That prayer to Jesus is inappropriate at a company party?

No other religion would allow this. Imagine Muslim/jewish holiday where people are not allowed to pray. It would cause an outrage. Or a non Muslim person celebrating Ramadan just for the fun of it would be seen as cultural appropriation.

They aren't, they're celebrating an end of year festival with their work colleagues at the company's expense and the chance for once to let their hair down, eat, drink and be merry. However, if you wish to be a killjoy, do feel free to join the other evangelicals in campaigning for only Christians to ever be permitted to use the term "Christmas" and everyone else to enjoy the traditional end of year winter festival that predates Christianity however the hell they want.

There’s a lot of people with a lot of views on MN. That they don’t all align to yours doesn’t make them insincere.

This is of course true, but they can not align with my views and be insincere.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but people saying, "But Christmas has 'Christ' in its name!" with wide-eyed (faux) innocence, as if they're totally unaware that many, many people in this country celebrate Christmas without considering themselves to be Christian, sound insincere to me.

Christmas celebrations mean different things to different people. We all have our own special traditions. As atheists doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate the holiday.

Then maybe they shouldn’t be celebrating Christmas?

I feel that the OP isn’t being entirely truthful though. I find it heard to believe that this even happened. Maybe just a bit of rage bait to set off a bun fight about religion, or start off some Christian bashing….

There’s a lot of people with a lot of views on MN. That they don’t all align to yours doesn’t make them insincere.

(Personally I think the people saying Christmas is only secular or is only Christian are both missing a pretty obvious answer that at this point in our culture, which is largely secular bur with very many Christians too, it’s both. But I don’t think that means either side are misrepresenting their position, I just disagree with them).

(And another thing… I think some of this disagreement is because some people allow a very large margin between what they think ‘should’ happen or what they’d personally do, and what’s ’unreasonable’ to do. Others seem to think the question of what’s reasonable is basically the same as the question of what they’d do).

Fair, working from Luke it's more reasonable to assume a birth date in Spring, what with shepherds out in the fields & lambing season & all.

Indeed. I had a friend working for a Texan company in the UK once, and a lot of the email signoffs had heavy Christian connotations, really freaked him out. It's a credit to the GB that overtness over private religious beliefs and connecting it to company business in any way would (mostly, although obviously it has been creeping in with political beliefs) be considered very much a no-no in workplaces here.

How was everybody ‘expected’ to bow their heads? Did she command you to? I would imagine if you don’t want to take part in prayers, just don’t bow your head. I’m guessing joining in with the prayers wasn’t compulsory…..

Agree. Lots of virtue signalling and disingenuous comments on this thread.

For the majority of people in this country, Christmas and Easter are essentially cultural celebrations (obviously the former is celebrated much more than the latter). People don't generally pray before an office knees-up, before doing an Easter egg hunt or before eating their pancakes on Shrove Tuesday.

I'm not at all "offended or angry", thanks; that appears to be you. I'm disagreeing with you.This is a discussion forum. I am pointing out that many others do not share your religious beliefs and it is inappropriate for them to be imposed on anyone, as this woman did, at a work event. This is basic understanding of cultural workplace norms in the UK. No religion, no politics.

And no, as we have established, it hasn't always been a Christian festival. You can keep writing "CHRISTmas" as much as you wish. It doesn't change the fact that for many of us, our Yule festival is not about Jesus at all.

Prayers were completely inappropriate at a workplace event where people may be of many faiths or none at all, regardless of what you or any other Christians think about that. Again, if you wish to campaign for only Christians to be permitted to use the term "Christmas" for end of year festivals, then do feel free to do so.

It's a bit odd in a work context but Christmas is a Christian festival & if they've perhaps recruited a particularly keen Evangelical, it probably just seemed easier to let her have her moment then forge on with the usual party.

