Folks who are still not sure if they are going to openly celebrate Christmas can now rest assured it’s OK to do so.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said so.
She issued an Executive Order on Dec. 11, the first day of Hanukkah, which laid down the rules for both Christmas and Hanukkah. The latter ended Dec. 19 but heck, keep that décor in place since we’ve got the green light from Brewer.
She declared that Arizona government agencies are hereby ordered to:
*Allow state employees to personally celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah and put up decorations
*Allow state employees to use “accurate names” of Christmas and Hanukkah and wish others a “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Hanukkah”
*Refrain from censoring the “lawful celebration and acknowledgment of Christmas, Hanukkah or any other recognized religious holiday.”
We are dying to know what disgruntled state employee, who may have gotten reprimanded for putting a mini Christmas tree or Menorah on his desk, prompted this one.
While her Executive Order is targeted for government agencies and state employees, others can use it as a springboard for their own arguments if they get yelled at for putting a baby Jesus in the kitchenette.
Or you can go for some other last-minute decorating ideas:
Gingerbread house:
Those wishing to go for a gingerbread house better start now, as these kitschy little abodes are certainly not very quick to create.
Loyal reader AZMouse hooked up this dandy gingerbread house and tree, with a lot of work and even more patience.
“The hardest part, besides keeping the roof from trying to slide off while it was drying, was doing all the brick outline on the house in frosting,” she said. Brickwork took an entire day to complete, and she topped it off with a fence fashioned from X-Men white stick candles and a path made of licorice and sprinkles.
She even hooked up textured snow on the ground by painstakingly picking through a box of Nerds to extract all the white ones.
Whew.
Everything is edible, as her cats have gleefully discovered.
A quicker fix can be had with a giant Santa or festive CHRISTmas light.
Giant Santa:
This guy was spied on a rooftop not far from the Fourth Avenue street fair. Giant Santas work well suspended from the office ceiling or in lobby and waiting areas. You may also want to set one in your boss’s chair before he arrives for the day to really spread the holiday spirit.
CHRISTmas lights:
A Baptist church on North Swan Road (pictured top right) heartily reminds all passing cars of the origin of the Christmas holiday. Anyone driving by gets a very good view of the lights, as many drivers still don’t realize the speed limit in that area is 40 mph and decide instead to putt putt at about 28 mph.
Skeleton with reindeer antlers:
The skeleton on a tricycle that always graces my living room was outfitted with a pair of reindeer antlers. That marks the extent of this year’s holiday decorating. The reindeer antlers were originally placed on Phoebe but stay in place better when they are not worn by a dog who is trying to head butt the world. Skeleton holiday décor is one way to perhaps horrify your coworkers and give them something to gossip about at the office holiday party.
[tnipoll]
What do you think?
Do you think it necessary to issue an Executive Order regarding the “lawful celebration of Christmas, Hanukkah”?
Were you ever reprimanded for decorating for or saying “Christmas” or “Hanukkah”?
Did you decorate at all this year? Why or why not?
Have you ever made a gingerbread house?
