Have a Holly, Jolly Sparklefest

Cambridge would like to wish you a very merry...Sparklefest?

The Harvard Square Business Association (HSBA) kicked off its annual wintertime celebration Sunday night with a “holiday tree” lighting, where Cantabrigians hung bags of winter apparel—hats, scarves and gloves—for those in need.

HSBA executive director Denise A. Jillson said she thought of the tree as a “giving tree” and “to the extent that I can continue to keep the tree supplied throughout the season, I will.”

Sparklefest takes its non-denominational name from the way the lights look over Mass. Ave, Jillson said.

“I think it’s definitely good to use a more traditionally neutral name,” said Zeba A. Syed ‘09, chair of the Harvard College Interfaith Council (HCIC). “If they called it a Christmas or a Hanukkah celebration, some religions might not feel as comfortable attending.”

Though both Santa Claus and latkes make an appearance at this month’s events, the words Christmas and Hanukkah are notably absent from the Sparklefest itinerary.

The HSBA Web site invites the community to celebrate “a Festival of Lights”—not Hannukah—at an event called “Everyone Loves Latkes.” Santa and his pal Curious George will be at a “welcoming tent” this Sunday.

Hosting such secular holiday gatherings has not always passed without comment.

In 2005, when Boston officially renamed its spruce tree a “holiday” tree, both Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the televangelist Rev. Jerry Falwell voiced objections, with Falwell threatening the city with a lawsuit. Even Donnie Hatt, the man who chopped down the tree, said that “Boston should just put ‘Return to Sender’ on it because we sent it as a Christmas tree, not a holiday tree.”