Bring Back Christmas 2008!

The holiday called Christmas is an amalgam of many winter holidays from around the world. The name is designated as a celebration of the birth of Jesus, although the date is not recorded in the Bible, and people at that time did not place particular important on birth dates. Scientists say the actual date was June 17th, 2BC because of the appearance of the star that beckoned the Magi. December 25th was set as the date for Christmas in the 4th century by Pope Julius I as an attempt to Christianize midwinter pagan holidays such as Solstice and Saturnalia. Customs such as bringing evergreens inside, eating fat-laden foods, and hanging lights are universal responses to the cold, dark winter season. Some of the stranger Christmas traditions are remnants of those older pagan holidays, and some have been changed over the centuries until their origins are hard to discern.

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A school choir was forced to withdraw from a Christmas event because organisers branded its carols ‘too religious’.

Around 60 children aged between seven and 11 had spent six weeks practising favourites including Once In Royal David’s City and Silent Night for the Corringham Winter Festival.

But they were let down at the last minute when their headteacher was informed their programme did not ‘dovetail’ with the festival’s theme.

The event ended up going ahead last week with non-religious music and displays from an Irish school of dancing and performing arts students.

The snub was widely criticised yesterday by furious parents and religious leaders who accused the organisers of pandering to the politically correct brigade.

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Princeton students, faculty, staff and their families are invited to attend the Frist Campus Center’s Winterval celebration from 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10.

The annual winter festival will include live entertainment, a cooking demonstration, a dessert and beverage buffet, cookie and eco-friendly tote bag decorating, a knitting circle and other activities to celebrate the winter season.

Live entertainment will take place outside of Café Vivian beginning at 3 p.m., featuring local jazz pianist Tara Buzash; Princeton student musicians Jeff Campbell, Neil Katuna, Andrew Mack and James Marvel; and the Romanian carolers group Colindatorii.

Chef Rob Harbison, the University’s culinary concept coordinator, will host a live cooking demonstration at 3:30 pm on the 100 level. The featured recipe will be spiced candied almonds. The recipe and samples will be available.

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Priests at Dijon Cathedral in eastern France arranged an unusual Christmas pageant in front of several hundred surprised schoolchildren in 1951. They hanged and burned Santa Claus.

The angry priests accused Santa of occupying more and more space during Christmas. So they took drastic symbolic action.

This year, there’s a new symbolic Christmas villain - the banker.

In London, the evil character in the traditional pantomime Dick Whittington is a malevolent financier intent on making loans to people he knows can’t afford them. He then repossesses their homes.

The global financial grinch is stealing commercial Christmas 2008 and maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

The growth of Santa as the predominant symbol of Christmas in much of the world grew out of the efforts of retail wizards who rightly anticipated making a financial killing if they could convince people to buy gifts.

It wasn’t always a commercial season. It used to primarily celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and rampant gift-giving only became a social necessity at the end of the 19th century.

In recent times, for most people, it has ceased to be a religious festival. The churches do good business on Christmas Day, but probably most revellers are in the back pews for that one day a year only because they like the songs or the pretty lights.

You can predict what will happen in the next couple of weeks.

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We at Tullie House would like to reassure The Reiver that use of the word “Christmas” is definitely not to be avoided here.

Indeed it is to be welcomed, with many of our staff already feeling festive and ready to welcome members of the public to our range of Christmas activities.

The phrases “Season’s Greetings,” and “Compliments of the Season” first began to appear on Christmas cards in the late 19th century – a time long before political correctness gripped the nation and the word “Winterval” was dreamed up.

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A council has been accused of “mollycoddling” children after banning a historic ritual of firing muskets before turning on a town’s Christmas lights.

Wimborne Militia will not volley shots over the Christmas tree in the Dorset town this year because organisers of the event say it frightens children.

But the Militia, which re-enacts traditions dating back to the 17th century, said the historic custom of “scouring” the tree to scare spirits will add colour to the event.

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Oxford city council confirmed the events in the city would be renamed ‘Winter Light Festival’ to make them more inclusive, provoking outrage among shoppers in the city who called for a return to tradition.

The idea has come from the charity Oxford Inspires, the cultural development agency for the county, which runs the celebrations.

Sabir Hussain Mirza, chairman of the Muslim Council of Oxford, said: “I am really upset about this. Christians, Muslims and other religions all look forward to Christmas.”

Fr Brian Van-Dungey, a priest in Garsington, Oxon, said: “I am a Christian and pleased to see my Muslim brothers joining in the condemnation of this stupid and dangerous idea; this sort of thinking creates racial problems and should be stopped in its tracks.”

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It seems Target in the USA plan their Christmas early.

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Bossess at Yorkshire Coast College have removed the words Christmas and Easter from their calendar so as not to cause offence to ethnic minorities or religious groups.
The Evening News was tipped off about the move by an outraged member of staff who described the college as “a joke” and Scarborough MP Robert Goodwill has slammed the initiative as “political correctness gone mad”.

A college spokesman said the decision had been made in accordance with Ofsted guidelines and was aimed at increasing inclusion and diversity.

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Muslim leaders joined Britain’s equality watchdog Monday in urging Britons to enjoy Christmas without worrying about offending non-Christians.

“It’s time to stop being daft about Christmas. It’s fine to celebrate and it’s fine for Christ to be star of the show,” said Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Mr. Phillips, reflecting on media reports of schools scrapping nativity plays and local councils celebrating “Winterval” instead of Christmas, worried the unintended consequences of secularizing the holiday would “fuel community tension.”

So he joined forces with minority religious leaders to put out a blunt message to the politically correct: leave Christmas alone.

Muslim Council of Britain spokesman Shayk Ibrahim Mogra said, “To suggest celebrating Christmas and having decorations offends Muslims is absurd. Why can’t we have more nativity scenes in Britain?”

“Hindus celebrate Christmas, too. It’s a great holiday for everyone living in Britain,” said Anil Bhanot, general secretary of the UK Hindu Council.

Sikh spokesman Indarjit Singh said: “Every year I am asked ‘Do I object to the celebration of Christmas?’ It’s an absurd question. As ever, my family and I will send out our Christmas cards to our Christian friends and others.”

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