Our beloved editor here at First Things has written on many topics, yet on no two has he expounded in greater depth and at greater length than Christmas and death . Apparently many residents of the Great State of California have decided to combine the two. Scholars who study this sort of thing think that it comes in part from the Mexican tradition of decorating graves on the Day of the Dead, and also from the desire to personalize what can otherwise seem to be generic burial plots. The New York Times reports that the Archdiocese of San Francisco has decided to take action:
At the three cemeteries run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, Christmas decorating is now officially limited to flowers placed in a maximum of two urns and potted evergreens no more than 12 inches high, with weekly sweeps on offending Santa Claus blankets, Styrofoam candy canes and the like.“Decorations can be an impediment to backhoes, and there are liability issues in tripping over candy canes,” said Kathy Atkinson, the director of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. “People understand this with their head,” she added. “But with their heart they need to do something.”
What does this tell me about America? First, the American desire for Christmas displays is more innate than I had thought. Second, California really is a mysterious foreign country. Third, de gustibus non disputandum est . All kidding aside, I’d feel bad for really mocking the memorials people leave for their departed kin. Nonetheless, I hope that when I’m dead and gone my family remembers me with a simple wreath and lets someone else’s relatives indulge in “battery and electrically operated equipment, anchoring spikes, easily breakable ornaments and standing Santa Clauses, Nutcracker figures, snowmen” etc.
