Monday, January 08, 2007

nativity scenes


the nativity scene is still up in the entrance of the hospital where i toil.

one could question the propriety of putting up a nativity scene in a hospital that serves diverse cultures and religious faiths.

one could argue that if you display a nativity scene at all that you should also put up displays important to other religious faiths and cultures during this time of winter celebration. Bloomingdale's actually had some fantastic window displays this year doing just that. Each window depicted traditions from around the world, including Ireland, the Netherlands, and Kwanzaa.

one might draw the conclusion that keeping the nativity scene up in january is simply in poor taste. or perhaps it is just lazines in taking it down.

here's to a more tolerant, peaceful 2007, no matter where you are from, no matter what you believe.

2 comments:

MedStudentGod (MSG) said...

I think the prolonged stay of "Baby Jesus" is most likely due to laziness. In the OB floor of my hospital a Christmas tree was left standing, completely decorated until yesterday. Better things to do than to take down Christmas decorations I imagine - or just overt laziness.

I honestly don't understand why people get so bent out of shape over these kinds of things though. I'm agnostic and find no irritation at these sights. But then, I think I can let things go that truly should be let go.

Anonymous said...

I tend to think that if one winter holiday is represented, they all should be represented. It's hard to say why the nativity is still up in January. Could be that someone has a strong thing about the Judeo-Christian tradition, but it sounds more like someone just didn't get around to taking it down.