A Wisconsin museum is facing backlash after its annual Christmas tree festival included some controversial entries this year.
Of the 66 trees on display at the National Railroad Museum in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, those that seemed to draw the most attention belonged to the Satanic Temple of Wisconsin and the Bay Area Council on Gender Diversity.
The trees, which will be displayed until December 31, included decorations according to their causes, and not the typical decorations with images related to Jesus, angels or the Christmas holiday.
The tree belonging to the Satanic Temple was decorated with red lights and beads, pentagrams and various ornaments, and one of them read “Hail Holy One,” an apparent reproduction of the phrase “Hail Satan.”
The Gender Diversity tree included pink and blue trans flags and ornaments with sayings like “Protect Trans Children.”
According to local NBC affiliate WGBA, museum executive director Jacqueline Frank admitted that several local residents who attended the festival had expressed concern about the trees’ presence, but also said some had praised their inclusion.
Others took to social media to air their grievances.
“Outrageous! National Railroad Museum features satanic worship tree,” wrote Matt Batzel, executive director of the conservative grassroots organization American Majority, in a post on X, which includes photos of the satanic display.
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Some users asked why the trees would be displayed at a “family event”, while another wrote: “Why does WI look like Commiefornia??? We used to be healthy and safe…”
Fox News Digital also spoke with a local Christian pastor named Luke Farwell in De Pere, Wisconsin, who said he questioned the National Railroad Museum over the decision to include the trees in a Christmas event with children, when it again promoted “inclusivity” and “teaching opportunity” of trees.
“I found it a little strange that someone, based on that, would think it was appropriate to have a Christmas tree in a satanic temple (or a tree, I should say). “I will not dignify it by calling it a Christmas tree,” Farwell said, before expressing his disappointment at the “pushback” Christians have received when it comes to the First Amendment, while groups like these are allowed to participate in that way in a Christmas event.
He maintained that Christians firmly believed in freedom of expression, even in the case of the Satanic Temple, but questioned the criterion of mixing Christian themes with Satanic themes.
Some praised the museum for including diverse points of view, such as Satanism, in the exhibit. AFP via Getty Images
“What I think Christians need to do more of is exercise their ability to allow these places the freedom, like the National Railway Museum, to host different ideologies and different groups that have different points of view, but recognize that Christians consider that these things are offensive or definitely target them in terms of disparaging their faith or how they celebrate the holidays,” Farwell said.
“Christmas is a time when we celebrate and truly rejoice in the fact that God loves this world we live in and God cares about us. But he also reminds us that we, as adults and parents, remember the Good Shepherd. The shepherd has two voices: one for his sheep and another for the wolves. And we need to exercise that voice,” he said.
He concluded by referencing a quote from the late Christian author CS Lewis, who said: “There is no neutral ground in the universe; Every square centimeter, every fraction of a second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan.”
Fox News Digital has contacted the National Railway Museum for comment.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn