Actor David Spade hammered the organizers of a Christmas tree lighting ceremony for going out of their way not to mention the true reason for the season.
“Christmas has taken a little bit of a beating recently. It is December, and I saw the other day that there was a tree lighting ceremony for the Christmas tree in some dopey mall… and they were careful not to say the word Christmas during the whole ceremony,” he told fellow “Saturday Night Live” alum Dana Carvey on their “Fly on the Wall” podcast published on Monday.
“I would understand if you said, ‘They’re doing “The Tree Lighting at The Grove’ or whatever. You go, ‘Okay,’” Spade continued, referring to a shopping and dining area in Los Angeles.
“But to consciously avoid that, then what is the tree for?” Spade said. “A December to Remember? Is it a Lexus dealership? Why do we have — for the whole month? Isn’t it for Christmas?”
It does not appear that Spade was saying The Grove is the guilty party, but he was just offering it as an example. In fact, the shopping district is advertising a “Christmas at The Grove” event on its website that will include the lighting of its “Christmas Tree” later this month.
“I’ve never met someone from another religious faith that was upset about a Christmas tree,” Carvey said.
The New York Post noted that Portland, Oregon, received some blowback online for calling its Christmas tree merely “The Tree.”
“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 posted on X.
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“I don’t like the thought police. I don’t like to have words I can’t use,” Carvey said.
“I don’t like the anti-Christian feel because Christmas to me wasn’t really about that, because I am Christian,” Spade replied.
Carvey interjected, “You’re secular. You’re lapsed.”
“More spiritual,” Spade conceded.
Nonetheless, the star continued to identify as a Christian, pointing out, “We’re taking a beating down in Africa. It’s like, this is not the year to be Christian. I will tell you that. That’s for sure.”
“Yeah, there’s a lot of that going on,” Carvey agreed.
In October, President Donald Trump designated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” citing the widespread killings of Christians.
Perhaps Spade and Carvey were also alluding to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, an outspoken Christian, on a Utah college campus in September.
Spade then took the conversation full circle, affirming, “We can call it a Christmas tree.”
Who knows? Perhaps fellow SNL alum Rob Schneider’s recent conversion to Roman Catholicism is beginning to rub off on Spade.
Regardless, he is to be commended for sticking up for Christians, for Christmas, and for free speech.
This article originally appeared on The Western Journal and is reposted with permission.
