Eric Pickles hasn’t ended the War on Christmas… he’s started it!
Richy Thompson locks and loads for the War Against The War Against Christmas (that’s not a typo…)
Richy Thompson
Much has been made over the last few days of Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles’ declaration that “The War on Christmas is over, and the likes of Winterval, Winter Lights and Luminous deserve to be in the dustbin of history… We should actively celebrate the Christian basis of Christmas, and not allow politically correct Grinches to marginalise Christianity and the importance of the birth of Christ.” This led to much rejoicing in the Daily Mail, the Express, the Sun and the Daily Star.
But the idea that the non-religious, and those of faiths other than Christianity, are trying to ban Christmas – or swap it for “Winterval” – is nonsense. Christmas means different things to non-Christians than it does to Christians, but the vast majority of the former group still like to celebrate the occasion in some manner or another. The non-religious, in particular, often enjoy partaking in the secular goodwill of religious holidays – be it the tree, the presents and the turkey at Christmas, or the chocolate eggs at Easter. For them, this is the real meaning of Christmas.
There have been a few examples over the years of misguided councils using the terms “Winterval” or “Winter Lights” in their activities, but on closer inspection these turn out to be half the story, or – in the case of Luminous – entirely debunked. The examples used are always the same two or three, and the most cited example – that of Birmingham Council – is from all the way back in 1998/99!
So what’s really going on here? Well I think the key part of what Pickles said is not actually the part about Winterval, Winter Lights and Luminous, but the part about those reaaally mean PC Grinches! What Pickles is struggling against is in fact the realisation that Christmas is not just something that Christians celebrate, but that it is widely celebrated by the non-religious and others in a secular manner. Pickles is a leading proponent of the role of faith in our society – and back in July, he vowed to put Christian values at the heart of Government, stating that “I am determined to ensure Christians are not seen as some kind of strange sidelined religion.” (You can read the BHA’s response to all that).
So what Pickles is doing is not ending the War on Christmas by the “politically correct Grinches” to turn it into “Luminous”, but starting the evangelical War on Christmas, to try to turn it into an exclusively Christian festival that only Christians can enjoy, as opposed to a time for everybody.
How very inclusive of our Communities Minister.
Richy Thompson is the third and current President of the AHS, and is a campaigns volunteer at the British Humanist Association.
Eric Pickles hasn’t ended the War on Christmas… he’s started it!,12 Comments
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- The politically correct Christmas « Freedom Apparatus
- A Day in the (Humanist) Life of the BHA Faith Schools Campaigner | HumanistLife
Hooray!! Well said. After all, I don’t think there is a single element of ‘Christmas’ that is unique to Christianity: what wasn’t pilfered from the Pagans has been strategically inserted by commercial interests or copied from ideosyncratic celebrities. My main activity of the season is the printing off of a large number of round robins, each with a large blank space for a personal message, to be sent to people all round the world whom I want to keep in touch with. It is an expression of my Humanism: in the absence of a god to connect with, we have a positive obligation to connect with one another. I had started to wonder whether, as a BHA member, I really ought to call it my ‘Christmas Correspondence’. Now I feel affirmed in my decision to do so.
Hear! Hear!
I think using the word ‘Christmas’ is like using words such as ‘good bye’. They no longer retain their original meaning. I no more mean ‘Christ’s mass’ when saying Christmas than I mean ‘god be with you’ when I say ‘good bye’. Nor do I mean ‘by our lady’ when I use the word ‘bloody’ (as in “those bloody politicians are using underhand rhetoric to confuse the masses and gain cheap favour with the ignorant and their press once again”).
Clearly, the country needs proper separation of church and state with a ban on politicians using religion as a way of currying favour with the electorate.
It’s PC gone mad y’know. i’m loathe to give blessings on the borth of Mithras these days for fear of offending someone
Please don’t get all excited about this sort of reaction from Eric Pickles. No-one is accusing Humanists as a group of doing this sort of thing. It is often the well meaning neutrals or Christians who are terrified of causing offence to sensitive faith communities (no names, no packdrill!) and hence go over the top.
