In the spirit of inclusivity, Aberdeen school describes cards made at Christmas as Winter cards

[cakeorwine]

Children at this school have been making cards in the run up to Christmas for ages.

Many children still make Christmas cards during this activity and they are free to call them Christmas cards

However, the school announced they would be adopting the phrase "winter cards" to show "value and respect" to different cultures.
The email sent to families said: “To reflect this inclusivity in our communications, we refer to seasonal cards as “winter cards” rather than “Christmas cards”.
“This terminology helps ensure that our language is welcoming and inclusive of all members of our school community.
It added that families were still free to use the phrase Christmas cards if they preferred.

You can imagine the online reaction. The Deputy Headteacher received a threatening phone call

"Unfortunately, following the communications, our deputy head teacher received an abusive and threatening telephone call.

"This was followed by disappointing comments on social media suggesting that Christmas was somehow being removed from our school.
"I want to reassure you that is simply not the case"

We had Winterval in Birmingham. Haven't people learnt? I can imagine it's been done with the best intentions but I bet they didn't consult with the parents before doing this. It has come at the worst possible time for relations with other communities and it's spreading like wildfire online.

I'm an atheist I have no problem with schools making Christmas cards. Just don't try and force a religion on my son.

I am sure most people, regardless of faith or lack of faith, have no problem with Christmas Cards.

Winter cards is a stupid idea

This is a combination of Christian countries
Therefore winter cards are an aboration of our culture

Have winterval at school so all an everyone feels included, and Christmas, or whatever you prefer at home.

So you get different celebrations, school can talk about different festivals, the importance of the winter solstice for famers, how traditions grew historically.

It's a opportunity to connect with the natural world during winter, talk about hibernation, the importance of good food, whatever.

I think there are much bigger things to worry about than if primary school chooses to not use the word Christmas.

I bet out of all the parents huffing and puffing absolutely none of them attend church or follow the Christian faith in any meaningful way.

I work in a primary school which I would say has around 50% Muslim children. There is none of that silliness around Christmas. Quite a lot of the Muslim children come into school with Christmas jumpers on when it’s Christmas jumper day. And some do not. Entirely up to them. The atmosphere in the week leading up to the school holidays is great! When key stage 1 do the nativity play, there are Muslim children who take part. Their parents come to watch. A couple of years back, when Eid was around the same time as Easter, the class I worked in were given a choice to either make an Easter card or a card for Eid. The school acknowledges all religious festivals and the Muslim children are given a day off for Eid. And their requirements are met if any are fasting for Ramadan.

Aberdeen is not a particularly religious city and other religions are minority and make up a small amount of Aberdeen's population.
Non issue in Aberdeen it's self.

I haven't forced any views on my son.
He knows I don't believe in God.
I haven't forced him not to believe in God.
I haven't made him read Dawkins or watch Ricky Gervais interview
I don't make him take the day off school when it's the atheist holiday,

He went to a school which had assemblies and they might have had hymns and prayers. I mean that's the law - Collective Christian Worship

He'll have come across Easter and Christmas at school and will have known that in this country we take those days off as the Government says they are special days

He will have seen Christmas and Easter on TV

He watched the Coronation of King Charles by the Archbishop of Canterbury in Westminster Abbey and heard the prayers and the religious elements.

Your Majesty,as children of the Kingdom of God, we welcome you
in the name of the King of Kings

The King:
In his name, and after his example, I come not to be served but to serve.

Archbishop of Canterbury:
I here present unto you King Charles, your undoubted King:
Wherefore all you who are come this day to do your homage and service:
are you willing to do the same?

The King:
In his name, and after his example, I come not to be served but to serve.

Archbishop of Canterbury:
I here present unto you King Charles, your undoubted King:
Wherefore all you who are come this day to do your homage and service:
are you willing to do the same?

