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?

Our office Christmas party was organised by a Sikh man and a Muslim woman. They do it every year, voluntarily, and they obviously enjoy it. And I guess they're able to ensure that they pick a venue that can cater adequately to everyone's needs etc.

I think Christmas has become a cultural celebration in the UK as well as a religious one. A lot of non-Christians celebrate it in their own ways, and most of those that don't still recognise its cultural significance. It's good to acknowledge other cultural celebrations such as Diwali and Eid etc in some way, but I don't think we have to erase the events that have been celebrated in the UK for years - we just have to ensure that we find ways of making them as inclusive as possible and that nobody is penalised if they choose not to participate.

Honestly, I think getting rid of Christmas traditions like office Christmas meals/parties would just fuel the racists. We'd have endless moaning about Christmas being banned and immigrants destroying our culture etc. When the vast majority of immigrants and non- Christian British people really don't have any issue with people celebrating Christmas.

No need to pull back from our longstanding traditions. Maybe just tweak them a bit to ensure that as many as possible feel able to join in, and acknowledge the other religious festivals in some way, as and when they happen.

So are people forcing anyone to drink alcohol? No, then what is the problem?

Yep, same every year.

It is such a non-issue.

I have worked for many very religiously and culturally diverse organisations. Everyone loves a paid day off and a bit of tinsel and some fairy lights in the dark days of December. Everyone loves learning about non-Christian celebrations - especially when these non-Christian celebrations involve decorations and/or food (particularly food..) which they all seem to do.

What is not universally loved is work parties that revolve around heavy alcohol consumption. This is an HR nightmare even in a 100% Christian business and best left in the 90s!

This. Holidays are going away from home. Hate it on American Christmas movies where they say happy holidays, or the holiday season. I've known many devout Muslims and none would expect the word Christmas to disappear.

As a Christian I'd be sad if Happy Holidays became a thing here. Its an American import.

Just leave people to do what they want. If Muslims don't want to go to alcohol fuelled parties then that's up to them. They're not offended that people go and just could choose not to go. That doesn't mean others don't want to go so let them carry on.
Overthinking this and trying to evolve it is what creates more division and then leads to hatred when ethnic minorities (mostly Muslims) are blamed.
They never even instigate it but always become the scapegoat.

Nobody has to celebrate the birth of Christ though. It’s not compulsory.

End of year party with the big speeches and NO alcohol. This is the official party.

Followed by pub for the ones who want to celebrate with alcohol. Unofficial party.

I am Muslim, I don't celebrate Christmas at all however attend the work Christmas party as a social event. I leave early to avoid the drinking that follows after the Christmas meal.

As for Islamic celebrations such as Eid, in my workplace this is always acknowledged however as we are a minority it is only reasonable that a big deal is not made of it.

As long as I am free to celebrate and practice my faith I don't see the issue.

During Eid we also do a little something at work like bringing in food, some decorating and anyone who wants to take part even non Muslims are welcome.

In the UK, the Christian faith is still the majority and this should be reflected in such scenarios which all the Muslims I know - friends and family agree with.

I think recently a lot of people like to stir the pot and create unnecessary issues around race and religion just to complain

Edit: Where I work I am the one that actually organises such events including the Christmas work party. It is only fair that I primarily cater to those who are Christian when it comes to the Christmas party, for other faiths it's not a big deal and similarly when organising an Eid or Diwali event, whilst everyone is welcome, I cater primarily to those celebrating so certain things like alcohol will not be considered important

Who is being pushed or forced to participate OP?

Are staff tipping alcohol down people's throats?

I don't understand why you can't have a Christmas party or meal, invite everyone and if people don't want to attend, that's perfectly acceptable.

Muslim colleagues attended our staff Christmas party (as did I and I'm an atheist). 🤷‍♀️. I think this time of year is just a nice time to get together, regardless of faith (or lack of).

