TENAFLY — Jason Alvator was approaching the second course of a five-course Christmas Eve dinner with his family when the doorbell rang. At the door was Peter Rustin, the mayor of Tenafly, with an unexpected request.

"I thought he was here to thank me for doing such a great job with the luminaries," said Alvator.

He was referring to the roughly 300 luminaries that lined leafy Joyce Road at dusk on Christmas Eve, a communal effort Alvator had undertaken with several neighbors and neighborhood kids. Alvator's father did it when he was a kid and he wanted to revive the tradition, which he says is non-religious and demonstrates community spirit. Neighbors from a number of different faiths participated, he said.

But Rustin had a different reason for knocking on the second-year resident's door.

"He was there to be the bearer of bad news – he said I would have to remove all the luminaries because one of my neighbors complained [that] as a Jew he took grave offense to the lights."

According to Alvator, Rustin said that while he thought the luminaries were "beautiful" and was not personally offended, he, as a fellow Jew, could understand why one would take offense.

Since the Christmas Eve chat, the story has gone somewhat viral, framed as an example of the purported "War on Christmas" on Breitbart.com. Rustin has received emails from all corners of the United States asking, "What type of town is Tenafly, exactly?"

Alvator and Rustin both agree that the mayor said a Jewish neighbor complained that the luminary was on the street in front of his property. That's mostly where the similarities to their stories end. Alvator says Rustin never mentioned any ordinances were broken. Rustin says he did.

Rustin says the request to have the luminaries removed on Christmas Eve had nothing to do with religion or religious tolerance.

"The reality of it is he put 200-300 luminaries in the street and you're not allowed to place anything in our streets without permission," Rustin told NJ.com. "He has since claimed he got permission from the police and fire department, but that's not true."

If every homeowner agreed to the presence of a luminary in front of their home and Alvator sought permission from the council and was granted it, Rustin said he would have no problem with the display.

"The reality is he did something wrong and rather than apologizing, he's shining a bad light on me," Rustin said, adding that he's "disappointed" that Tenafly is being falsely thought of as a non-progressive town as a result of the publicity.

Alvator says his family's Christmas was "dampened" by the demand to remove the luminaries during dinner. "It was inappropriate of the mayor to do," he said, noting that he believes Rustin overstepped the bounds of his authority.

Alvator still intends to light the luminaries with neighbors next year. It won't be in the street though. He says he and his neighbors will be placing them squarely on private property.