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Bishops ban Christmas trees and Santas in churches
View(s):For the first time in history, the Catholic bishops have decided there should be no Christmas trees or Santas in churches during the festive season, a spokesman said yesterday. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo and president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Sri Lanka (CBCSL), has sent out a circular, banning Christmas trees and Santas in Catholic churches of all dioceses.
Rev. Fr. Cyril Gamini, the Church’s Social Communications Director, said the bishops believed that Christmas trees and Santas were only decorations and should not be brought into the sanctity of the church. However, some Catholics were quick to protest against the order by the bishops and asked that it be revoked. One Catholic said that to set up a Christmas tree outside the church was not practical because it would be exposed to the current bad weather and could be damaged.
“Christmas trees and Santas are beautiful and harmless Catholic traditions and they should remain that way,” an irritated parishioner from the Catholic majority area of Moratuwa said.