The French passed a law curtailing religious freedom that is impossible to reconcile with a free state in general and the seasonal traditions still widely observed in this once unashamedly Christian nation. Although the law is specific to "ostentatious" religious attire in public schools (why not all government institutions and enterprises?), the French are torturing themselves to apply generally its underlying principle (Hat tip: LGF):

Consider the fate of one innocent conifer, standing at the entrance hall of Van Dongen high school, outside Paris. Like other schools around France, Van Dongen is coming to grips with a new French law, directed at female Muslim students who wear veils, that bans conspicuous religious symbols in public schools.

When a pair of students complained about the tree, it was promptly removed -- and only reinstated after teachers issued a statement that Christmas trees were pagan symbols long before they were Christian ones. [The Christian evergreen is symbolically coincident with various pagan practices but not directly derivative.]

This is a curious argument. Christmas trees, for Christian commemoration, are forbidden and offensive religious symbols, but when understood as historical pagan symbols representing an antique polytheistic religion, well, these pass muster with the laïcité police. Of course, Christmas trees, whatever their association with pagans past, are not a pagan commemoration. Christmas trees, in both substance and tradition, are Christian symbols. To pretend otherwise is nothing but pretending.

The same law prompted teachers in the northern French town of Coudekerque- Branche to ship back 1,300 boxes of chocolates to the city hall that donated them because the candy was shaped like crosses and Saint Nicholas figures.

"There were a few problems of understanding," conceded Helen Quettu, a regional high school spokeswoman. "But it was only one incident."

To be sure, there is a dazzling Christmas tree in front of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, resplendent in red and blue tinsel. But just across the Seine River, City Hall is barren of holiday decorations. Paris' Socialist government opted to install a skating rink instead.

"We've decided on a North Pole theme this year," said a City Hall press officer, who declined to give her name. "We've got a skating rink and an igloo. A Christmas tree doesn't fit in with this look."

In Paris, children cluster around elaborate Christmas windows at the Galleries Lafayette department stores. The city's streets are decorated with lights shaped like stars and candles. And although there is no Christmas tree at the Paris City Hall, there are trees in front of town halls in each of the city's 20 arrondissements, or neighborhoods.

So apparently Christmas trees are religious symbols in only 1 in 21 arrondissements. How can this be? The private French citizen has the luxury of intellectual dishonesty about Christmas, not so the government, which is compelled by law to maintain a uniform interpretation.

But wait, Christmas, a public holiday in law, is a religious holiday, celebrating the birth of the Christ, the original Christian. And these French public holidays are also unmistakably Christian: Easter (Pâques, moveable, observed on Monday), Ascension (l'Ascencion, moveable), Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Assomption, August 15), All Saints Day (La Toussaint, November 1). Even Jack Derrida would be hard pressed to gloss the Assumption of BVM as some sort of secular episode. And then this:

In years when Ascension Day concurs with Victory Day, we mark only the former, thus ignoring the latter.

That is, the religious holiday is ascendant over the secular holiday.

What about something like this? Explicitedly Christian and maintained by government subsidy. If the French government is to eat its own secularist dogfood, then this and this and this and this and this and this and this and quite a bit more will need to be tossed from publicly supported institutions like the Musée du Louvre.

The French have passed a bad law -- conflicting young Muslim girls between getting a proper education or incurring the displeasure of their patriarchal households or compromising their own ideas of modesty -- because they did not have the courage to pass a good law -- forcefully purging Islamofascism from France's Muslim population.

The French can continue hollowing out their Christian traditions, or reinventing them as retroversions of a polytheistic paganism that is wholly unfamiliar to them, but their every utterance of "Noël" references a birth, a very specific birth at the heart of Christianity.

To pretend otherwise is nothing but pretending. But then the French intellectual project has been in the business of pretending for years.

[All emphases added.]

