Surestart seem to have misplaced Christmas

[Zebra 10]

I received the local Surestart magazine this morning which details all the 'Winter Celebrations' taking place at the local toddler groups etc.

I am disgusted to see that Surestart have given in to the ridiculous overly pc terminology which is swallowing traditional Britain.

I have no objection to other cultures/religions celebrating their own festivals and values but I strongly object to losing Christmas in the pc dictionary.

So, I rang them up and voiced my complaints and also told them that I won't be attending any of the events with my children as a result of it.

If no one speaks up about this, eventually Christmas will become an antiquated word associated with racism and prejudice and it will no longer reflect an ancient religion and tradition in the UK which the majority of us still have strong value for.

[fox20thc 10]

And what was their reply when you called them?

[Strix 11]

did any of these 'winter celebrations' include nativity plays or carol services or are they non-pc now too?

[Zebra 10]

They said there had already been a lot of discussion about it and they would pass my concerns onto the relevent people.

They also said that Surestart do not recognise any one religion, including Christianity and therefore they weren't leaving it out. I pointed out that Winter is just a season, nothing really celebrate (unless your an earth child type) and that the reason for the parties is that Christmas is almost here. (There was no denial.)

Plus, since the advert for the parties is decorated with a Christmas wreath and a snowman, it's actually kind of hypocritical. The snowman - fair enough - wintery. The wreath - totally Christmassy.

There was no suggestion of what the 'celebrations' might entail but since at least one of them takes place at a church, I can guarantee there will be Christmas decorations up.

I think another thing which adds to the annoyance is that the group I run is having a Christmas party next week and we have several Muslim women who come with their kids who are also coming to the party and whom we are buying gifts for. There are no objections on either side, they're just joining in. One of them invited us to their Eid celebrations last month too. That's great. So why can't Surestart do it?

[KenH 10]

What we now have IS a winter celebration and NOT Christmas.

 

Christmas starts on Christmas day and carries on for 12 nights. Those people who put up trees and get drunk several weeks before the real Christmas are celebrating something else which I assume must be a "winter celebration". Those people who take everything down a week early and book their summer holidays are missing out on the real Christmas and shouldn't use that term.

[fox20thc 10]

Well our nursery has a nativity scene and christmas trees oh lots of lovely things. And we are having a christmas party and will be doing carols.

 

NB: for the pc brigade, as part of the ofsted requirement to raise awareness and understanding of other cultures and religions we also recognise and acknowledge other celebrations including eid and diwali.

[Strix 11]

I think another thing which adds to the annoyance is that the group I run is having a Christmas party next week and we have several Muslim women who come with their kids who are also coming to the party and whom we are buying gifts for. There are no objections on either side, they're just joining in. One of them invited us to their Eid celebrations last month too. That's great. So why can't Surestart do it?

Well exactly! Imagine trying to stamp out any other religious festival

 

How can we attain harmony amongst society if we aren't allowed to share in these festivals together? They are exacerbating the problem

[Titian 10]

WInter celebrations/Christmas/Diwali etc. etc.

 

It doesn't really matter as they all stem from the same thing....coming of light. They stem from the fear that the failing light could be counteracted by celebrations of light.

[Zebra 10]

But the way each religion celebrates is very different and the understanding of it is often different too.

[fox20thc 10]

You still didn't tell us what surestarts response to the rant was

[Strix 11]

I want to know why, if it's a winter celebration advert, haven't they listed all the events for every religion over this period? Wouldn't that have made most sense?

[Zebra 10]

Fox - it was just that they'll pass it on, literally, just what I said above and no more than that. I'd hope to hear more from them about it but I doubt it.

Strix - exactly!