When I started working at the University of California as a secretary, the Christmas holiday motif was pretty much intact. Toward the end of December there were Christmas trees in the hall and an annual “Christmas Party.” The party included a professor dressed up as Santa Claus and Christian hymns, a.k.a Christmas carols. We also exchanged gifts. It was great!
Then one year, Christmas started to change. A memo went around just before the holiday season banning Christmas trees in the hall. A year later, the Christmas party became a holiday luncheon. Santa was not there and neither was the music I loved so much.
The year after that the holiday part of the party disappeared altogether and I was invited to join the staff at an End-of-the-Semester gathering at a Chinese restaurant. The pot stickers were great, but when I asked the coordinator if I could bring some bright red poinsettias as decorations she said, “That would remind people of Christmas and this is not a Christmas party.”...
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