General Chat

Hi Sue Dont know the pub but dont live to far from Milton have relatives there

Hi Susan, I totally agree with you.Keep Christmas. After all it is our tradition. Let every one have there own religeuos festivals but please not at the cost of our own. We Want Christmas to stay as Christmas. As a child I loved it my children loved it and now my grand children are just at the age of going to see fateher Christmas. No insult to other religiuos groups but please don'r stop our own. live and let live Pat

christmas is to do with the birth of christ which is christianity.thats like changing the name of all other religious festivals and calling it something else.can i just say to any council that might be offended by what i am about to say!just leave us christians alone to celebrate the birth of the lord jesus christ and go and do something more worthy like putting down our council tax!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Helen, just read your reply to me. I get the impression that all of us on this thread would be hung, drawn and quartered given our replies! I don't go to church every Sunday, but I do have my beliefs and object very strongly when ......... well, you know the rest! Glenys "preparing for Winterfest" in Timbuktu! x

nudge

Even people who say that they don't believe in Jesus do celebrate Christmas - the mass or birthday of Christ - by giving presents to one another. Christmas is just that, and always shall be - Jesus's birthday. I shall never ever forget one Midnight mass service when a little boy's voice rang out with "Happy birthday, Jesus!" :) Joy

Somehow, wishing someone a MERRY WINTERFEST doesn't have the same ring to it. I love Christmas and thoroughly enjoy it, I hope the other religions enjoy their festivals as much as I enjoy Christmas. GOOD WILL TO ALL MEN AND WOMEN, whatever their beliefs. June xx PS. Dont tamper with Christmas.

I am appalled that anyone would even contemplate taking this action! This is a Christian festival but not exclusive to Christians and many people of other other religions recognise it for what it is and whether they mark the day too is neither here or there. I've 'celebrated' a festival with Indian friends but it didn't make me non Christian!! I think this is political correctness gone mad. Are other religions expected to change the names of their festivals? - I think not! But are we Christians offended - no of course we aren't! After Christmas shopping with my daughter recently, we just happened to share a table for coffee with a lady and her daughter and they were (probably)of Indian origin. We got chatting and I asked her if she celebrated Christmas. She replied that she didn't but that they had a festival in January where presents were exchanged so the children didn't miss out. When we left she wished us a Happy Christmas! Now what does that say? It certainly doesn't say that non Christians are offended by it does it? Magsx

Sue, I don't go to church, an i'm not so sure that there is a god up there but I do believe in Christmas (although it's bloody expensive lol). I loved it as a child and now my daughter loves it. She is putting together her letter to Father Christmas and its magic. There will always be christmas in my house!

i love christmas! no one is going to tell me not to celebrate. i used to get as excited as my kids did,now i get as excited as my grandchildren. hubby has already put the decs up,hes a big kid at heart,bless him i will be taking my grandchildren to see santa this year the same as i always have. my eldest son has converted to islam so therefore his 3 children dont celebrate christmas.they celebrate eid instead. we give them gifts for eid as this is the equivilant of christmas. but that doesnt mean they are offended by christmas. they just dont celebrate it. government,please give us a break,this is a christian country for gods sake susie

What'd happen to the Christmas songs, then? "We wish you a Merry Winterfest, we wish you a Merry Winterfest, we wish you a Merry Winterfest and a" ........... are they going to rename the New Year, too? "Oh I wish it could be Winterfest everyday", etc. "Do they know it's Winterfest at all" And the stories? "A Winterfest Carol". Ooh! Awful! Oh, and let's not be sexist either. What about them outlawing the word "Snowman" and replacing it with "Snowperson", so as not to offend anyone? You have to laugh at the absurdity of it lol! What bright spark thought this whole thing up in the first place at that council meeting, I ask myself. Glenys.

nudge

Susan, what's the latest from the local council on this? I'm intrigued! Glenys x

One by one our British customs and traditions are being done away with and now "they" are trying to get their hands on our most sacred festival. Our country is losing its identity as we bend over backwards to accommodate the customs and beliefs of others. We should all be prepared to give a little as we learn to get along with others, but really, there's a limit to how much a tolerant British public is expected to swallow. Leave our Christmas alone! I love the carols, church services, the cards, the food, and everything that makes Christmas so special. I agree with many previous comments...."when in Rome", "if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen". People came to Britain because it was better that what they had. Don't try to change it!

Before I carry on with this thread can I just stress that I am not and never will be racist...Live and let live I say!! But what does annoy me is things like this! If anybody is at blame for racism its the people who make ridiculous decisions like they have this time!!! How can someone change a festive occasion that has been the same for generations just because it may offend other religions!!! Winterfest....Bah Humbug!!!!

Something tells me that before long it will be considered un-PC to have any kind of roots or tradition whatsoever. As far as I'm aware, people from other faiths are not offended by Christmas being celebrated in the manner it's always been celebrated, and cannot understand what all the fuss is about. Can you imagine a country like France bowing to political correctness, I think not....they seem to be at the other end of the spectrum altogether.

Linda I agree! I have a lot of friends from other religions and they never get offended by my beliefs.

Hello Board. We in Australia also have problems with governments whether they are federal, state or local, where for some reason unknown to the majority, minority has a habit of winning in issues such as your topic about changing Christmas in the name of "we mustn't offend our new citizens". Hey, I'm a citizen of the majority, and yet it's okay to offend me? Go figure! A few years back, we had a local council who would close the local indoor swimming pool for a couple of hours or so a week, so the muslim women could go swimming. Away from prying eyes, etc. What has happened to the term "majority rules"? Governments across the board are practically bending over backwards to "please" the minorities. What's the bet, that if we went to live in the countries of our minorities, where we would then be the minorities in their country, that they would expect us to take on their ways of life because...they are the majority! We have a suburb in Melbourne (Victoria), which 20 - 30 years ago had a lot of Italians and Greeks living there, but were slowly being pushed out by another nationality. Vietnamese. Now, when the Italians were there, all you saw were english signs. Once the Vietnamese took over, suddenly the street signs start showing up in their language. Compliments of the local government! They've never done that for anyone else. And these people don't clean up after themselves, either. Outside the shops are like rubbish tips. They don't have pride in their appearance. And they don't make you feel welcome in their restaurants and shops. The Chinese are much friendlier and easier to get along with and try to fit in and get along with us. I don't consider myself racist, but it gets so frustrating that we native born Australians don't matter, so, come on governments, give the vote back to the majority in all or most things! CHRISTMAS INCLUDED! LONG LIVE CHRISTMAS AND THE MAJORITIES! Faye P.S. Sorry about being so long winded, folks. I shall now step down from my soap box. Thank you. And Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!

people shoud petition .fight for your right.it's called christmas because it's the birth of christ.like i said will they call ramadan and other festivals that so not to offend usxxxx(:

I believe in Christmas. At the time that we celebrate the birth of Jesus, I believe that there are other religions' special festivals such as the Jewish Festival of Light at present. :-) Joy (Kentish Maid GC)