David Spade has used his comedy podcast to deliver a pointed critique of what he sees as growing discomfort with Christian language in public life, telling listeners that a mall’s decision to avoid using the word “Christmas” at a tree-lighting ceremony was part of a wider pattern that stretches from American shopping centres to violent persecution in parts of Africa.
Speaking on the latest episode of “Fly on the Wall,” the podcast he co-hosts with fellow “Saturday Night Live” alumnus Dana Carvey, the 61-year-old actor described attending a seasonal event that he said never once acknowledged the holiday traditionally associated with the decorated tree on display. Spade told listeners that “Christmas is taking a little bit of a beating lately,” recalling how he watched “a tree-lighting ceremony for the Christmas tree in some dopey mall” where organisers billed it simply as a “tree-lighting ceremony” and, in his words, “were careful not to say the word Christmas during the whole ceremony.”
According to Spade, the decision went beyond clumsy phrasing and reflected a conscious attempt to strip the event of its Christian reference points. He said that if a mall simply promoted “the tree lighting at” a particular location, he could understand the shorthand. What stood out to him, he explained, was the apparent effort to avoid naming the holiday at all. “To consciously avoid that, then what is the tree for?” he asked on the show, before joking that it sounded more like a car dealership promotion, asking whether it was “A December to Remember” and quipping, “Is it a Lexus dealership?”
Carvey, 67, pushed back lightly at first, interjecting with a surprised “No” as Spade laid out his complaint, but he soon agreed that something about the situation felt contrived. He argued that in his experience people of other faiths were not offended by seasonal decorations associated with Christmas, saying he had “never met someone from another religious faith that was upset about a Christmas tree.” The conversation then turned more explicitly to concerns about free expression and the boundaries of acceptable language in public settings.
Carvey said he disliked what he called “the thought police” and added, “I don’t like to have words I can’t use.” Spade, who has often played up a detached, sardonic persona in his stand-up work and on television, struck a more straightforward tone. He said he objected to what he perceived as an “anti-Christian feel” around decisions to remove explicit references to the holiday, noting that “Christmas to me wasn’t really about that because I am Christian.” Carvey jokingly described him as “secular” and a “lapsed” believer, but Spade responded that he saw himself as “just more spiritual,” while still identifying with the Christian faith.
As the discussion continued, Spade linked the mall episode to concerns about the treatment of Christians abroad. He suggested that the faith is treated differently from other religions and asked whether situations such as the renaming of public events were “where we get the hammer,” arguing that “you can’t say that about anyone else.” He went on to say, “We’re taking a beating down in Africa,” describing 2025 as “not the year to be Christian.” Carvey replied, “That’s for sure,” and agreed that “there’s a lot of that going on.”
Spade’s reference to Africa came against a backdrop of growing alarm expressed by advocacy groups about violence against Christians in parts of the continent. A report published in June 2025 by International Christian Concern documented what it described as a “disturbing rise” in attacks on Christians in countries including Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya, detailing killings, kidnappings, village raids and forced displacement carried out by armed groups and extremist militias.
In Nigeria in particular, thousands of civilians have been killed in recent years in violence involving jihadist organisations, communal clashes and bandit gangs. The issue attracted renewed international notice in late October when President Donald Trump formally designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern” for violations of religious freedom, a label under US law that allows sanctions or other diplomatic pressure over systematic abuses. The US State Department cited widespread killings and attacks on Christian communities as part of the rationale.
Religious leaders have also warned about the situation. Pope Leo XIV has highlighted massacres in parts of Nigeria and neighbouring states in public remarks, calling for greater protection for Christian minorities and other vulnerable groups. Popular figures outside traditional religious and political circles have at times weighed in as well; rapper Nicki Minaj used social media earlier this year to condemn reports of church attacks and mass killings, adding celebrity attention to an issue that often draws limited coverage outside specialised human-rights circles.
After outlining that international context, Spade returned on the podcast to the US debate over language and symbolism, arguing that discomfort with explicitly Christian wording around Christmas coexists awkwardly with the willingness to celebrate most other aspects of the season. “We can call it a Christmas tree,” he said, insisting that he would still visit malls and had no desire “to offend people” but questioning why the religious reference alone seemed sensitive. He suggested that society had become more cautious about criticising non-Christian religions while treating Christianity as fair game, saying there were “so many things with different religions” that people were told they were “not allowed to slam,” even as references to his own faith were quietly dropped.
