Chase Bank wants Christmas tree removed

Christmas is about Jesus and if you seek Jesus first, everything will be added unto you. To some, it's business first. If Chase Bank wants the Christmas tree removed from their lobby to favor customers who might be offended, does this mean they don't care about their customers who will be offended if the Christmas tree is removed? There is a reason for those decorated trees to be everywhere and it's been done for ages - it's one of the many ways we celebrate the birth of our Lord. Therefore, every person, Christian or non-Christian should already know that by now and have already accepted that that it is so. Apparently, still not.

From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

SOUTHLAKE -- Chase Bank told a Texas businessman to remove the Christmas tree he donated to a local branch because it could offend people.

Antonio Morales, owner of Bellagio Day Spa in Southlake northeast of Fort Worth had assembled and decorated a 9-foot-tall tree in the lobby of the Chase Bank branch at 1700 E. Southlake Boulevard as a favor to the branch manager, who is one of his clients.

The tree remained in the lobby from the Monday before Thanksgiving until Tuesday. Morales said his friend called him Wednesday to tell him the tree had to go. She later showed him an e-mail from JPMorgan Chase saying that the tree had to be removed because some people were offended by it.

The bank referred questions to corporate offices.

Greg Hassell, a JPMorgan Chase spokesman, said that the company's policy isn't anti-Christmas. "People wish their customers merry Christmas when it's appropriate," he said.

However, to ensure that everyone who visits Chase branches feels welcome and comfortable, the bank's policy is to use only decorations supplied by the company.

"We appreciate the thoughtful gesture from Mr. Morales," Hassell said. "Unfortunately, we're unable to keep it [the tree] on display for the remainder of the holiday season." JPMorgan Chase ensures that decorations are "something everyone is comfortable with, regardless of how they celebrate the season," Hassell said.

But others see the tree as a symbol of the season.

Read the rest of the article here.