Archbishop bans ’pagan’ Christmas trees from Catholic churches in Sri Lanka: ‘These do not belong’

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SAVINGRACE

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I agree although I have never been in a Catholic Church that has a Christmas tree inside it. Have you?

"Sri Lanka’s senior Catholic told priests Wednesday not to put up Christmas trees in their churches, saying they had no religious significance and had instead become the festive symbol of parties and shopping centres.

Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo, issued a statement telling clergymen to “try to avoid putting up Christmas trees inside the churches.”

“These do not belong to the sacred significance of Christmas but are more connected to social and family celebrations… They have also become symbols of Christmas in malls and public squares,” the cardinal added.

Sri Lanka is a mainly Buddhist country but around 1.2 million of its overall population of 21 million people are Catholics."

December 25 is a national holiday in Sri Lanka and shops and streets are often festooned with Christmas decorations and lights during the festive period.

Speaking to the BBC, Reverend Ignatius Varnakulasingam, a priest in Colombo, said the Church was not against the Christmas tree entirely – which he acknowledged was “fun” – but simply its installation in places of worship.

“The Christmas tree is not a liturgical symbol,” he said. “(It) cannot be put in the sanctuary of the Church.”

While the Vatican has a Christmas tree, it is not installed in St. Peter’s Basilica but outside, in the Square, the priest noted."

news.nationalpost.com/news/archbishop-bans-pagan-christmas-trees-from-catholic-churches-in-sri-lanka-these-do-not-belong
 
SAVINGRACE said:
I agree although I have never been in a Catholic Church that has a Christmas tree inside it. Have you?
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Perhaps they don’t use them as decorations in Australia, but they’re very common in the US. At Mass this morning there were four Christmas trees and scads of poinsettias in the sanctuary. I can’t think of a church I’ve been in around Christmas time that hasn’t had Christmas trees as decorations.

I was going to include some images but they were large. Try going to Google Images and searching on “catholic church at christmas” and you’ll see lots of pictures!
 
My church has a Christmas tree though it was only installed last weekend. I could take it or leave it to be honest. I can see the arguments against placing one in the sanctuary.
 
We have one in the foyer. Yes, I understand they are not part of the liturgy. Perhaps this is more of a problem in Sri Lanka. As to what is “pagan”, much of the what the Church does is pagan, including most likely, the dating of Christmas to begin with.
 
We have two, one on either side in the sanctuary, wrapped in blue and red ribbon, and decorated with knit crosses, roses, and symbols of the Blessed Mother and the Christ Child.

Call it repurposing.
 
pnewton said:
We have one in the foyer. Yes, I understand they are not part of the liturgy. Perhaps this is more of a problem in Sri Lanka. As to what is “pagan”, much of the what the Church does is pagan, including most likely, the dating of Christmas to begin with.
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Actually, the Christmas tree was not a pagan symbol at all. It was started by St. Boniface on his mission to Norse tribes in Thuringia in what is now northern Germany.

Boniface cut down the Thunder Oak of the pagan tribe under which children were sacrificed at the Winter solstice. When the oak fell, a small evergreen tree stood behind it. Boniface used the small tree to represent a number of Christian concepts everlasting life and the Trinity.

youtu.be/t_DrZBHuc40

“Much as the oak was the tree of Thor, let this fir be the symbol of Christ: This humble tree’s wood is used to build your homes; let Christ be the center of your households. Its leaves remain evergreen in the darkest days; let Christ be your constant light. Its boughs reach out to embrace and its top points to heaven; let Christ be your comfort and your guide.”
 
Pagan?

In England the tradition started when Nrway gave a tree to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert decided to decorate it in the Palace.
 
My parish has six decorated Christmas trees and poinsettias all over. Nativity scene indoors and out, which are the focal points.
 
Doesn’t matter how we feel…actually doesn’t even matter how people in his diocese feel…the archbishop speaks with authority in his diocese and those worshipping there are called to obey, until higher authority supercedes the wishes of the good Archbishop.
 
Neofight said:
Doesn’t matter how we feel…actually doesn’t even matter how people in his diocese feel…the archbishop speaks with authority in his diocese and those worshipping there are called to obey, until higher authority supercedes the wishes of the good Archbishop.
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Agreed

+Ranjith is one of the most orthodox Bishops in the Hierarchy.
 
pnewton said:
As to what is “pagan”, much of the what the Church does is pagan, including most likely, the dating of Christmas to begin with.
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Why on earth do people still believe this myth? Our customs are not pagan. The early church calculated the birth of Jesus based on the date of conception of St John the Baptist and when his father served at the temple. Makes perfect sense to me.
 
Peter_Plato said:
Actually, the Christmas tree was not a pagan symbol at all. It was started by St. Boniface on his mission to Norse tribes in Thuringia in what is now northern Germany.

Boniface cut down the Thunder Oak of the pagan tribe under which children were sacrificed at the Winter solstice. When the oak fell, a small evergreen tree stood behind it. Boniface used the small tree to represent a number of Christian concepts everlasting life and the Trinity.

youtu.be/t_DrZBHuc40

“Much as the oak was the tree of Thor, let this fir be the symbol of Christ: This humble tree’s wood is used to build your homes; let Christ be the center of your households. Its leaves remain evergreen in the darkest days; let Christ be your constant light. Its boughs reach out to embrace and its top points to heaven; let Christ be your comfort and your guide.”
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👍

At Mass the other day the priest explained this story to us after someone accused him of keeping pagan beliefs.
 
Contra_Mundum said:
Why on earth do people still believe this myth? Our customs are not pagan.
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Depends on our intentions, I would think. If all the focus is on the tree and not on prayer to the Almighty God, then indeed it is more pagan than not.
 
The Christmas tree is a German tradition that made its way into US churches as immigrants who brought their traditions with them became more integrated into American society and ethnic parishes became more integrated as they are now. Sri Lanka does not have this same tradition, which may seem to some as adopting a “pagan” tradition, the same way as saying “Merry Xmas” is viewed by many people as “removing Christ from Christmas,” even though the “X” is the symbolic abbreviation for Christ in Greek. 🤷
 
Christmas trees are of course very commonly seen in U.S. Catholic churches. But if Christmas trees have no religious significance, what then is the objection to displaying one in the public square?
 
Contra_Mundum said:
Why on earth do people still believe this myth? Our customs are not pagan. The early church calculated the birth of Jesus based on the date of conception of St John the Baptist and when his father served at the temple. Makes perfect sense to me.
Click to expand...
I do not think it a myth for one second. The early church had many quaint ideas that were not based in doctrine, that more reflected the culture than Christianity. Heck, the early church did not even agree on the date! I know there were some “calculations”, but like the calculation for the date of creation, it relied on more assumptions than fact. I am skeptical of the idea that we know the date Jesus was born. I am equally skeptical that it was set in a cultural vacuum by a Church founded on the principle of evangelization where we are " all things to all men, that I might by all means save some."
 
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