The annual War on Christmas has found its latest battleground: a 70-year-old parade in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Republican Senator Jim Inhofe refuses to ride horseback in the parade this year, despite the joy it would bring to so many children, because the name was recently changed from the Christmas Parade of Lights to the Holiday Parade of Lights. Inhofe says he won’t participate until something is done to correct “this shameful attempt to take Christ, the true reason for our celebration, out of the parade’s title,” according to a statement.
The chairman of the parade board explains that the name was changed not only because it’s more inclusive, but also more accurate, since “the parade has always required that entries display a holiday — not necessarily Christmas — theme.” Keep in mind, the parade itself has not been secularized, as explicitly Christmassy floats and costumes will continue to predominate. Perhaps Inhofe is a believer in Shakespeare’s memorable words: “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell terrible.”
Inhofe refuses to participate in ‘holiday’ parade [Tulsa Parade]
