Remember my BORIS SAVES CHRISTMAS story last week? Apparently following the delivery of the tree Boris was told he couldn't have any Christian decorations on it. This morning I was sent the above photo from the GLA Conservative Group who have taken matters into their own hands. Victoria Borwick AM said: " We want to celebrate all religious festival at city hall and it is important to remember the real meaning of Christmas."
Good on them.
And for those who don't seem to get it, Christmas is called Christmas for a reason. The clue comes in the first six letters of the word.
36 comments:
Iain.
Boris has really got something with this, and I congratulate him and you for giving it the publicity it deserves.
Wouldn't it be good if Cameron was to shake the Churches by promising put CHRIST back into Christmas.
Now, I am no christian fundamentalist by any shakes. But I am sick and tired of these politically correct councils and schools demeaning the Christmas spirit.
I have seen only one store with a crib scene in their window's and that was at Cheshire Oaks Retail Park.
LETS PUT CHRIST BACK INTO CHRISTMAS.
Christ almighty Iain. This is old hat and so much rubbish. Most of the examples appear to come from the States. Christ Back Into Christmas muppets are as bad as Winterval muppets in my book.
Isn't Christmas all about Baby P?
Leave it to Chris Paul to lower the tone. C-H-R-I-S-T MAS - What part of this don't you understand?
who told boris he couldn't have Christmas decorations ???
name names !!!!
Fantastic.
However perhaps city hall should watch out the crib scene as there seem to be some batteries hanging out the bottom of it.
If Boris really wants to do Christmas well he should invite some of the homeless to doss down in city hall for a few nights.
Round about now non-Christians usually start bombarding newsspapers and magazines with shrill articles about how Christmas isn't a religious festival and going into the boring details about how they spend Christmas, what they eat and how they cook it. Its a lesson in what aliens would say if they knew about Christmas in theory but not in practice.
Two quick things:
As far as I know it's more or less beyond dispute that Christmas was purposefully aligned with pre-existing pagan festivals (Solstice etc.) to maximise support and that any historical analysis of Christ's birth has it early autumn. So can we please spare everyone this 'It's about Christ' nonsense - it's not, it's an ancient holiday season which has meant different things to different people over thousands of years. Get over it....
Secondly can I echo DavidC's comments about putting some substance to these allegations? If we're going combat genuine Political correctness and its more malign & serious consequences we need really need to be able to spot the alarmist nonsense that sometimes accompanies it. Can anyone produce a single, verifiable & contemporary example of a public body banning references to Christmas, Christian symbolism etc?
Until I see that I won't get too worked up about this.....
I hope they are going to burn a Yule log.
I have no problem with Christian accoutrements around the place. If you want it go for it. But I still find it rather perverse that Christians want to fight over decorations on a tree or some such considering that Xmas trees have nothing to do with Christianity nor even does the date have anything to do with Christianity (all co-opted from pre-Christian times). This is missing the point entirely about the birth of Jesus Christ and the core values of Christianity. If the Mayor and the GLA want to be good Christians then they should get out of their offices this Xmas and help feed and cloth the homeless or other such Christian charitable activity. The Mayor should be saying that even though there a tough economic times it is important that Christians keep giving what they can to charities (money or second hand goods) or get out and donate your time. That's Xmas. That's Christianity IMO.
Iain, you've certainly got the "true" meaning of Christmas down.
It's all about making a big partisan political football out of the matter.
Right on, Iain. I've been rabbiting on about this for weeks.
I am Jewish and I find the de-Christmasing of Christmas in the UK profoundly depressing. Seeing or being wished "Merry Christmas" does not offend me in the slightest, what does depress me is the way that we are meant to kow-tow to minority feelings whilst in the process offending the majority population.
People who think it's ok to celebrate Eid but can't have Christian symbols at City Hall should be named and shamed.
They should watch the Coronation and read about Henry VIII, this country is constitutionally Christian.
And Holiday is called Holiday for a reason:
Middle English holidai, holy day, from Old English hlig dæg : hlig, holy; see holy + dæg, day; see day
Chris Paul: " This is old hat and so much rubbish. Most of the examples appear to come from the States".
Lefty twats like Chris Paul are always spouting nonsense like this - we have several examples every year. This year there was the one where a woman was told by her housing association to take her lights down in case it offended her Bengali neighbours. Admittedly she'd put them up at the start of November which really annoys ME - BUT that wasn't the reason given for the order.
Chris Paul et al should shut the hell up sometimes. Go and get a life.
Ranter - disinclined though I am to come to Chris Paul's defence I have to refer you to my comment c.11.30?
When your argument starts "This year there was the one where..." without any sources, names, corroboration etc. you know you're on very shaky ground.
If we can't put more
Chris Paul.
I am honoured to be called a muppet by you.
Having insulted the armed services yesterday. The police a week or so ago and now christians. You are a sad individual.
