What’s in a name? Turns out, plenty of emotion. Last year, Tulsa’s Christmas Parade of Lights became the Holiday Parade of Lights, and controversy over the name change has not abated since.

Today people who want the word Christmas restored to the name petitioned Tulsa City Council. Council members have the final say in the parade process.

This morning, they were asked to approve the parade’s permit before the parade itself could go forward this Saturday. Councilors heard more than an hour of testimony, with seven people urging that the permit be denied, and five requesting that the parade be allowed to take place.

Jess Bowers owns an alpaca ranch in Oklahoma. He was all set to show his alpacas in the parade, but says parade applicants were sold a bill of goods. He claims the original parade applications he received were titled “Tulsa Christmas Parade of Lights.” Bowers said he didn’t know anything about the name change till recently. He told council members, “The parade organizers have offended us.” Bowers withdrew his alpacas from the parade.

Senator James Inhofe is also sitting out the event. Parade organizer Larry Fox says 3 of the 65 to 70 parade participants have withdrawn because of the controversy.

The application paperwork issue was just one of the issues mentioned during the council debate. Overall, opponents of the parade were incensed that Christmas would be taken from the name. Proponents say the name change is much ado about nothing—the switch was made to be more inclusive and that anyone who wants to include Christmas on their floats or banners is free to do so.

In the end, the majority of council voted to approve the parade permit– with the Holiday name — with a vote of 5-3.