War on Christmas

Airport's trees stoking "war on Christmas"

By Stuart Eskenazi

Seattle Times staff reporter

The departure of Christmas tree displays at main passageways at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport — the Port of Seattle's response to a local rabbi's insistence that an electric menorah also be put up — is accelerating into an international spectacle in the so-called "war on Christmas."

The displays were removed from the airport's main arrival hall and various entries overnight Friday.

Airport spokeswoman Terri-Ann Betancourt said the Port's decision was not as simple as whether to put up a menorah.

"Our thought was if we remove the trees and stave off this decision until after the holidays, which is our busiest season of the year, then we can give more careful thought and discussion to this," she said.

The airport has no policy governing the longtime holiday display because no one has ever challenged it before, Betancourt said.

"What we have are holiday trees," she said. "If we are going to display symbols representing other cultures, we have to think what that means and what's respectful and what would make a good display. Maybe it would be 'Holidays of the World.'

"Or maybe it's snowmen."

Read the full story here.

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