A Christian Merry Christmas to you.
Well done and well said Iain.
It does seem to me that a lot of these stories are hyped up to fit a preconceived view of Christmas being under attack. It's worth giving the Mail's account of the 'Take down your Christmas lights' story, a close and critical reading. There is no suggestion in it that the woman had been told to take down her lights or that there was any religious objection to them. The only concrete statement was that she had been told that they might offend the neighbours - given that the lights were clearly pretty garish and had been up since the first week of November, the offence could well have been aesthetic. The fact is that right-wing papers are on the look out for stories of this sort and are not averse to moulding and massaging the facts.
Jesus wept
This is great news but I'm sad that we have to be thankfull that just one of Labours mad polictical correctness has gone!
I'm looking forward to the Tories killing off the rest of the lefts idiotic polictical correctness.
Excellent. When I lived in Easton in Bristol, with a large Muslim community, no-one seemed offended by a Christmas tree on display; indeed, our neighbours would wish us Happy Christmas on Christmas Day.
PC is for the feeble-minded.
Chris Paul is always with us. Clearly you do not recall Oxfam pulling Xmas trees to avoid offending the hard of thinking
I thought Dave Hill did a pretty good job at showing you this was all nonsense: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/davehillblog/2008/dec/15/boris-london2
Correct me if I'm wrong but I suspect that may be the first sighting of Wise Men in a tory group photo. Perhaps they're applying for all these advisor vacancies that keep opening up.
Well done GLA Conservatives! The socialist bureaucrats (even Boris won't be able to get rid of all of them - they stick like superglue) hopefully will start to get the message Red Ken has gone and that the largest religion in the UK can be celebrated once again at City Hall.
"Matthew Cain said...
I thought Dave Hill did a pretty good job at showing you this was all nonsense: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/davehillblog/2008/dec/15/boris-london2"
I couldn't disagree more. The conclusion of his article, and key point as far as I can see, is that it is contradictory for Iain/ Boris to advocate these views when they are not actually Christians. A more ridiculous point I have not heard. That is like saying that Trevor Phillips is unable to promote women's rights, that Peter Hain should not have been an anti-Apartheid campaigner, or that Gordon Brown should not be able make policy that does not impact on Scotland (on second thoughts, scrub that last one... he shouldn't be able to).
Cassilus, I read the papers, local and national as well as watch and listen to the news, although possibly not to the same degree you and other here do.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1094868/Mother-told-Christmas-lights--case-offend-non-Christian-neighbours.html
The above is the link to the story I referred to. You too can also go and get a life.
Ranter - can I suggest you read this story again before you continue to make a fool of yourself?
She was asked to take them down because they were potentially offensive or intrusive for the whole community and were up too early (something you agreed with) - the religion / nationality of the neighbours wasn't mentioned by the council once.
It was a supposition by the Mail because it fitted the narrative they were pushing.
So the post has been up all day, c.30 comments and plenty of 'Well done Iain / Boris' type remarks & still not a single link or verifiable story that there's any substance to this at all....
Cassilis,
You'll be telling them there's no Santa next.
Cassilus/Liam, listen to yourself you patronising, pedantic buffoon!
I'll take that as concession then Ranter...?
Now I thought that you would, you seem like the sort, and it does take all sorts doesn't it? I know you'll want the last word too. It's yours.
Can someone tell me what is ‘Christian’ about a Christmas tree? I thought that the tradition of displaying such trees at this time of year in Britain only really began in the late 18th, early 18th century?
AS someone who has worked at City Hall for the past 7 years I can’t recall a year when there was NOT a Christmas tree on display at the reception in City Hall. Nor can I not recall the GLA not having a staff Christmas party every year. Nor can I not recall seeing Christmas cards sent out by the previous Mayor. I even have attended a Christian carol service every year put on by Transport for London. The then Chair of TfL; Ken Livingstone. Get my drift?
Quite frankly I am more concerned, as will lots of people who live and work in London be come January, that although Boris will save me about £13 a year on my Council Tax Bill the cost of my three zone travelcard will rise by £180 a year. So thanks to Boris I am £167 a year worse off.
If Labour (for who I have no love) hadn’t already nicked the line I think I would probably label Boris as “Scrooge” at this time, not the saviour of Christmas. And I suspect a number of people would like to suggest to the Boris and the GLA Tories where they can stick their Christmas tree when they go back to work after the Christmas break when renewing their season tickets.
Not only does the Christmas Tree not have much to do with Christmas(something the early Christians didn't celebrate)but even the Nativity scene has non-Christian origins;Isis and the Baby Horus,the cattle(The Bull- Mithraism)and the Three Wise Men (Zoroastrians).Zoroastrianism being the dominant religion of the Middle East at that time.
Much of the modern Christmas we owe to Charles Dickens,a Unitarian.
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