All:
God save King Charles

The Presentation of the Bible
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland:

Sir: to keep you ever mindful of the law and the Gospel of God
as the Rule for the whole life and government of Christian Princes,
receive this Book, the most valuable thing that this world affords.
Here is Wisdom; This is the royal Law; These are the lively Oracles of God

Archbishop of Canterbury:
Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the Laws of God and the
true profession of the Gospel?

Will you to the utmost of your power maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law?

Will you maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established in England?

And will you preserve unto the Bishops and Clergy of England, and to the Churches there committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges as by law do or shall appertain to them or any of them?

The King:
All this I promise to do. The things which I have here before promised I will perform and keep. So help me God.

Archbishop of Canterbury:
Your Majesty, are you willing to make, subscribe and declare to the
statutory Accession Declaration Oath

The King:
I am willing.

I Charles do solemnly and sincerely in the presence of God profess, testify,
and declare that I am a faithful Protestant, and that I will, according to the
true intent of the enactments which secure the Protestant succession to
the Throne, uphold and maintain the said enactments to the best of my
powers according to law.

Thanksgiving for the Holy Oil
The Archbishop of Canterbury is presented with the oil, by The Most
Reverend Dr Hosam Naoum, The Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem

The Anointing screen is arranged around the Coronation Chair.
The Dean pours oil from the ampulla into the spoon and
the Archbishop anoints the King.

Archbishop of Canterbury:
Be your hands anointed with holy oil.
Be your breast anointed with holy oil.
Be your head anointed with holy oil,
as kings, priests, and prophets were anointed.

And as Solomon was anointed king by Zadok the priest and Nathan the
prophet, so may you be anointed, blessed, and consecrated King over the
peoples, whom the Lord your God has given you to rule and govern; in the
Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Archbishop of Canterbury:
With this sword do justice, stop the growth of iniquity, protect the holy
Church of God and all people of goodwill, help and defend widows and
orphans, restore the things that are gone to decay, maintain the things that
are restored, punish and reform what is amiss, and confirm what is in good
order: that doing these things you may be glorious in all virtue; and so
faithfully serve our Lord Jesus Christ in this life, that you may reign for ever
with him in the life which is to come. Amen.

Archbishop of Canterbury:
Receive the Bracelets of sincerity and wisdom, tokens of God’s protection
embracing you on every side.

Archbishop of Canterbury:
Receive this Robe. May the Lord clothe you with the robe of
righteousness, and with the garments of salvation

Archbishop of Canterbury:
Receive this Orb, set under the Cross, and remember always the kingdoms
of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.

Archbishop of Canterbury:
Receive this Ring, a symbol of kingly dignity, and a sign of the covenant
sworn this day between God and King, King and people.

Archbishop of Canterbury:
Receive the Royal Sceptre, the ensign of kingly power and justice; and the
Rod of equity and mercy, a symbol of covenant and peace.

May the Spirit of the Lord which anointed Jesus at his baptism, so anoint
you this day, that you might exercise authority with wisdom, and direct
your counsels with grace; that by your service and ministry to all your
people, justice and mercy may be seen in all the earth: through the same
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

The Crowning
The Dean brings The Crown of St Edward to The Archbishop,
who says the prayer of blessing.

King of kings and Lord of lords,bless, we beseech thee, this Crown, and so sanctify thy servant Charles upon whose head this day thou dost place it for a sign of royal majesty, that he may be crowned with thy gracious favour
and filled with abundant grace and all princely virtues; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, supreme over all things, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Archbishop brings the crown down onto The King’s head

Archbishop:
God save The King!
All:
God save The King!

Enthroning The King
Archbishop of Canterbury:
Stand firm, and hold fast from henceforth this seat of royal dignity, which
is yours by the authority of Almighty God.
May that same God, whose throne endures for ever, establish your throne
in righteousness, that it may stand fast for evermore

The Homage of Royal Blood
HRH The Prince of Wales leads the words of fealty.
I, William, Prince of Wales, pledge my loyalty to you and faith and truth I will bear unto you, as your liege man of life and limb. So help me God.

