New Jersey Councilwoman Resigns Over Renamed ‘Christmas’ Tree Lighting

It was Mayor Carl Hokanson who reached out to Storey, who he described as “a very good councilwoman”.

A New Jersey councilwoman who quit after colleagues voted to add the word “Christmas” to the name of the town’s tree-lighting ceremony has rescinded her resignation. In previous years, the celebration was known as the “Annual Holiday Tree Lighting”.

“Had the name of this event never been changed to use a non-religious term, had it stayed with “Christmas” instead of being changed to ‘Holiday, ‘ I could have accepted it as a cultural term”, said Storey, who identifies as a Humanist and “non-believer”.

President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, and their daughters Sasha, and Malia, and Michelle’s mother Marian Robinson, react as they light the National Christmas Tree during the National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony at the Ellipse in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015. Changing the name back to include “Christmas”, at least according to Storey, removes non-Christians from the celebration.

The council of Roselle Park, a borough of Union County, New Jersey, voted on a seemingly innocuous matter on 3 December: the renaming of its annual “Tree Lighting” to “Christmas Tree Lighting”.

“There are also many other philosophies and religions outside of Christianity”, she wrote.

“If the town wanted to display different religious symbols in Michael Mauri Park that would be nice. There were bigger things to be worrying about right now and this was something that could wait”. Storey’s resignation from the council within the city of about 13,000 garnered widespread attention.

A move that proved to be too much for city council member Charlene Storey, who promptly resigned.

Starbucks came under fire for its new holiday cup, which lacks any holiday-themed artwork.

People on one side argue that Christians should be able to fully celebrate the occasion without interference from “political correctness”; on the other side, those like Storey have pointed out that the emphasis on Christmas excludes non-Christians and other holidays that fall within the same time period.

In a statement released before she revealed she was no longer resigning, Storey called the issue a matter of principle.