The End of Christmas?

[Nanor]

Well, a government "Think-tank" in the UK has had the wise idea to 'downgrade' Christmas unless other religious holidays are marked on the same footing. Link.

Personally, I think this is completely stupid. He says 3/4 of employers are not putting up Christmas decorations "For fear of offending staff of other cultures". Offending? I don't know about you but when I see the star of David or a statue of Buddha I'm sure as hell not offended!

Apparently, it's to make immigrants able to settle in easier. If you're immigrating to a predominantly Christian country (I'm not sure about England, but it'd say it's still predominantly Christian, it certainly is over here in Ireland) you've researched it thoroughly and know that Christmas is a very, very big thing! I find it foolish that a foreigner is let into a country to live and work and they demand that things be changed! If you don't like it, don't move surely! Isn't that like you staying at a friends house and demanding he changes the wallpaper or changes what there is for dinner?

Ofcourse, I agree with "Even-handedness dictates that we provide public recognition to minority cultures and traditions.". I agree that other cultures should be given places to pray, and religious events should be recognised but I don't believe we should change our whole way of life to suit people who we're letting into our countries!

What do you all think?

 

[thatbloke]

if ANYONE tries to do ANYTHING to change Christmas I am going to walk into the House of commons and kill every single one of those fuckers.

A very extreme statement I know, but it is simply inexcusable.

I have no problem with other cultures celebrating their religious event/holidays/whatever. I also have no problem with them displaying icons of their fatih publicly. This works two ways.

But all of this bullshit about "Not wanting to offend other religions/cultures/faiths" works two ways too. This is a multi-cultural society and apart from an extreme and very small minority people of other cultures/faiths/religions tolerate and accommodate all of our own holidays and festivals just as we do theirs.

Why is it that to have a "Multi-cultural" tag our country must first eradicate all signs of our own culture?

 

[elDiablo]

I just see this as the UK losing a bit more of it's own identity and becoming more of a Nation of Other Cultures. I'm not against immigrants, I just don't like the idea of losing what makes us the UK.

 

[Wraith]

I think this is a ridiculous idea. Christmas is a big part of living in the UK and always has been.

I can see at least 2 main groups who celebrate Christmas in this country. Firstly, there are people like me - not particularly religious for whom Christmas is a time of year to concentrate on family, have a bit of a break from work and to just celebrate being alive and well with people you care about. There is NOTHING in that which should offend anyone else, religious or not. In fact, many of the best known symbols of Christmas (Christmas trees and mince pies to name just two) are secular in origin. Even Father Christmas - who was originally based on the story of a saint - is not in his current form in any way related to Christianity.

The second group that would have particular reason to celebrate Christmas is obviously Christians. Now this is what the politicians argument is clearly based on, but I think their argument is flawed. They argue that reducing the impact of Christmas will avoid offending other religions, but they don't seem to have considered that lessening Christmas will offend Christianity. The whole point of equality is so that no-one gets offended. How is it therefore acceptable to avoid offending the less prominent religions in the country if a side effect of that is offending the biggest religion? In my opinion that's not equality - that's predjudice.

If they do want to do something then they should raise the profile of other religions holy periods rather than reducing the one we have now.

 

[DocBot]

not to be a polemicist, but this has already happened, is actually an ongoing process and has been for as long as there have been people living on your islands, and the fact that it has, and is, is what makes you the UK... (as it is here in Sweden, and basically anywhere that isn't completely cut off from everywhere else, and also populated solely by aboriginals). That said, we do have similar issues here as well. Live and let live, I say.

 

[DocBot]

I do believe it's a mashup of a lot of different pre-christian traditions, coupled with some christian ones.

 

[elDiablo]

Indeed, I realise it has happened, is still happening, and will continue to happen, I just wise it would happen in a less destructive way I have no intention of making everyone who comes to the UK to live take part in anything which is part of an opposing religion to their own, but I wise people would stop worrying that we might offend these people when they are part of the beliefs that are held by the majority of the country. I mean, yes it's a religious holiday, but it's also just a celebration, not a dig at other's religions.

That being said, I'm an Atheist, and I still want Christmas!

 

[thatbloke]

the government go on about the fact that we MAY offend someone by practicing our own religion/faith/whatever around people not native to our own culture, but when was the last time you heard people from these "minorities" actually moan that we were offending them???

Never.

 

[waterproofbob]

Christmas is not really a Religious festival anymore, which I consider a great shame but hey. It's now more like the american's thanksgiving as a gathering with loved ones where everyone eats a large meal and gives gifts to friends and family. Although it IS officially a Christian holiday there's very little given over to that aspect these days. As elD says he's an atheist as is bloke and they both love christmas.
I think maybe a large tank visiting the think tank could be one solution to this problem. I think it's insanely over PC to think that somehow christmas is offensive, imo if you come to live in this country you live with the customs. If I were going to live in India I wouldn't be offended by Dewali. It seems just another case that the minority have the country wrapped around it's little finger. I have no problem with people coming to this country to get work and to make lives for themselves and I think the idea of a multi-cultural society is an idyllic notion that I'd love to see work well but surely all things like this are going to do is further segregate the country, which I believe is what they are attempting to avoid.

 

[Ghostwolf67]

I could rant and rave about this topic for hours... hell i could write a book. This stuff gets to me because its our culture. I cant fathom why people would look upon, of all the things within our culture, at christmas as the cause of some ill other than a large consumer boom at the end of the year. Sure there are problems with the way christmas is becoming. Overhyping and such. But for the love of common sense christmas is what it is because we as a country made it that way. And now the minorities feel ill treated because we celebrate our own holiday better than we celebrate theirs? What are they jealous or something? Go to the country that spawned your religeon and i'm sure the festivities are just as big maybe even bigger than what we have here. And i'm sure that if a half a million Uk citizens emigrated into said country and began complaining that christmas wasnt celebrated enough they'd probably get laughed at.

Congratualtions the governing bodies of this country. I applaud the new low you have sunk to.

 

[Gombol]

imo...simply put...

if people wish to move to this country...they shouldnt make us change our ways to accomidate them...they should make their own way...i mean..last year at college we had this Korean kid in our class...you would say "hello" to him...and he would look at you as much to say "WTF you on about" and say "what" and it would repeat about 5 times before he got the point...people come into this country some of whitch can hardly speak english...if they are gunna live in our country..they should learn our language...instead of attempting to ask/tell us stuff in their wn language...