I agree.
If people are offended by the title “Christ” they can just ignore the celebration and nobody will force them to participate. The reason for Christmas is Jesus Christ’s birth, but it isn’t compulsory to celebrate it.

To be honest, a booze-fuelled NHS party feels a bit like a christmas party for turkeys. A fairly large % of your trust's annual budget will be spent treating alcohol-related diseases and injuries, as well as on alcohol education... It's just not appropriate. Even my company - which is very much booze and going out focused as a business - had a discussion after this year's do and will be limiting booze in the future.

It's not just excluding faith-based non-drinkers, it's excluding people who choose not to drink, people with alcohol problems, people who need to drive to work, etc etc.

All the Xmas NHS parties I attended were all paid for by staff themselves.

We pay for the food at our staff Christmas party. People pay for their own drinks.

Yes this, I’m brown and I have no problem, I know muslims who like having a Christmas tree because it’s nice. Let people decide for themselves but don’t take anything away from anyone who is celebrating to do it. Most brown people will not appreciate it (some will even be sad their boozy xmas party has disappeared).

The problem sounds like the nature of your Christmas Party tbh, a lot of workplaces have stopped doing "alcohol fuelled" parties as it excludes multiple groups. It's easy to put on an event to say thank you to staff without making alcohol the centre of it, and would probably increase the takeup. (I think I'd avoid your Christmas do, doesn't sound like fun at all)

You sound mad. Just junk the alcohol for everyone and forget about renaming Christmas fgs

I think this post is made up to be honest. Culture war crap. Shoe horning it’s the NHS in a later post to add tax payers money to the anger.

I think the Christ but of a Christmas is a res herring - I think a lot of people, particularly younger people - just don't want alcohol at work events. So the main event should be something inclusive for everyone (eg an activity of some sort) and then people who want a drink can go for drinks after

I will admit I find it a bit miserable that at my work having a drink to celebrate is so frowned upon as to me it's a normal thing to do at a Christmas party, but then I remember I have friends so go for Christmas drinks with them instead!

(NB the people in my work who don't drink are of all different faiths and I obviously haven't called anyone miserable, because I'm not a dick!)

This type of post always seems to get people's backs up on here. The op is just asking if her company should be more inclusive, the best people to ask would be the staff that work there. For instance the manager of my dhs team makes sure there is at least one if not two options on the menu that my dh can eat, that goes a long way in terms of goodwill.

Lots of people have different boundaries, I'm muslim and I choose not to go to restaurants where alcohol is served. That's my preference and rules out most Christmas parties. I have never expected teams to work around this as alcohol whether anyone likes it or not is a big part of the culture in the UK. What I would have liked is to receive the company contribution to the Christmas party (£15 for the company I used to work for) in the form of amazon vouchers so I could get some use out of them. It was billed as a contribution on our behalf to thank us for the work we had done but I never got use out of it. My dh doesn't see going to a restaurant with alcohol served as an issue and so he always goes to his Christmas parties for the meal element and leaves before his colleagues go on to a pub for more drinking. I don't think anyone brown is looking to cancel Christmas and to presume we as a group are likely to be offended does more harm than good.

Probably and I'm sure I remember the same or at least a very similar thread last year.?

I don't drink, it's a personal thing. But that doesn't mean I don't think others can, and I certainly don't demand that work events are alcohol free

Christmas work events are usually just an excuse to get piss drunk with your colleagues. Not exactly in the spirit of so called Christian values that are being trotted out in this thread lol !

I don't think there's anything wrong with a mkre inclusive event. Do a lunch event and speeches/ awards there. Whoever wants to carry on, can and if the managers still want to buy rounds then they can do it but at least everyone has been originally included and the formal event is over.

I don̈t think posters think that " brown people" are trying to cancel Xmas
Bur The Op themselves doesn't seem sure what she objects ,too Christianity, or the partaking of alcohol
Nor does she seem to understand that for many people who do enjoy Xmas its not for them for religious reasons many atheists celebrate Xmas