He also said he had been influenced by Philadelphia's history as "a city of tolerance" and one that is multiethnic and multifaith. "Christmas means a lot of different things to different people," he said.
The mayor's comments were his first public remarks on a controversy that seemed to spread by the hour over the last three days. On Monday, Thomas Bauer of German American Marketing, who runs the 50-vendor village here, took down the word Christmas after conferring with city Managing Director Richard Negrin, who told him that some city workers and residents had complained about the sign.
By Wednesday, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia had released a statement expressing "disappointment" in "the city's decision" to remove the word Christmas. City Council was poised to consider a resolution Thursday calling for Christmas to be celebrated and recognized by the City of Philadelphia.
It was business as usual at the outdoor market Wednesday evening. Customers trickled through as vendors seemed eager to get back to selling their wares and not being interviewed about the clash.
Sheikha Maryam Kabeer Faye, a Sufi Muslim and vendor of garments at the market, said she was not bothered by the name and hoped something could come from the controversy.
"This is not a problem," she said. "This is an opportunity for deeper thinking about this."
Ashley Mang, 25, casually browsing some of the booths, said that the market was beautiful and that she didn't care what the place was called.
"I think people are too sensitive, on both ends," she said. "And in this day and age, how much of Christmas is about Christ anyway?"
