Portland’s annual Christmas tree lighting took an unexpected turn on Friday when a featured speaker used the stage to call Israel’s actions a “full-blown genocide” and led portions of the crowd in chanting “Free Palestine.” The appearance of pro-Palestinian activism at the 41st annual ceremony — attended by thousands in Pioneer Courthouse Square — drew criticism from residents who said the political messaging was out of place at a city-sponsored holiday event.
Portland officials avoided saying the word “Christmas” throughout the program, referring to the Christmas tree only as “the tree.” In addition to stripping Christmas of its name, traditional Christmas songs were renamed “holiday songs,” and the ceremony made no effort to acknowledge Hanukkah, Chag HaUrim, or any other winter holiday. Instead, the event opened with the Strong Woman Song, performed by a representative of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. She introduced a speaker who immediately launched into commentary on the Israel–Hamas war, calling the ceremony “the perfect time to bring this up.”
The woman held a Palestinian flag and wore a hijab as she told the crowd, “There’s a full-blown genocide happening, live-streaming in 4k.” She then led the chant, “Free, free Palestine,” joined by a portion of the audience. Footage posted online drew sharp criticism from residents who accused the city of politicizing a family holiday ritual. “Thousands came to the Christmas tree lighting — and many told me parts of the program felt like political messaging that was out of place and inappropriate for a family event,” the Portland outlet PDX Real wrote on X.
Families at the Portland event seemed to understand this intuitively. One attendee noted that organizers “can’t bring themselves to say the word ‘Christmas’,” pointing to a sign in front of the tree that labeled it only as “the tree.” Frustrated observers online declared they were “reclaiming” the name themselves. Even Portland’s mayor, Keith Wilson, avoided the holiday entirely while promoting an upcoming New Year’s Eve drone show.
This year’s program included a Santa Claus for children and the traditional lighting of roughly 10,000 bulbs, but the holiday atmosphere kept colliding with the city’s political climate. Portland has spent years battling criticism over permissive attitudes toward homelessness, drug use, and ideological activism. That tension surfaced again when Councilor Angelita Morillo, who lives outside the downtown homelessness zone, proposed cutting millions from the city’s homeless-reduction program to redirect funds toward refugee services.
The Christmas tree lighting reflected that broader shift. What was once a straightforward civic ritual has become another arena for ideological messaging, even when thousands of families come expecting something else. The event’s social-media promotion on the city’s official accounts — Facebook, X, and Instagram — conspicuously avoided the word “Christmas,” a pattern that records show has been in place since at least 2019.
