Cynthia Kata, Borough Warden
Town of Griswold
28 Main Street
Jewett City, CT 06351
Dear Ms. Kata,
I have found that I’m less grumpy about Christmas this year than usual. I generally become annoyed with the consumerism that runs rampant for about a month each year, and am glad when things return to “normal” in January. I think my newfound tolerance of all things Yule can be attributed to my daughter. She is two, and at a perfect age to enjoy the lights, decorations and music without yet understanding the concept of Presents. So she’s enjoying it for what it is and I have decided to do the same. The tunes can be annoying but are catchy and feed nostalgia. The egg nog and fruitcake are yummy. We celebrate a wise man’s birthday. Seems all right to me.
So I am surprised when I read about how uptight everyone else seems to be these days. Young carolers were told to put a lid on it in Riverside, California so they would not offend a skater of a different religion. Christmas trees were taken down (and later put back up) at the Seattle airport when someone asked for equal representation for other religions’ symbols and the airport feared a lawsuit.
Now a group of atheists wants you to pull the plug on your church bells. I must admit that although I enjoy the sound of bells echoing from a belfry, I might also find amplified canned bell music annoying. I would have to hear it to say for sure. But it seems that the music is generally accepted by your community, and that these few who are speaking out simply object to the Christmas theme rather than to the sound. Maybe they feel that this music is a subliminal attempt to call them into the Christian faith. Maybe they just feel left out. Whatever it is that’s making them grumpy, I think they’re being a bit extreme in their request. Christmas is simply too much a part of American culture to resist. And even if it did not exist, a shopkeeper would certainly have to invent it.
Truly,
Liz Mann
