Save Christmas? Petition is misleading
City officials asked the Park Avenue District to brand the season of events as “holiday,” but Christmas is not disappearing from the names of the individual events
Sept. 9, 2025
By Beth Kassab
Hold your reindeer, Winter Park. Before you get fired up about the Change.Org petition to “Save Christmas in Winter Park,” let’s take a look at the facts.
The petition, which had 570 signatures by Tuesday afternoon in the city of 30,000 people, makes several allegations, asserting that 70 years of Christmas event traditions are “at risk.”
“In recent planning, the city has agreed to fund holiday lighting only if the word “Christmas” is removed,” the petition states. “As a result, Central Park’s Christmas Tree is now called a ‘Holiday Tree,’ and the annual tree lighting event has been rebranded as ‘Winter on the Avenue,’ intentionally avoiding any mention of Christmas.”
But those statements are misleading and, in some parts, false.
The city is, in fact, asking for the overall name of the events season to change. But no changes are being requested for the titles of the half dozen main events that make up the season — and most of those use the word “Christmas.”
Gigi Papa, a Winter Park resident who frequently attends and speaks at City Commission meetings, is listed on the change.org page as the “petition starter.” Papa did not immediately respond to an email and text message seeking comment about the petition’s statements.
Here’s what happened and why the city requested the change:
In 2024, the Park Avenue District, a relatively new group of merchants, businesses and residents who aim to support the central retail hub, took over coordination of the city’s annual light display and decor.
With about $100,000 from the city government and matching dollars from private donors, the group added more lights, an Instagram-worthy walk-through light cathedral in Central Park, a children’s carousel in front of City Hall and new wreaths and other festive touches.
For years, the city used the name “Hometown Holidays,” to advertise its season of events that run from mid-November, when the display goes up, through New Year’s.
The Park Avenue District changed the name to “Christmas on Park” last year.
City spokeswoman Clarissa Howard said Mayor Sheila DeCiccio heard some complaints about the entire season of events being branded as “Christmas” after it had been branded as “Hometown Holidays” for so long. So the city, which is providing about $60,000 for the decor this year, requested the name be changed to “Holidays on Park.”
“We are not breaking tradition,” Howard said. “It’s a season, it’s not one event. We called the season Hometown Holidays because there are holidays other than Christmas happening downtown.”
In 2021, the city added to Central Park a menorah for Hanukkah and a kinara for Kwanzaa.
Carina Sexton, executive director of the Park Avenue District, said she expects the name will change based on the city’s request.
“Regardless of the name, we feel confident that the magic of the season will remain the same and we are thrilled to welcome our community and visitors alike back to the Park Avenue District to celebrate with us,” she said.
Individual long-standing city events with the name Christmas aren’t changing and no one from the city has asked for them to be changed, Howard said. Sexton confirmed she has not received any other requests for changes.
Those events include:
“Christmas in the Park” on Dec. 4 is the annual evening that features a display of lighted Tiffany glass windows from the Morse Museum and Christmas music from the Bach Festival Society and a brass ensemble.
“The Christmas Parade” will be on Dec. 6, which is sponsored by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce.
And “Tuba Christmas,” another musical event, will take place on Dec. 20 this year.
The name “Winter on the Avenue,” another event lead by the chamber, has been used for years and is not part of a rebrand as the petition alleges.
That will take place on Dec. 5 this year and is described on the Chamber website: “Begin the evening at the Annual Holiday Tree Lighting in Central Park just east of the Winter Park train station. Winners of the Holiday Art Competition will be recognized, Rabbi Dovid Dubov of Chabad Orlando will do a menorah lighting ceremony ushering in the season of Chanukah, and Winter Park Mayor Sheila DeCiccio will lead us in a countdown as we light the Christmas Tree.”
The petition demands the city “return to using the name Christmas Tree instead of Holiday Tree,” even though the chamber’s description explicitly refers to the mayor leading the lighting of the “Christmas Tree.”
“The city does not call it a ‘holiday tree,'” Howard said.
In holiday press releases dating back to 2005, the ceremony has always been referred to simply as the “annual tree-lighting” without the word Christmas. Though Christmas was, and still is, included in many of the event names throughout the seasonal lineup.
