Much has been made of the whole Seattle airport/Christmas trees/menorahs brouhaha, but off the the coast of the Evergreen State (about 2,000 miles off the coast) sits a pearl of islands where Chritmas trees and menorahs co-exist in harmony void of controversy. ALOHA! And welcome to paradise.
Yes, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, far from the threats of rabbis and 14 plastic Christmas trees– airports throughout the Hawaiian Islands have both Christmas trees and menorahs prominently displayed for tourist of all religious affiliations to admire.
“In light of everything that’s going on, we thought it was a good idea to approach the state … and see if we can put the menorahs up there. And we got a very, very favorable response,” Rabbi Itchel Krasnjansky, director of Chabad of Hawaii recently told local news reporters.
The airports are not the only place where the national Chabad organization has put up menorahs. The largest one is in Waikiki, which Hawaii Goveronor Linda Lingle helped light last week to celebrate the beginning of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights.
According to the Hawaii Department of Transportation, which has authority over the state’s airports, this year marks a first for menorahs in the common areas of Hawaii’s airports. The menorahs and Christmas trees are part of a general holiday display located in gathering spots at airports on five of the eight Hawaiian Islands. Each Hawaii airport menorah is six feet tall, and as I mentioned earlier, there is one displayed on all the major islands except Oahu where there are two–one in the international terminal and another in the interisland terminal.
The state says it has not received any complaints from the public so far over the trees and menorahs. Then again, it’s not that surprising to me (I was born and raised in Hawaii) that this has been the case–displays of faith are common throughout the Islands, after all, Hawaii is a state where sessions of the state Legislature’s House and Senate open with a variety of different religious prayers.
Mele Kalikimaka!
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