The remarks followed a local controversy in Portland, Oregon, which has become a touchstone in arguments over how public bodies brand seasonal festivities. On 28 November the city held its 41st annual tree-lighting event at Pioneer Courthouse Square, a downtown plaza that hosts the towering evergreen each year. Promotional material shared on official social media accounts referred to it as “Portland’s 41st Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony,” and subsequent posts celebrated that “Portland’s Tree is lit.” The event itself featured a 75-foot Douglas fir donated by a regional timber company and decorated with more than 9,500 LED lights, as well as an appearance by Santa Claus and performances of traditional carols, creating a scene that closely resembled a Christmas celebration even as the word was absent from the branding.
Critics on social media seized on the wording. Independent journalist David Medina wrote on X that “The City of Portland and local media outlets are calling this ‘The Tree’ because they despise Christians like me and many of you so much they can’t bring themselves to say the word ‘Christmas.’” Another conservative account commented that authorities “can’t even say Christmas tree in Portland” and “call it ‘the tree.’” A further post complained that officials were “trying to take the Christmas out of Christmas tree,” arguing that it “always been a Christmas tree, and it will always be a Christmas tree,” and warning that “these people will slowly take everything until there’s nothing left if given the opportunity.”
Portland’s city government has rejected the suggestion that it is erasing Christmas. In a statement responding to the criticism, the office of Democratic Mayor Keith Wilson said he had been “delighted to join Portland’s annual Christmas Tree Lighting alongside Christmas carolers and holiday festivities,” and added that portraying the event as something else “feels like quite the reach.” City officials have argued that the choice of language in promotional material was not intended as a political statement, and the mayor’s office explicitly used the phrase “Christmas Tree Lighting” in its response.
Spade did not identify the mall he was referring to or link his experience directly to Portland. The anecdote he shared on “Fly on the Wall” nonetheless echoed broader disputes over whether cities, schools and businesses should opt for generic “holiday” branding in order to accommodate religious diversity or whether doing so needlessly avoids widely recognised Christian terminology. Similar arguments have appeared periodically in the United States over the phrasing of school concerts, store greetings and even the naming of publicly funded trees, with some institutions alternating between “holiday” and “Christmas” language depending on local sensitivities and legal advice.
For Spade and Carvey, who built their careers in comedy that often pokes fun at cultural trends, the concern voiced on their podcast was framed as part bewilderment and part defence of tradition. Spade summarised his position by saying he would still attend such events and did not want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but he questioned why, in his view, only one word appeared to be off limits. Carvey, while acknowledging that Christmas remained a religious festival for believers, argued that in contemporary America it had also taken on a broader, more secular character. “If you’re of faith, it’s about Christianity,” he said, before adding that he believed “at this point in America, it’s just Christmas. It’s a fun holiday.”
The exchange came as both men continue to occupy prominent places in American entertainment. Spade, who first rose to national attention in the 1990s as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live” and later starred in films such as “Tommy Boy” and “Joe Dirt,” recently released a stand-up special on a major streaming platform and frequently uses his podcast to riff on cultural shifts and generational differences. Carvey, best known for his “Church Lady” and “Garth Algar” characters, has long drawn on religion and politics in his comedy, often approaching sensitive subjects with a mix of satire and nostalgia. Their “Fly on the Wall” collaboration routinely revisits “Saturday Night Live” history and features guest interviews, but it also provides space for unscripted conversations like the one that has now drawn wider attention.
For supporters who share Spade’s concerns, the mall anecdote and the Portland controversy are examples of a creeping reluctance to name Christian holidays even when the symbols remain unmistakable. For others, such branding choices are seen as pragmatic attempts to be inclusive in religiously diverse communities. Spade himself acknowledged that he did not want to offend people and that he planned to keep going to malls regardless. Yet by explicitly tying a low-stakes dispute over event wording to reports of deadly persecution abroad, he sought to place the issue on a broader spectrum of what he views as hostility to Christianity, from the vocabulary of festive advertising to the plight of believers in conflict zones.
The debate his comments touch on is unlikely to be settled by a single podcast episode or a city’s response to social-media criticism. As long as governments and private organisations attempt to navigate the balance between religious traditions and pluralistic public spaces, the question of whether to call a decorated evergreen a “Christmas tree” or simply “the tree” will continue to serve as a symbolic flashpoint, one that figures like Spade and Carvey are prepared to examine aloud in front of millions of listeners.