This is a damn shame. The last time I was in France at Christmas time was back in the early 1990's, and driving through the small towns seeing their Christmas trees in the town squares was just incredible. I hope this Christmas tree ban silliness doesn't spread beyond Paris

If some of you remember I never was that enthusiastic for this "religious sign" law. Especially in schools, the briority is (or should be) what goes INTO the pupil's head rather than what kind of rag is wrapped around. Banning from a public secular school a girl because of this f** head scarf is king sized stupitity. The girl goes in a muslim school and have the bigger chance to spend the remaining of her life in a bag.
The goal and duty of school is to give to all the necessary instruction to get the choice later.

But this law has a positive secondary effect : giving the occasion for more or less intentional funny jokes.

When a pair of students complained about the tree, it was promptly removed -- and only reinstated after teachers issued a statement that Christmas trees were pagan symbols long before they were Christian ones.

I guess these students are still ROFTL today about it as "it worked ;-DDDDD"

The same law prompted teachers in the northern French town of Coudekerque- Branche to ship back 1,300 boxes of chocolates to the city hall that donated them because the candy was shaped like crosses and Saint Nicholas figures.

Here I am affraid the situation is more serious. the Van Dongen high school students where PLAYING dumb. These teachers from Coudekerque don't play dumb, they actually ARE and thinking they have in charge kid's education is not so funny. But when Hélène Quettu tells about "a few problems of understanding", OK we can give it to her, she is a polite woman...

Now,let's steer away from the inverse overreaction. If in some school, city halls, homes the decorations are "Christmas tree free"... so what ?

Please let me decorate my home with a chrismas tree if I like and don't bother me asking for this f** tree if I don't

OK,next to come: the Jesus figure banned from epifany cake 6 January, and later for spring, the adventures of some easter eggs and chocalate bells ;D "Les plus cloches seront-elles celles qu'on pense ?"

Pierre,

I concur. The law has the effect of isolating Muslim girls in the bleak cloister of Islamism. Or catching an "honor" beating from her dad or brothers or uncles or some Islamite guy.

Here is a question for you. What will happen Ash Wednesday? Will all the smudged Catholics be expelled? If so how is it that smudged Catholic school kids have never presented a threat to the secular state before this, since the First Republic? The last is a rhetorical question, as I believe we are agreed there is no threat or disturbance to the French secular order.

Even by French standards this law is a disaster.

Best wishes for the New Year,
DGB

To be honest I did not even know wht (the hell ?) could be Ash Wednesday.. smoker's day or what ?

Then searching on the net on the pages in French, all the links are about this movie

http://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=33892.html

An american movie which author is calles Edward BURNS !! (Ca ne s'invente pas)

Widening my search to all pages I found on the Catholic information Network a description of this day

http://www.cin.org/users/james/files/ash_wed.htm

It is deeply ignored by all unbelievers like me so, don't worry for the faithfull going at church with their crosses painted on their forheads, they won't be bothered.

Now I won't go in a dramatic position about this law who is dumb but not disastrous in matter of freedom.

In the student banned of schools (some tenth) where not fired the first day but after weeks and monthes of "negotiation" so if some student come at school for on day with crosses painted, it will be more a joke than a trouble.

But indeed some school teachers are kind of secular fundamentalist due to old story.

For very long in our history, the catholics clerics where really oppressive cast and really, it was necessary to drive them back from government offices to their church.

So this secular fight was a right cause until the begining of last century, the teachers where very active in it.

Such cause is thoroughly outdated nawadays but some actual teachers like to "replay" their ancestors glory days and still act as if we where 100 years earlier like dogs running round after their tails.

Quia pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris

For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. -- Genesis 3:19

Pierre,

A more comprehensive article on Ash Wednesday can be found here.

Please keep us apprised of France's temperate response.

Thanks,
DGB

Will the French be banning Valentine's Day as well? I'm sure Saint Valentine would be honored to be banned in FrogLand, along with the celebration of Jesus' birthday.

Oy, Catholicism has its bleak cloisters too -- and lots of women-abusers!! Thus the ashy pates.