“We can’t return to doing something that we haven’t done,” Howard said. “There is no tradition at risk. All of our events are still happening.”
In a press release in August about the light display that will go up Nov. 13, the city noted the season of events and decor brought in about 350,000 people last year, about 7% higher than the previous year.
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated the wrong year the city added a menorah and kinara to Central Park, due to incorrect information provided to the Voice. The year was 2021.
Thank you for this clarification. In the future, I hope that people who create petitions will check the facts before disseminating. In this case, the originator riled up our residents unnecessarily with false information. A quick call to Clarissa Howard at City Hall would have prevented this mess.
Wow, wow, thank you Beth for shedding light on this pseudo moral outrage! The Winter Park moral entrepreneurs are trying to divide the city over the holidays. Christmas as well as other holidays are going to be celebrated in Winter Park as you point out. What would be the motive for someone to start a petition based on multiple false premises and 500+ people to sign it? If anything, the whole thing makes me want to stay home or go to Maitland events instead! You are the pulse of Winter Park-thank you for keeping us informed.
So, since you’re in opposition to the “Winter Park moral entrepreneurs” (your phrase), does that make you a “Winter Park immoral entrepreneur?”
The fact that certain people wish to exclude nonChristians from their holiday is all we need to know about them. Multiple holidays are celebrated from November through January and we can celebrate any and all of them. The more the merrier.
Bravo, Martha. The intent of that petition to preserve the “sanctity “ of our fair town was not very hard to discern. Sad and frightening that so many signed on to it.
Excellent work here by the Winter Park Voice’s editor. Thanks!
I may not always agree with Gigi Papa, but I thank her for calling attention to the changes taking place at the behest of the mayor.
From the Voice editor we learn the following:
“The city is, in fact, asking for the overall name of the events season to change.”
And.. Why is the change being requested by the City/Mayor?
Because…
“The Park Avenue District changed the name to “Christmas on Park” last year.”
And, then…
“City spokeswoman Clarissa Howard said Mayor Sheila DeCiccio heard some complaints about the entire season of events being branded as “Christmas” after it had been branded as “Hometown Holidays” for so long. So the city, which is providing about $60,000 for the decor this year, requested the name be changed to “Holidays on Park.”
So, according to the Voice the mayor won’t give an additional $60 thousand to the merchants (on top of last year’s $100 thousand) unless the merchants rebrand to remove the Christmas label they adopted las year?
This reader asks whether the mayor has received more complaints about last year’s “daring” institution of the “Christmas on Park” label for the Park Ave slate of events or about this year’s action to rebrand the seasonal events to remove the word “Christmas”?
Also, Kassab points out that even with the dreaded “Christmas on Park” nomenclature having been put in place last year by those insensitive Park Ave District merchants-many of whom depend on Christmas to make a living- seasonal “attendance was 7% greater than the previous year.”
I say, If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Christmas does not drive people away, it draws people in. This is like coming up with that idea for the “New” Coca-cola vs original Coke or changing the Cracker Barrel logo to get rid of the Cracker and the Barrel.
If I had not signed the petition already, I would have signed it after reading the Voice article on this topic.
Christmas is neither something to apologize for nor something to marginalize. The reason for the season remains the central fact.
Hannukah and Kwanza stand on their own. Christmas does not lessen or extinguish them.
.
Well said Beth Hall. No-one is being excluded. Anyone crying exclusivity isn’t looking close enough at Central Park. If they take some time they will see a menorah and signs of Kwanza. Their moral outrage must make them feel good.
Merry Christmas
the event not being called “christmas” isn’t marginalizing christians or the holiday. other people of different religions live here. having an umbrella name to encompass all events is such a nothingburger issue.
having the name “holiday” does not lessen or extinguish christmas.
Thanks Beth for bringing clarity and facts to what should be an inclusive and non contentious matter.
Too bad there are some who choose to create a controversy where none should exist by misrepresenting facts in order to promote their biased agenda.
