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Between a rock and a Christmas tree over West Chester’s celebration

For 30 years, the lighting of a giant Christmas tree on the lawn of Chester County's historic courthouse has been a hallmark of West Chester's Christmas parade.

For 30 years, the lighting of a giant Christmas tree on the lawn of Chester County's historic courthouse has been a hallmark of West Chester's Christmas parade.

Last week, a county government ruling put the location of the 31st tree-lighting ceremony in limbo.

Now, members of the Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce, the event's sponsor, are scrambling to determine whether they can showcase their 30-foot-high tree in its usual location: the courthouse lawn at the corner of Market and High Streets.

Katie Walker, the chamber president, said Tuesday that, in response to her request, the commissioners have agreed to meet with her Wednesday.

"The chamber's desire is to work with the county," she said. "We are confident that we can come to an agreement."

The parade anchors Old-Fashioned Christmas, the chamber's 31/2-day extravaganza that includes choral, instrumental, and theatrical performances and requires more than nine months of preparation. Police estimated attendance at last year's parade, which gets bigger "and more exciting" every year, Walker said, at 30,000.

Last Thursday, Republican Chester County Commissioners Carol Aichele and Terence Farrell voted to end the practice of allowing groups of any persuasion - including atheists - to put up decorations at the courthouse. Democratic Commissioner Kathi Cozzone opposed the change.

Farrell said the idea to control the display stemmed from an inspiring interaction he had had recently with a World War II veteran. The new display, expected to include Supreme Court-sanctioned elements such as Santa, a tree, a creche, and a menorah, will also honor the men and women of the armed forces, Farrell said.

The previous policy - an inclusive approach that followed a failed, divisive effort early in the decade to remove a Ten Commandments plaque from the courthouse wall - had generated its share of conflict.

For the last several years, the array included the Chamber of Commerce tree, a menorah, a creche, and a 12-foot "Godless Holiday Tree," also called the "Tree of Knowledge," decorated by the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia with atheism-related book covers.

Two years ago, Baby Jesus was stolen from the manger, and last year the Pennsylvania Pastors Network, the group that owned the creche, requested a location farther away from the Freethought Society's tree, Farrell said.

Such unpeaceful coexistence prompted Cozzone to suggest that the county end all displays. However, Farrell and Aichele voted that the county should take ownership of its own seasonal displays and revoked previous policies.

Margaret Downey, founder of the Freethought Society, said her group was protesting the new policy, which she viewed as a veiled attempt to exclude nontheists.

The society is gathering signatures on a petition opposing the policy, inviting people to view a "virtual tree" online and reaching out to the Jewish community.

Downey said the group mailed a letter to Rabbi Yossi Kaplan of Chabad Lubavitch of Chester County, urging solidarity against religious discrimination and expressing hope that the spotlight presently shining on Chester County would show "equal representation on the public grounds of a government building."

A national poll showed that 15 percent of Americans were nontheists, Downey said. She said that her group offered to donate its tree to the county, but that it had not received a response.

For the Chamber of Commerce, a decision to donate its tree was more complicated, Walker, its president, said.

The tree was a gift to the chamber in 2006 from the Ciccarone family "in loving memory of Norma Ciccarone," who epitomized the holiday spirit. Walker said that Ciccarone's grandson, Tom Ciccarone, is a chamber board member and that other members wanted to make sure he was part of any decision, whether donating the tree or placing it elsewhere.

Asked what the chamber would do if it could not reach accord with the commissioners, Walker said she preferred to remain optimistic.

"No more 'bah, humbug'; I refuse to hear it," she said.

If she's wrong and the tree is rejected, it won't be homeless, she said, expressing gratitude for the community outpouring of other options.

"Somehow," Walker said, "we'll make it work."