find out what the City of Fort Collins thinks of your faith. Sure enough, Christmas and Hanukkah are represented right on the front lawn of the museum. There’s the Menorah and even a full Bethlehem manger scene… right next to Frosty the Snowman.
Rededication of the Second Temple, the birth of our Lord and
Savior… a magic snowman. Offended yet?
Near Frosty and friends you’ll find the “interactive panels” of the “Celebrations of Light” exhibit. You can’t say the city’s not inclusive. Along with Christmas and Hanukkah, you’ll find Ramadan, Diwali, Kwanzaa, Yule, Loy Krathong, Bodhi Day, Shab-e Yaldu, Wigilia and even Hogmanay, a Scottish New Year celebration. (Why Hogmanay? Apparently the tradition of “swinging balls of fire on a rope” during Hogmanay qualifies it as a “Celebration of Light”. The Lantern Festival for the Chinese New Year, the bonfires of Oshogatsu in Japan, and the Brazilian practice of lighting candles on the beach also made the cut.)
What? You didn’t know
that your religious holiday was just one of many “Celebrations of Light”? Don’t worry, the City of Fort Collins is here
to explain all. The twin panels that
introduce the exhibit tell us that it’s really all about the Winter Solstice: “The
Winter Solstice has long been celebrated as the birth or rebirth of the sun, of
light, of life itself. Ancient people
also dreaded it as winter’s deepest point of freezing darkness. They brought light and warmth to this time of
year with huge fires kept burning through the night. They brought evergreen plants into their
homes as reminders of spring’s perennial promise to return new life. They gathered together to renew their
commitment to each other and their communities to ask unseen forces of the
spirit for blessings and protection, to perform the solemn rituals inherited from
past generations, and enjoy good food, song and stories in the company of loved
ones.”
So according to the City of Fort Collins, Christmas and Hanukkah are simply two of many ways to fight off mid-December cabin fever.
Maybe next Christmas, the museum can offer guided tours of
Fort Collins churches on Christmas Eve.
While worshippers celebrate the birth of Jesus, the museum staff can
narrate in hushed tones: “Okay… now the
pastor is asking unseen forces of the spirit for blessings and protection. You see, the ancient Christians saw Jesus as
the “Light of the World”, which is, of course, a metaphor for the perennial
promise of the coming spring.”
Offended yet? I am.
Anyway, back to the saga of the Old Town Menorah. Apparently, it’s completely lost on the City
of Fort Collins that a symbol that is religious for some can be enjoyed as an
inoffensive celebration of community and faith by others.
So join Rabbi Gorelik on Monday night at 6 PM as he lights
the “unofficial” Menorah in Old Town.
Once again, CooperSmith’s Pub has generously stepped up to host the
Menorah on their property. I’ll be
there.
