Overview
- City and Pioneer Courthouse Square promotions referred to the 41st annual event as a tree lighting without using the word “Christmas,” a practice reviewed in posts dating back to at least 2019.
- An onstage speaker draped in a Palestinian flag led a “Free Palestine” chant before performing the intertribal “Strong Woman Song” with Indigenous participants on Native American Heritage Day.
- Mayor Keith Wilson’s office described the gathering as a “Christmas Tree Lighting” and said he was delighted to participate, countering claims that the holiday was excluded.
- Local outlets reported thousands in attendance and no major incidents as Santa, carolers, and the lighting of roughly 9,500–10,000 bulbs on a 75‑foot Douglas‑fir headlined the program.
- Social media reaction criticized the neutral language as erasing Christmas, even as some local coverage and officials used “Christmas tree lighting” to describe the tradition.