Edited to add - maybe for shitz & giggles you should militate in favour of a company Purim party next year & see how she likes them religious apples? (hic!)😈

Syncretism innit. When new religions sweep in, locals often glue both new Gods and their festivals and traditions onto the local ones - so Christmas is stuck onto the midwinter festival of light. The guy who often represents the midwinter / Yule celebrations is the Oak King or sometimes Green Man - who bears a suspiciously marked resemblance to the Ghost of Christmas Present in A Christmas Carol and to Santa in a pre Coca Cola incarnation. Lighted trees are clearly the midwinter festival.

But there is room for Christianity at the inn; why not? Religious tolerance should be extended to all religions and actually I think prayer is quite beautiful as a concept.

And also I think that people trying to deprive believers of the comforts of religion - or their Yule celebrations - are joyless and mean spirited. Costs nobody anything except not being a Scrooge for 5 minutes.

I think the only parts that Christianity added to existing pagan festivals were the name, nativity and the Christian/Muslim/Jewish God. Most non Christians would only use the name from that and the other aspects are not Christian origins

This is one of those threads where I find it hard to believe many posters. There isn’t anyone, surely, who genuinely thinks that an office Christmas party should start with Grace? I’m pretty sure none of the Christians I know would expect that!

This. Would you attend a birthday party and object to mention of the celebrated person?

Are you really saying that celebrating the birth of Christ, which is what Christmas is, hasn’t got Christian origins?

Every Day. Official dates include 25th December and a rerun / rebirth in the spring which is a movable feast 🙂

I wouldn't be impressed but I also wouldn't feel obliged to bow my head and join in. I'd sit quietly and hope it didn't take too long.
It's kind of weird in this kind of context. I've seen it at sports dinners never a xmas parties and I know why it happens - there is a pushy person who has some influence and puts themselves forward to do it.
I'm not offended by it. Mildy irritated probably best describes it. And I'm not alone - there's always a few rolled eyes and a muttering of 'here he goes again'.

Indeed. That's what I wanted to know.
I’d taken it pretty much as read though that everyone here would be stunned and miffed by anyone bringing religious faith to a Christmas party like that. Shocking solipsism and lack of awareness from this mystery woman!

As a pp said, it’s a point very much in GB’s favour that private faith isn’t routinely rammed down people’s throats as though it were of equal importance with, say, health and safety guidelines at work, or a traffic bulletin on the radio.

These days it's mostly a secular, non-religious festival - we just call it Christmas partly because of tradition, but also because other alternative names (or older names) have not caught on, plus you get accused of being 'woke' or 'pc' if you don't call it Christmas.

Bringing prayer into any workplace or work-related activity should not happen - otherwise it is basically an opportunity to preach to a captive audience.

That would be an ecumenical matter :-)

And here we go again….
Why on earth are you so offended and angry?
I’m not ‘imposing’ prayers on anyone, anywhere. I have never done so.
I would not personally have prayed in the circumstances the OP outlined, but I merely suggested that perhaps everyone should have a little bit more tolerance to each other. Would it not have been possible to perhaps just have enjoyed the words of love and gratitude and disregarded the rest? I’ve been in situations many times where I don’t agree with what’s said or shared the persons belief, but I just behave respectfully and disregard it. I don’t feel the need to be outraged or complain.
CHRISTmas is, and has always been, a Christian festival, when we celebrate the birth of Christ. It is true that the date was hijacked (ish) from a couple of pagan festivals. This is very different to saying that Christmas is a pagan festival; it is not. It’s also true that Jesus almost certainly wasn’t born in the 25th December.
Honestly, you are acting like somebody is cutting your arm off. With all the hell in this world, could we not all show a bit more love and tolerance. The issue isn’t that somebody said a few worlds of prayer and gratitude, it’s the ridiculous level of ‘offense’ that people seem to take these days.
Whatever you believe or not, wishing you a lovely Christmas or whatever you chose to celebrate.

Christmas party for Christmas holiday. Nobody has to celebrate it but bringing out syncretism like it’s the Sword of Righteousness is the last word in Solipsistic Twerpery. Have a lovely gingerbread biscuit and a lump of coal for your stocking.