"The downside, the idiots lit the tree while it was still very light out, and you couldn't see the red, white and blue colors. I suspect that the "city fathers (and mothers) just wanted to get it over with."
You're probably right. However, there was also the possibility that the crowd may have angrily lit up their not-so-little pagan tree into one heck of a bonfire. (After all, with the fire department already there, no one would been hurt by that). ;-)