PORTLAND IN A PICKLE OVER CHRISTMAS

Portland, Oregon had a hard time handling Christmas in 2025. Bill Donohue sent the following letter to Portland Mayor Keith Wilson on December 2.

I understand you presided over the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Pioneer Courthouse Square on November 28. But for some reason— phobia? bigotry?—the word “Christmas” was omitted. This creates a dilemma for you. What are you going to do for the rest of the Christmas season when there are plenty of Christmas celebrations taking place in Portland?

Will you call the Christmas Ships Parade the “Ships Parade”? Will you rename the Tuba Christmas Concert the “Tuba Concert”? Will you change the name of the Silverton Christmas Market to the “Silverton Market”? Will you switch the Singing Christmas Tree to the “Singing Tree”? Now it gets really tricky.

What are you going to do about the gospel singers at Gospel Christmas? Looks like you’ve been checkmated: both words are verboten in super-secular Portland. What are you going to do about the scheduled performance of Handel’s Messiah? Can you really allow the word “Messiah” to be said at Christmastime? In the Old Testament “Messiah” means “theAnointed One,” and in the New Testament it means “Christ.” Moreover, in Part I, the Messiah’s coming and the virgin birth are predicted by the Old Testament prophets. Can this be tolerated in Portland?

Are you aware of the fact that this composition is based on the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter? As you know, the former is an early English translation of the Bible, but are you aware that the latter is a 16th century translation of the Psalms, written by Bishop Miles Coverdale? The first lines of Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 carry special meaning to Portland. Psalm 1 says, “Blessed is the man who has not followed the advice of the ungodly,” and Psalm 2 reads, “Why do the heathen rage so furiously?” Seems like you are well-suited to provide an answer.

Now for the clincher. What are you going to do about the Christmas Festival of Lights that will take place at The Grotto? This venue is a Catholic sanctuary, formally known at the National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother. Do you know who she is? Do you know that they allow Masses to be offered at The Grotto, as well as saying the Rosary, and that priests hear confessions? Can this actually be happening in 2025 in Portland?

Looks like you’re in a pickle. Either you engage in religious cleansing—scrubbing Portland free of any Christian symbolisms—or you stop with this nihilistic attack on Christianity and let Christians celebrate Christmas, without it being neutered by its enemies.

Something to think about.

Merry Christmas!

We heard from the mayor’s Deputy Chief of Staff. We were told that they sang Christmas carols at the event, including religious songs, thus denying any exhibition of bigotry. But there was no mention of why they refused to talk about a Christmas tree, nor did they say why they allowed a pro-Palestinian performance at this Christmas gathering. In short, they tried to hoodwink us. They failed. We thought you’d like to know.