Nativity comes to Daley

Hizzoner is no Scrooge.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has given its annual “Ebenezer Award” to Chicago’s Mayor Richard Daley, for removing the film The Nativity Story from the list of sponsors of the city’s annual Christkindlmarket festival.

But…

Shortly after being named for the annual mock-award, Mayor Daley announced that he was reversing a previous decision announced by his office, and scenes from The Nativity Story would be allowed to play at the festival.

The Ebenezer Award– a stocking full of coal– is offered each year by the Becket Fund for “the most ridiculous affront on the Christmas and Hanukkah season.” The group observed that the fair from which the Nativity film was barred is named for the Christkindl, or Christ-child. “Apparently this was lost on the mayor and his staff,” the Becket Fund statement observed.

“Banning Christ from a Christmas festival is like banning the Irish from the St. Patrick’s Day parade,” said Kevin Hasson, the president of the Becket Fund. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

I pointed this out in my letter to Mayor Daley last month, and gave him the benefit of the doubt that he was probably just too busy to notice his events people had let this boner slip by. Frankly, I always thought Mr. Daley would turn this around, but expected it to happen sooner.

Thanks to my friend “Seamus” Hasson, it didn’t take longer. The Becket Fund does outstanding work, and they’re always busy doing it. Especially at Christmas. Seamus has an excellent book available at that site, “The Right to Be Wrong.” It might make a good Christmas gift for a few staffers at city hall…and those other places where there were runner-ups in the Ebenezer award.