The Homage of The People
Archbishop of Canterbury:
I call upon all persons of goodwill of The United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland, and of the other Realms and the Territories to make
their homage, in heart and voice, to their undoubted King, defender of all.
All who so desire, in the Abbey, and elsewhere, say together:

All:
I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God.
A fanfare is played.

Archbishop of Canterbury:
God save The King.
All:
God save King Charles.Long live King Charles.May The King live for ever.

The National Anthem

God save our gracious King! Long live our noble King! God save The King!
Send him victorious, Happy and glorious, Long to reign over us, God save The King.
Thy choicest gifts in store On him be pleased to pour, Long may he reign.
May he defend our laws, And ever give us cause, To sing with heart and voice,
God save The King.

So basically, I haven't forced my views on him. I am an atheist and I am also a Republican. I haven't insisted he go to an atheist school where they actively teach a lack of belief, I haven't insisted he reads books about atheism etc.

But we live in a society where it is very hard to avoid Christianity.

Collective worship of a mainly Christian nature is the law for schools.
Our main holidays revolve around Christian holidays
We have prayers before Parliament
We have Bishops in the House of Lords
Our National Anthem asks God to save the King and hope he lives forever.
And we have a King who it seems was anointed by God and where the Christian faith plays a major role in his Coronation.

Just saying

(I know it's off thread but I had to respond to your comment. And it was fascinating reading the Coronation. It's definitely different to how US Presidents are sworn in)

I’m not religious but I celebrate Christmas, simply for the fact that’s it’s traditional, just like I celebrate Easter.
I don’t want some idiot do gooder telling me I can’t call it Christmas. Like when the Americans say “happy holidays “ makes my blood boil!

I quite like this
all about celebrating winter, especially if the cards are of snow and unrelated things

And that was so predictable.

I can imagine the staff meeting.

Head: I've had an idea. Let's call the cards winter cards. We'll still let the kids call them Christmas Cards if they want

Older teacher: Are you sure that's wise? I think some people might be angry if we call them winter cards. I remember some backlash about Winterval many years ago. I think that in the current climate, some people might get angry and share details online

Head: I hear what you're saying but I want to be inclusive

It was obvious that parents would react and news would get out. And we all know how some people react .They post on the schools Facebook, share on social media and there is a pile on. And in this case, someone threatened the Deputy Head.

People shouldn't have to worry about violence if they do something .And it's hypocritical when people say Muslims or the Left are violent when people who claim to be Christian or who are on the right do exactly the same thing.

At the same time, the outcry was predictable

Every school needs a Sergeant Wilson

Being predictable doesn't make it less of a concern.

Or justifiable

I don’t see the problem with what the school did. Call it a Christmas card if you want. If the school or other families want to call it a winter card you can’t control their speech to suit you, just like they can’t stop you saying Christmas. Them not specifying Christmas card, doesn’t exclude you in anyway. It also doesn’t mean they don’t mention or teach about Christmas (or other holidays) in general. It’s not about people being ‘offended’ by Christmas. It’s about helping some dc who don’t celebrate it, feel more included in the activity still. Can’t see a problem really.

Fine as long as the children who don’t celebrate other religious festivals can also rename the event too when it’s celebrated.

If Christmas can’t be mentioned, does it mean that all other religious festivals from other faiths will be renamed something neutral in the spirit of inclusivity?

Who have you met that objects to Christmas Cards? My Muslim neighbours wish me Merry Christmas. They believe in Jesus as a Prophet. I have never met anyone myself who objects to Christmas.

It's not justifiable.

But it was predictable

I used to teach in a non-denominational school that ran a nativity every Christmas.

I had a quiet word with the parents who were other religions (Muslim, Sikhs etc) and not one of them were in any way bothered - they were more than happy for their children to take part and came along and cheered them on. I think a lot of this is people getting offended on the behalf of others who are not actually offended.

You can call it what you like surely but you seem unsure, who would you like permission from?

