Christmas with religiously and ethnically diverse with community

[mids2019]

So I work in a trust where possibly 20% of staff are Muslim and there are plenty of other religions represented too with some Christians .

This year with the traditional Christmas parties and general Christmas build up there have been conversations about our holiday period being centred around one religion to the detriment of others. There are no bank holidays associated with Eid or Diwali and people for instance.

I think in general people do get in the general communal Christmas spirit but for instance the traditional meal and drinks which is meant to be a celebratory time for staff has maybe maybe feel staff feel excluded with many junior staff members of non Christian faith feeling uncomfortable with going so simply didnt. There were a subgroup of staff that organise a large meal with the alcohol flowing but it really is becoming obvious that there needs to be a more inclusive event of the Christmas do is partly to show gratitude to hard working staff.

Do we need to reflect at Christmas not everyone celebrates it and with the continued Christ in the name it is still a relgous festival and as such people with strong faith in other religions may be a little reluctant to embrace the festoval?

I don't think anyone is forced to celebrate any festivals they don't want to though, are they? We also cannot practically have a bank holiday for every religious festival of every faith, and the ones in the UK (and other countries AFAIK) are based around traditionally culturally significant days.

Just have a Christmas party. This is the UK, not Afghanistan.

They could have a summer BBQ and games day as the annual 'thank the staff' celebration.

I agree no one is forced to celebrate Christmas but the all encompassing nature of the Christmas build up makes it a little more obvious when people are avoiding celbration. For instance there were some very unkind comments about Muslim colleagues being 'miserable ' for not attending Christmas parties and comments from Muslims and Hindus about others not respecting their holy periods of wishing them appropriate greeting. As I say I work in a diverse setting which may not reflect every work place but it does seem Christmas has ranckled with some.

The trust are now sending happy holidays greetings on their website so I think they are becoming more conscious about cultural sensitivities.

We are a Christian country. Nobody forces you to partake nobody insists to pretend to believe. Heck we even allow you to do something different if you want to.

The summer BBQ is a thing but still the big end of year Christmas celebration is where mangers have traditionally bought staff alcoholic drinks and made speeches of gratitude to staff. I don't know if it is quite right if staff do feel excluded from this.

Why should we be ashamed of our festivals? Our laws and society have been built on Christian history.

We have an end of year celebration to allow people to fell comfortable to attend. As well as one social event in the year that isn't at all linked to any festivals. We also encourage celebration of any festivals that anyone wants to organise, for instance an American colleague arranged a 'pot luck' thanksgiving lunch and we also had sweets for dialing recently

Agree with pp, if you have very diverse workforce do a thank you to stuff differently as well. But still keep Christmas parties.

Of course UK holidays will be center around UK main traditions and religion. That's like moaning at KSA or UAE that Christmas are not official public holidays for employees.
Nor is Diwali.

I find these arguments so stupid honestly. We are both immigrant, with DH being ME even and cannot imagine moaning about a country we chose to live in doing their thing. Rude

We are a Christian country but that doesn't detract from others practising other beliefs. There is no obligation for someone of another faith to celebrate Christmas but at least where Is work it has become quite obvious some staff are embracing it others not so much.

Ultimately it's the diplomacy element .

If it's a thank you to staff then just rebadge it as an end of year celebration.

Well nobody should be calling anyone miserable just because they don't celebrate the same things or even the same things but in a different way. Some folk are just rude though - not sure how you'd change that tbh.
As for wishing greetings relating to religious festivals, I'm not sure why anyone would be expected to acknowledge something they don't personally believe in, just to make others feel better. Celebrate whatever you feel significant, but don't assume others have to join in with that.

It's the alcohol I think acts as a deterrent.

We're historically a christian country, and a lot of holidays are historical. Nobody is forced to partake.

There is no getting around the fact that a work event at the this time of year in a UK based company is a Christmas celebration. That's based on the national culture and I do not think needs rebranding.
However, if the form this celebration takes, ie lots of alcohol flowing is alienating to some (and especially if senior leaders are using the buying of alcoholic drinks to stay thank you to the staff) then yes that could definitely have an overhaul and be made more inclusive.

They can do 2 then. One non alcohol which also many people who celeb Christmas would welcome and 1 usual Christmas party. Who fancies can go both.

So everyone must behave according to the one religion that bans something, which is actually legal and acceptable in the UK?
I don't drink much but that doesn't mean I want to stop others from enjoying a drink or two.

“There are no bank holidays associated with Eid or Diwali and people for instance.”

Of course there aren’t - this is a country built on two thousand years of Christianity. Funnily enough, you won’t find any Christian holidays in Muslim countries, and where my twins live, they won’t get Easter (which is very late next year) because the holiday is for Songkran. If you choose to follow a religion which is not that of the country in which you live, don’t be too startled if the official holidays don’t align with yours. We are a tolerant nation, though, and long have been - I remember when I was doing finals in 1980 that there was a note on the exam schedule that if anyone was unable to take a certain exam because of the Jewish Feast of Weeks, accommodation would be made.

I manage a large team (approx 80 people) and although not overly diverse, Christmas is our busiest time of year and also a time that I know a lot of my team find difficult for whatever reason, before you even consider people juggling other events, school holidays etc.

We have held our "Christmas party" in lateJanuary since ive been in post instead which has been very well received (after the next pay day after Christmas!). What we do varies each year but is inclusive, usually an activity followed by a meal. In previous years we've done bowling, cinema, rage room, ceramic painting etc. This year it's pizza making and then we're eating them for the meal - I'm very much looking forward to that!

My workplace is very diverse. I've never come across any of this. People can choose to go to the Christmas events and not drink alcohol.Or people of any faith can choose not to attend. The Muslim and hindu workers are usually very enthusiastic about any christmas celebrations though.

I used to work in an office where everyone would bring food to celebrate their main festival. Honey cake for Jewish New Year was a fave! But we also celebrated Eid, Diwali, Chinese New Year and St Patrick’s Day.

It's diffuckt . Working for the NHS we have to accept its a diverse organisation and I think Christmas does highlight the range of faith (and non faith) amongst the staff. Christmas is pretty much a secular event any way hence maybe a motivation to start to drop the term Christmas in a work setting and replace with holiday season. This way you aren't pushing a religious celebration onto anyone.

Mass would be a Religious celebration
A Christmas party is just a party, unless you’re going to tell us a Nativity scene is a centrepiece?

I am a Hindu and I find this ridiculous. But then I attend Xmas parties.

I don't feel excluded and this level of pandering to religion should not be encouraged.

No bloody dont replace Xmas and give people one more reason to hate brown people!