Have you received an e-mail that’s been floating around the internet in recent weeks, telling the story of an artist who always paints an ornament for the annual White House Christmas tree? According to the e-mail, she received a letter this year telling her not to use any religious themes in her ornament. The e-mail also notes that the trees at the White House will be referred to as “Holiday Trees” instead of Christmas Trees this year. Is this rumor true?

According to Snopes.com (always a good mythbusting source), the answer is no. Christians in America can rest assured that the trees at the White House will continue to be called Christmas Trees, and a White House representative says that no such letter went out to anyone.

Perhaps this rumor got its start from a recent controversy surrounding the Capitol Christmas Tree, which is decorated each year with ornaments made by residents from a chosen state. This year, the tree is being decorated with ornaments made by citizens of Arizona, who did receive information that stated no religious or political themes could be used in the ornaments. However, a government spokesperson also says that this information was outdated and has since been corrected. (Although during the last 3 years, religious ornaments have been prohibited from the Capitol Christmas Tree. No one has specified what inspired this change or why President Bush’s administration chose to disallow them.)