Just do it.

Well we can't live our lives avoiding anything that might give the far right 'ammunition', can we? Because they will twist anything, and when there's nothing to twist, will make up blatant lies, so who cares? Let them crack on if it makes them happy.
In my view the best thing to do with them is ignore them and get on with doing what we please. Winter cards sound lovely. Why should some ranting loons stop children doing a nice thing?

The school in this case has decided they cannot mention the word Christmas. Can you explain why that is?

This popped up on my FB feed a couple of days ago and I actually googled the school to check that it was real and not just some made up nonsense to get people foaming at the mouth. Sadly it is real, and the school's own website talks about what a 'diverse' and 'inclusive' school it is.

I wonder whether this is some woke idiot decision maker at the school anticipating the sensitivities and indignation of (what I am guessing will be a sizeable Muslim contingent of) pupils and parents from a non-Christian heritage/culture, or whether it is a reaction to actual complaints they have received in previous years. Either way, pandering to it is a nonsense. I assume as a school with a 'diverse' intake they celebrate Ramadan and Eid, or Diwali or whatever else, depending on the demographic and there is no requirement to change the names of those to appease pupils from different religious cultures and backgrounds? I know it's seen as a good thing to educate British children from a Christian culture about the religious and cultural holidays of those from different backgrounds, but not seen as appropriate to do the same for our own cultural celebrations that are rooted in Christianity. Why not?

Those pupils from non-Christian backgrounds will still see and hear Christmas loud and proud all around them, everywhere they go because this is Britain and it's what we do.

And that's what they should be told. You may not wish to join in, and that's fine. You don't have to. But you must respect it and tolerate it because it is going to happen regardless and we won't be dumbing it down or renaming it to spare your feelings.

When I was at school we sang hymns in assembly, and all the main Christian events were marked, so Christmas,Lent, Easter, Harvest Festival, any children whose families objected were entitled to sit them out, but i think only the children of some Jehovah's witnesses did. I liked the communal singing of them and it's part of our culture, or was. Christmas cards are not against any other religions, so it seems like a lot of fuss to rename them. All those with a passion for Paganism have probably only scratched the surface.'Happy Day'.

We're talking about the annual festival of THEY'RE TAKING AWAY OUR CHRISTMAS threads, aren't we?

It's a bit early this year, they usually let us get through the HALLOWEEN IS AMERICAN TRASH ones first.

Load of racist bollocks. Some kids do Christmas, some do other celebrations, when they fall within the same period, in this case Winter, they get to do Winter Cards rather than Christmas and Orthodox Christmas and Hannukah and Diwali and Lunar New Year and New Year and Kwanzaa and the Feast of St Nicholas and Yule and St Lucy's and Dongzhi and Bodhi Day and any other celebratory cards. It's a damn sight easier to fit Winter Cards on the school newsletter without using up another 300 sides of A4 as well.

I never understood the issue of Winterval in Birmingham!

Literally the Frankfurter Christmas market is on from the start of November each year… we have in the same few months many celebrations in the city over the winter months! It was a list of 12 weeks of events happening in the city!

The term Winterval referred to the Season and celebrations that happen rather than downplaying any particular celebration!

It’s no different to having a program of Summer events and celebrations - which are known as Summer in the City which like Winterval represented 12 weeks of fun!

https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/news/article/1783/summer_in_the_city_get_ready_for_12_weeks_of_fun

To be honest the far right and racists were clutching at straws with Winterval…. and only silly people were offended by it and amplified the message!

Winter is a cold and miserable season due to the shortening days!

I think making a card to create cheer over the winter months is a lovely idea… as we are a secular country!

Yes should it just be Christmas that is neutrally named?

No it doesn’t.

As described clearly by the OP, the word ‘Christmas’ is being mentioned, the kids are free to use it.
I really don’t see the problem here. Americans have been saying ‘happy holidays’ for donkeys years without denting anyone’s right to be a Christian.