Our school has banned the word Christmas?

[Fayethefair]

I’ve heard from a friend on my DD’s school’s ptfa that our Cambridgeshire school has banned the word Christmas to make the school events feel more inclusive. So now it’s Festive Party, Festive Fayre etc. I’m happy to let mumsnet know the name of the school if they don’t feel this post is genuine so they can check this themselves but I won’t put names on here as this is my child’s school, I just don’t think this right and want to see what others think.

My daughter attended a Diwali lunch put on by the school recently and I genuinely thought this was lovely. I feel everything should be represented equally, I don’t understand or agree that the head should be picking and choosing what’s allowed and what isn’t. Surely this isn’t right?

Until this happens

Does that go for Christianity in non-church schools? Because that’s not how your earlier post read.

I guess I just don’t think

Could be the motto of this thread

Bollocks. It covered a whole range of winter stuff including Christmas. Ditto Luton

Claiming Christmas is banned is an old Cambridgeshire tradition that my parents indulged in for years despite their town having Christmas lights, attending DCs nativity plays and various Christmas events. Nothing would convince them that "they" hadn't banned Christmas to avoid offending immigrants.

Indeed. And Birmingham’s events officer only marketed city centre all-winter festivities as ‘Winterval’ for a mere two years in the 90s, and yet its given rise to so many conspiracy theories you’d imagine the town council was run by a posse of hardline imams empowered to give anyone uttering the word ‘Christmas’ a hefty electric shock, increasing in strength for subsequent offences. 🙄

No they haven’t. £5 to charity says they’re rebranded the Xmas party and the people of Wisbech St Mary have been sick over their party frocks. If there is any such communication of a “ban” I’ll eat my gammony over excited hat.

So, why not leave it as Christmas Party or Christmas Fayre? If it doesn’t matter?

Exactly

i think quite a lot of young people are interested in Christianity

This thread is really making me wish they would bring back the laugh emoji. So many different possible uses for it here.

They can celebrate it in church on Christmas eve or day.

They won't lose interest by going to a winter fair, party, wonderland.

And they learn about it. In RE. At home. In churches. On social media and in books. But rarely through school fairs.

Although I have read that the crusaders did an amazing cake stall.

The maltesers on top were the icing on the cake

😂

Such defensiveness but you didn’t address my point.

"it wouldn't be allowed"

You don't know that. You've decided that based on little evidence.

Exactly this.

Lol

what was there bestseller

What did the school say when you enquired with them if it was true or not which I assumed you did before posting this and whipping up a frenzy because that’s the fist logical step.

Have you actually approached the school and asked for clarification or is this just a rumour you believe instantly?

Rumours about schools “banning Christmas” happens every year like clockwork. You see it on social media and in newspapers all the time and 99.9% of the time the school says it’s nonsense and no such thing has happened. But it’s too late. So many people have already read the fake story so assume it to be true and it just feeds their already entrenched ideology further which was the intention of the original rumour spreader. Doesn’t matter if it’s true or not.

And you aren't being "defensive" about how in your view there's "blatant anti Christian discrimination"? Your point was that you felt this was happening, and that there had been erosion of the Christian festival of Christmas.

I asked for clarification in my first paragraph about how you felt Christianity had been eroded, bearing in mind that many of the things nowadays dubbed "Christmas" actually have nothing to do with Christianity but were very generic widely celebrated things that take place in many different religions.

I can't really "address your point" when it's a personal view on your part - you feel Christianity is being eroded, I don't. And if it IS, then that could be the fault of all these unrelated events being called "Christmas" whatevers, thus detracting from the real meaning of the season to Christians.

One aspect of your post that I did address is your feelings that there's an Anti-Christianity bias, by pointing out that Christianity as a whole has been one of the most discriminatory religions around, so it's a bit rich complaining that others don't give up their own traditions so you can kidnap them.

By the way, there's nothing defensive about educating people who seem to have little grasp of things which don't directly support their own beliefs!

Yes! November is autumn 🍂. 3 weeks build up is enough!

i had a team member at work who was a Jehovah’s Witness. If I called our team Christmas lunch ‘Christmas lunch’ she couldn’t come. If I called it ‘lunch’ she could come.

We weren’t working in a church, there was nothing religious about our Christmas lunch, so obviously we just changed the invite name.

It's amazing how many people claiming the loss of Christian traditions, know so little about them, or the history behind them.

Since when has shopping been a Christian tradition?

Ummmm. Which religions without murder over interpretation of a few words are you hanging your hat on there, chief?

We should definitely prioritise other cultures like they do in the middle east.