Out on a limb: Menino to light 'Christmas tree'
Mayor Thomas M. Menino confirmed yesterday that the tree he will light Thursday on the Boston Common is a Christmas tree.
''I grew up with a Christmas tree, I'm going to stay with a Christmas tree," he said.
Last week, the Liberty Counsel's ''Friend or Foe" Christmas Campaign, which is threatening to sue cities and school districts around the country it contends are ''discriminating against religion" this holiday season, targeted Boston because the city's website refers to the tree on the Common as a ''holiday tree."
After city officials said the tree was a Christmas tree, the campaign, whose most prominent spokesman is the Rev. Jerry Falwell, claimed victory on its website.
But the mayor dismissed the idea that he had changed his position.
''I don't need Jerry Falwell or anybody else to tell me it's a Christmas tree," he said.
LISA WANGSNESS 