Portland held its annual tree lighting in Pioneer Courthouse Square with all the lights and Santa, but organizers avoided saying “Christmas” and a woman on stage led the crowd in pro-Palestinian chants and indigenous music. The ceremony included Native American performers and a statement tying the timing to Native American Heritage Day, while critics said the event leaned political instead of honoring a traditional holiday. City officials pushed back and called it a Christmas tree lighting, but social media debate kept the story alive.
The crowd saw a decorated Douglas-fir, holiday lights and a visit from Santa, yet the public branding steered clear of the word “Christmas” and used the neutral phrase “Portland’s 41st Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony.” Many attendees still enjoyed the spectacle and the switch being flipped, but the messaging choice sparked immediate complaints from people who want the city to call the season what it has always been. The omission wasn’t subtle to observers who follow local government communications closely.
A woman on stage led the crowd chanting, “Free, free, free Palestine,” and later sang the “Strong Woman Song” while joined by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. That performance and the flag became focal points for critics who expected a family-friendly, nonpolitical holiday event. The presence of political symbolism at a community ceremony is what many critics say crossed a line.
“Portland’s Tree is lit!” appeared as a simple caption on one social post celebrating the moment, and organizers also posted, “Portland’s 41st Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony presented by SmartPark is tonight!” These posts emphasized the festive elements and the continuity of a long-running occasion while avoiding explicit religious language in official copy. Organizers highlighted the donated 75-foot Douglas-fir and thousands of LED lights as the draw for families and visitors.
“Celebrate the highlight of the Downtown Holiday Season as Santa Claus flips the switch, illuminating more than 9,500 colorful LED lights to shine bright on our City’s 75’ Douglas-fir, generously donated by Stimson Lumber for all to enjoy. SEE YOU TONIGHT, PORTLAND!”
Commentary on social platforms grew sharp. “The City of Portland and local media outlets are calling this ‘The Tree’ because they despise Christians like me and many of you so much they can’t bring themselves to say the word ‘Christmas,’” independent journalist David Medina
“They can’t even say Christmas tree in Portland. They call it ‘the tree,'” posted to X in response to a video Medina posted. Public frustration focused on perceived erasure of Christian language at a ceremony that visibly used classic Christmas imagery. For many, language matters, and the choice to stop using “Christmas” felt taken personally.
“Thousands came to the Christmas tree lighting — and many told me parts of the program felt like political messaging that was out of place and inappropriate for a family event. Why are our public traditions being pulled into ideology and virtue signaling instead of serving the community? Portland deserves events that unite us, not moments that push someone’s narrative,” community journalism outlet PDX Real
Other social posts kept the tone blunt: “In Portland they’re trying to take the Christmas out of Christmas tree. It’s a Christmas tree, it’s always been a Christmas tree, and it will always be a Christmas tree. These people will slowly take everything until there’s nothing left if given the opportunity,” one social . Those reactions underline a broader tension between civic rituals and the communities that claim them.
Local coverage varied, with some outlets using “holiday tree” and others calling it a “Christmas tree lighting,” and some officials personally used the traditional phrase on their platforms . Democratic Mayor Keith Wilson’s office explicitly described his participation as joining “Portland’s annual Christmas Tree Lighting” and pushed back on the complaints by saying the framing of critics felt like a stretch. “Mayor Wilson was delighted to join Portland’s annual Christmas Tree Lighting alongside Christmas carolers and holiday festivities,” the office said when responding to questions.
The ceremony’s timing on Native American Heritage Day brought additional context from tribal representatives. “On this Native American Heritage Day, I hold both gratitude and truth,” one woman said from the stage. “The tree that we stand beside was once rooted in its own home bringing it here holds a complexity that indigenous people, tribal peoples feel deeply in our teachings, the trees, rivers, mountains, all living beings are family more than the objects and more than the symbols that they might stand for.” That speech linked the celebration to a wider conversation about land and tradition.
https://x.com/davidmedinapdx/status/1995001071631306802
Thousands reportedly attended and many left happy to keep a long-running tradition alive despite the controversy. Still, the mix of political messaging, indigenous acknowledgment and careful word choices from organizers left parts of the public feeling the event had shifted away from a straightforward holiday celebration. The debate over whether to call it a Christmas tree lighting or simply a tree lighting shows how one civic ritual can rapidly become a proxy for larger cultural fights.
Graduate Student, wife, engaged political and legal writer.