Residents are rightly wary of commissioners and mayors. Allowing a very bad MLK Jr. statue, a spanking new $5 million Seven Oaks Park that nobody wanted or uses, faux archways, installed without public input, that are scaled like wind turbines, insane increases in city tax receipts allowing insane spending increases, virtue-signaling proclamations (I guess my “International Left Handers Day Proclamation” suggestion didn’t make the cut) and continuing a Community Redevelopment Agency for our “blighted” area that include Whole Foods, Ruth’s Chris and Trader Joe’s. Is Nordstrom Rack the blight?
Is anyone surprised this petition took off? Hopefully, the mayor and commissioners will dial back all the activism and spending to start planning for property tax reform that will (hopefully) end their party time.
What’s your explanation for why nearly 800 people signed the petition? The point of a petition is to express a sentiment — people sign because they care enough to lend their name to it.
You may not agree with the petition’s purpose, but doesn’t the fact that so many Winter Park residents signed it suggest their perspective deserves acknowledgment?
As a resident, I find it disappointing that your piece chooses to “clarify facts” and shame the petition and its signers, rather than recognizing that a large group in the community feels strongly about preserving a tradition. The tone comes across as if signers simply don’t “understand the facts,” which dismisses their voices and deepens division instead of creating dialogue.
I can see arguments on both sides, but I believe the most important point is that residents should be able to voice their views — and that city leaders should give weight to those views — without them being caricatured or dismissed.
We can’t move forward as a community if disagreement is treated with contempt.
This isn’t about a disagreement over opinions. It’s about incorrect facts. The name Christmas on Park is possibly changing to Holidays on Park. The Christmas on Park name was used for one year. One. That’s it. It’s not a longstanding tradition. This name was used as the name of the overall decor and calendar of Christmas and holiday events. It’s not an event in and of itself. The other names for all of the popular events (Tiffany windows, tree lighting etc.) stand. Nothing else is changing. Many of those names include the word Christmas and are promoted heavily by the city. My job is to point out facts. This isn’t about honoring “both sides” because the petition is riddled with errors. It says the tree lighting event is being rebranded as Winter on the Ave. False. Winter on the Ave has been used for that event since 2015 and is led by the Chamber of Commerce, not the city. The petition states traditions are at risk. False. Absolutely nothing about the events is changing. An overarching title for the decorations that was used for ONE YEAR is potentially changing. The petition starter got up at the city meeting yesterday and quoted from the Voice that the attendance at last year’s event went up by 7%, according to the Park Avenue District. Was she using this statistic to show that the name was responsible for the increase in attendance? It was unclear. But if she was, that sure seems like a stretch. The city spent $100,000 on new decor last year and the district raised private money to match that. That meant a children’s carousel and a walk-through light tunnel and hundreds of additional lights adorned downtown. But we’re supposed to believe it was the title on the web page that brought extra people in, not the changes and new additions to the decor itself? That just doesn’t pass the smell test. I have absolutely zero shock that hundreds of people signed the petition. Some people will believe anything they read. I don’t know why. Maybe they trust the source. Maybe the content validates their own personal feelings or grievances. Who knows? But in today’s world do we really need to manufacture a controversy over Christmas in a city that is widely known for its Christmas display and events and is actively trying to improve it each year? Discourse is so polarized right now. As a journalist, I am simply trying to point out facts. I’m trying to sift through noise so you don’t have to. I want my readers to know I do my best to bring them solid information that I check with sources and verify. If you don’t trust the Voice, then don’t read it. But if you do read and you stick with us and read us over time, you will see that our stories are very factual and we talk to a wide variety of sources. I am on nobody’s side, but the side of the facts no matter what those are. Also, I put my name on everything. I invite criticism and feedback. Most of you comment anonymously.
Damn, Beth, get innnnn
I agree with Beth’s comments. Conservatives/Republicans are all about grievances. It’s sad and pathetic.
There is no “War on Christmas” in Winter Park. None, zero. The petition had inaccurate statements. It’s even worse that when the person who started it was asked to comment they chose not to respond nor counter with facts about the petition and what’s happening with Christmas events. It lessens your credibility on important issues facing the City when a petition designed to rile up people over a joyous and unifying time is riddled with falsehoods.