filed under Religion | holidays
Whither Tobin’s Tree?
4:06PM ON
12/01/2012
BY
Beth Comery
Perhaps Bishop Tobin has been too busy preparing for his close-ups to get going with his own decorating, but right now there is absolutely nothing about Cathedral Square that signals the so-called ‘Reason for the Season.’ I see plenty of room for a Christmas tree here, thirty or forty trees actually. Or a garland . . . a wreath . . . something!
As of today there is one weather-beaten ornamental cabbage bolting out of its pot near the front doors. Gather round the Christmas Cabbage everybody.
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December 1st, 2012 at 5:07PM
Michael Says:
I feel like you complain a lot and expect other people to automatically do things that conform to your standards. I think there is probably a lot more diversity in terms of what people want to see in Providence than you realize. Things are good. We try our best. Not everything is always as bad as it seems at first.
December 2nd, 2012 at 8:05AM
Karen Says:
Contrary to Michael, I appreciated this commentary, which is precisely to the point. The negativity towards the Governor is what is at issue, for acknowledging that there is diversity in Rhode Island. If the naming of the tree is so important, why isn’t there one in Cathedral Square, where it can properly commemorate Christmas?
December 6th, 2012 at 8:47PM
Big fan of Daily Dose Says:
Yeah, so the Catholics do things by the liturgical calendar, especially when it comes to decorating their churches.
Although Advent started Dec. 2, it’s not the ‘Christmas’ season in the Church until … well, Christmas, and it continues for 12 days after that, until the Epiphany/Three Kings Day, on Jan. 6. Technically, Advent is meant to be a solemn period of waiting until the third Sunday — Dec. 16. And churches won’t be decorated for Christmas until after the fourth Sunday, which is the day before Christmas Eve.
Which is a long-winded explanation of why there are no decorations to be seen, not that I know if there are any plans for trees outside in Cathedral Square even after the last scheduled masses on Dec. 23.
Personally, I don’t care what anyone calls the trees, nor do I mind when people use “xmas” instead of spelling it out, because I’m told that way back when early Christians faced real persecution, ‘x’ was a secret code word for Jesus/Christians. But, you know. People enjoy feeling aggrieved about stuffs, particularly the semantic ones.