Two major December religious holy days, the birth of Jesus and the enlightenment of Buddha, will be memorialized next month amid the secular holiday sparkle of Honolulu City Lights. Jesus and Buddha to feature
in holiday displays at City Hall
Star-Bulletin staff
Wahiawa Door of Faith Church will present a Christmas Nativity scene, and the Mililani Hongwanji Temple will erect a Bodhi Day display on the City Hall grounds for the annual city exhibition that opens Dec. 7.
Both displays are making return appearances in the area set aside for booths by private nonprofit groups. The sites are filled through a lottery each year.
There were a dozen applicants this year. The other winners in the drawing last month include the National Assembly of the Baha'is of the Hawaiian Islands, which will repeat last year's presentation of a pavilion representing the universality of world religions, and the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Honolulu, a local congregation of the same religion, which will show a tree of life representing the oneness of humanity, according to spokesmen.
The applications from two advocacy groups, Parents and Children Together and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Oahu, also were drawn.
The lottery system itself is a display of islanders' celebration of Hawaii's diversity. It was devised by the city administration as a way to resolve a challenge from the Hawaii Citizens for Separation of State and Church against having the Christian manger scene appearing on city property. Other cities have banned public religious displays after similar challenges.
The Door of Faith Church's Nativity scene was first erected next to Honolulu Hale in 1991, said the Rev. Steven Zarriello, pastor of the Wahiawa church. Former Mayor Frank Fasi said yes to the church's suggestion that the religious meaning of Christmas be exhibited amid the City Lights displays. Fasi later approved the Mililani Buddhist group's appeal for equal space for its display of Buddha sitting under a bodhi tree. The day Buddha entered a state of nirvana is celebrated on Dec. 8.
In past years a large menorah has been raised by Chabad of Hawaii to mark the Jewish Festival of Lights. This year the eight-day celebration of Hanukkah will be from Nov. 30 through Dec. 7.
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