LAKEWOOD — At the skating rink in Belmar, the trees are trimmed with colorful glass balls; the lights are red, white and green; and the music is nothing but Christmas tunes.
It is a Rockwell painting anyone can walk right into.
“It seems pretty nondenominational,” said Corey Inouye of Northglenn.
But is that a good thing?
For years, the display outside Denver’s City and County Building has attracted attention for its religious — and not so religious — themes. More recently, Fort Collins’ combustive debate over how much Christ should be in Christmas and how much Christmas should be in public holiday displays has highlighted quieter discussions taking place across the region.
On Saturday in public spots from Lakewood to Littleton to Denver, there was no shouting over the varied takes on decorations. Most folks said they enjoyed the decorations, no matter what they were. But, in ways both soft and subtle, the debate continued.
“I think they’re getting too secular,” said Brenda Berdahl, who took her family to the skating rink Saturday. “Part of Christmas is religious. It’s just going to look too sanitary.”
Jessica Inouye, Corey’s wife, said it isn’t important for such displays to be religious.
“It’s not going to change our faith because of what’s hanging on a wall,” said Inouye, who went to the rink so their 3-year-old son, Marcus, could go ice-skating for the first time. “The lights are great, and the trees are pretty. But that’s not what Christmas is about for us.”
In downtown Littleton, where a sign hung above the street saying “Happy Holidays,” Martin and Lisa Schweitzer said they thought the area struck the right tone.
“We like it,” Martin said. “We’re religious people, but with the diversity in Littleton, you can’t push the religious aspect too much.”
But eating lunch outside Abe’s Cafe, Joanne and Leonard Schroth said they wished there was more Christmas in the decorations, though they wouldn’t mind if other religions were also given space.
“I don’t want to delete the Christmas aspect of it,” Joanne said.
And in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood, a whole different approach to holiday decorations has taken shape. The trees lining Welton Street are wrapped in multicolored lights, with a variety of shapes — loops, squares, triangles — in the branches.
The idea, said Perry Ayers, director of the “Art of Lights” project, is to transcend the debates about who should be represented in a display and create something that everyone can enjoy.
“Let’s think outside the box on this,” Ayers said. “Let’s give our city a little more flair.”
John Ingold: 303-954-1068 or jingold@denverpost.com
