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Portland’s annual tree-lighting at Pioneer Courthouse Square took an unexpected turn this year, and it didn’t go unnoticed. Thousands gathered for what should have been a simple holiday tradition, but the program and footage made clear the city avoided saying the word Christmas and instead framed the event as a generic “tree lighting.”
The ceremony opened with a nod to Native American Heritage Day and speakers from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, but it wasn’t long before the crowd was confronted with political theater. Organizers described the display as “the tree” in promotional materials and during remarks, a change that will look deliberate to anyone paying attention to how language is being stripped from public life.
Matters escalated when a woman draped in a Palestinian flag used her stage time to lead the crowd in a “Free Palestine” chant and perform the so-called “Strong Woman Song,” a moment that hijacked a family-oriented celebration. Footage shows some in the audience joining the chant, turning a civic holiday into a protest platform in full view of parents and children.
The speaker even declared, “This is the perfect time to bring this up. There are a lot of genocides going on,” language that made clear the intent was to use a holiday mic for geopolitical messaging rather than community cheer. That kind of timing and tone makes clear where priorities lie for the event planners — and it isn’t keeping traditions alive or respecting the expectations of local families.
Mayor Keith Wilson eventually took the stage and, with Santa Claus, flipped the switch on the 75-foot tree, but the optics of politicking before the lights were turned on stuck with many attendees. National outlets and commentators picked up the story quickly, and the controversy reopened a conversation about whether public celebrations should be commandeered for activist causes.
This episode is symptomatic of a broader trend: symbolic public spaces are being converted into stages for the left’s culture-war messages while ordinary people just want to celebrate. If civic leaders want buy-in for community events, they ought to stop turning every holiday into an opportunity for virtue-signaling and start treating all residents — including faith communities — with basic respect.
Cities can and should welcome diverse voices, but there’s a difference between inclusion and turning a child-friendly ceremony into a political rally. Local officials who trade tradition for messaging will find fewer attendees, more online outrage, and a growing suspicion that their priorities are out of step with residents who simply want a peaceful, unpoliticized holiday.
