To think Christmas should not be treated differently from Eid and Diwali?

[RUNFAST11]

We are hearing the government could allow a few days meeting during Christmas. While I understand this may be necessary, this could lead to spikes of COVID again and put pressure on the NHS (nearly 600 deaths yesterday) we aren't out of the woods yet.

When it was Eid in May Muslims were warned not to congregate and meet other households. A similar message was said in Diwali to have a stay at home Diwali.

[quote Hayeahnobut]@Freixene What you're describing is textbook discrimination. "You're not as big a group as us, so your wants and needs do not matter."[/quote]
I’m not saying they don’t matter at all- I said they’re not comparable

YABVU. We are a Christian country.

Less than a million people attend church regularly in the UK, and less than a third of UK citizens identify as Christian. We are not a Christian country.

@Hayeahnobut

YABVU. We are a Christian country.

Less than a million people attend church regularly in the UK, and less than a third of UK citizens identify as Christian. We are not a Christian country.

53.6% of the UK identity as Christian

@Freixene They're not comparable because they only matter to minority groups. If that's what you're saying, then you're happy to discriminate against minority groups. Is that not what you're saying?

We are not a Christian country
The number of Christians is irrelevant. Christianity is the state religion. The Monarch is the head of the Church of England.

91% of the UK population celebrate Christmas. It's a cultural festival not purely religious. Christianity stole most of it anyway, there were always celebrations going on in the darkest month of the year for centuries before Christianity showed up.

[quote Hayeahnobut]@Freixene They're not comparable because they only matter to minority groups. If that's what you're saying, then you're happy to discriminate against minority groups. Is that not what you're saying?[/quote]
No. As a Sikh, I don’t want to be discriminated against at all. But I recognise that the two events are culturally not comparable.

Whether or not you actually celebrate Christmas it's a well established national holiday which Eid etc aren't so I think comparing Christmas with the festivals of other religions is creating a bit of a straw man argument.

This is all about Johnson not wanting to be the PM who stole Christmas and knowing that the population wouldn't take any notice of restrictions anyway. Most people don't seem to be taking notice now.

If people have any sense they'll limit their socialising and household mixing whatever the rules are. But many people have no sense.

@Freixene 53.6% of the UK identity as Christian

This statistic is nearly ten years out of date. I guess that might account for your discriminatory views, you're leaving in the past.

@ftm202020

We are atheists and still want to be able to "do Christmas" this year. It is totally a commercial thing in our house. We all just like presents, food and booze. No talk of sky fairies here. Christmas was actually a pagan festival anyway, Yule.

There are better ways to discuss your atheism without denigrating other peoples beliefs with statements such as 'sky fairies'.

OP I think in this instance I don't think any religion should be exempt from restrictions but on the grander scheme of things in 'normal' circumstances I think public holidays for non-Christians should be transferable i.e. if you are Muslim you should be able to effectively transfer any public holidays to that of your own faith. If you want to work over Christmas as you don't celebrate it and would rather the two days off for Eid, it should be an option.

@RUNFAST11

We are hearing the government could allow a few days meeting during Christmas. While I understand this may be necessary, this could lead to spikes of COVID again and put pressure on the NHS (nearly 600 deaths yesterday) we aren't out of the woods yet.

When it was Eid in May Muslims were warned not to congregate and meet other households. A similar message was said in Diwali to have a stay at home Diwali.

Unfortunately many muslims in my town ignored the advice and had massive get togethers causing a spike in figures. I think at the moment everyone needs to abide by the advice/rules. Our local hospital, which is the main trauma centre in our part of the country has more covid inpatients now that at the peak earlier in the year.

We all need to do our bit, irrespective of our religion.

Of course more people celebrate Christmas in the UK. But that is not the point. The point is you cannot have one rule for one group and one for the other the virus does not discriminate. It does not care whether it is Christmas, Diwali, Eid etc..

Boris Johnson just wants to be known as the guy who saved Christmas rather than taking into account the costs it could have on more deaths, infections and pressure on the NHS.

[quote Hayeahnobut]**@Freixene* 53.6% of the UK identity as Christian*

This statistic is nearly ten years out of date. I guess that might account for your discriminatory views, you're leaving in the past.[/quote]
Can you share your more reliable source than a national census?

You've got to factor in the higher risk to ethnic groups in your argument too.

I think we should have a reflective Christmas, its not just about the day and the celebrations,, its about the mixing to get gifts, the food, the socialising. I just hope that they tell us in advance what will and won't be allowed and make it sensible

YABVU. Christmas and Easter are cultural celebrations in the UK. They are very very important celebrations to the majority of the population. Whilst I appreciate it was disappointing for those sections of society to be told their celebrations couldn't go ahead, there is no comparison to Christmas.

If you are going to highlight Eid and Diwali then you need to include all the other religious celebrations or are these not important?

The point is you cannot have one rule for one group and one for the other
But you can have a rule for the state religion of the country that isn’t extended to others which aren’t the official state religion.

Johnson will probably depart soon after Christmas anyway. He's concerned about himself and his reputation when it comes to decision making.

I would assume the majority of people who celebrate Christmas do not do so because of their religious beliefs

@RUNFAST11

Of course more people celebrate Christmas in the UK. But that is not the point. The point is you cannot have one rule for one group and one for the other the virus does not discriminate. It does not care whether it is Christmas, Diwali, Eid etc..

Boris Johnson just wants to be known as the guy who saved Christmas rather than taking into account the costs it could have on more deaths, infections and pressure on the NHS.

The morale of the country is at an all time low (in recent years at least I'm sure things were worse during the wars!), so although I cannot stand Boris and question his motivation, I can see why he wants to 'save' Christmas.

OP you haven't acknowledged the fact that Christmas is a public holiday whereas Eid, Diwali etc are not so comparing them is being a bit disingenuous in this context.

@Hayeahnobut

YABVU. We are a Christian country.

Less than a million people attend church regularly in the UK, and less than a third of UK citizens identify as Christian. We are not a Christian country.

I think you'll find that we are.

I agree with you op but do you live in a multicultural region? I do , and not many people here were observing social distancing during Eid ( no blame) , so the government have realised that they don't have a hope in hell of anyone doing it over xmas , so they might as well concede.