And is not all historical. Last week a calendar was produced that had all the non-Christian festivals faithfully recorded but no Christian ones. For that to happen in Britain is deeply worrying for Christians. What is going on?
As Humanists do not want to stamp out Christianity or other faiths – and as soon as it looks as if it is trying to, I’m off – please be more tolerant of their sensitivies in thisarea. We may all wish that this dependency on another world to comfort us in this to disappear, but let it happen naturally.
Dr Ken Pollock
Mr Pickles should practice his faith and eat a few less meals during Lent ,and shed a few pounds . Why are so many Clerics rotund .
While I agree with Richy in principle, and consider Eric Pickles perhaps the most unpleasant member of the Cabinet, as humanists we need to tread very carefully on this subject if we are not to open ourselves to the accusation of being anti-religious – an inaccurate label that would inevitably weaken our case on issues that really matter, such as faith schools and bishops in the Lords. Current local experience is showing that it’s much easier for politicians dismiss humanists than a pressure group such as Accord that includes a mix of non-religious and religious people, even though we’re both saying the same thing.
In that sense I agree with Ken Pollock. A recent YouGov poll underlines the shift in views of Christmas (http://today.yougov.co.uk/sites/today.yougov.co.uk/files/YG-SUN-Life-Christmas-ReligionVFamily-181210.pdf)
It asked “What is the most important part of Christmas to you?”. Only 12% said “Its religious significance and remembering the birth of Jesus”, as opposed to 62% who favoured “Being around family”. Of course, the question could easily be answered in this way by practising Christians who nevertheless put the family get-together ahead of the religious aspect, but the message is clear.
Personally I have no problem with recognising that Christmas – as the largely secular mid-winter festival that it is today – reflects the major influence (for good and ill) of Christianity in the history of the UK and Europe, in terms of both its name, some (but far from all) its traditions, and the myths and stories that go with it. They are part of our heritage, even though we – and most other people, including many people who see themselves as Christians- don’t think they are true.
There’s no need for us to say or do anything on this one, other than enjoy singing the carols (even Richard Dawkins admits to that), and having a convivial time. Mince pie anyone?
Surely the winter solstice is the true meaning of the season? And the romans thought the solstice was on the 25th…
There is a celebration around this time of year by most cultures, all over the world, for obvious practical reasons – it marks (and has always done, long before the birth of Christ) the point where the days begin to lengthen in the steady march back to fertile crops and warmer weather!
Worth celebrating in this weather, IMO!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice#Observances
Eric Pickles’ comments is typical of the “all mouth and no information” type of politician.
Anyone who insists the 25th is Jesus’ birthday hasn’t read their Bible. The Gospel of Luke mentions that shepherds were watching their flocks in the field at the time, which is a certain indicator that Jesus was not born in December, as flocks would have been moved from fields into pens by then. The Jewish Talmud states that flocks were put out to grass in March and brought back into pens at the beginning of November.
The earliest reference to the birth of Jesus being on the 25th December was in 354 AD. This was the traditional date of the Roman feast day of Sol Invictus, which was approximately the date of the winter solstice in the Julian calendar.
So if Christians (including Erick Pickles) don’t like their holy day being hijacked for alternative winter celebrations, perhaps they should have a look at their own tradition of hijacking pre-existing festivals before they stand on their holier-than-thou soapbox.
Friends,
Having read the earlier blogs, it seems to me that there is a real danger of humanists, who are supposed to believe in the greatest happiness for the greatest number, coming across as a bunch of curmudgeonly killjoys. Cut out the ad hominem attacks – are there no overweight Humanists, or are they all untrustworthy Cassiuses, with “a lean and hungry look”?
The concern that Christians feel goes much deeper than whether other messages crowd out their interest in the birth of Jesus, so the true date is irrelevant in this discussion – have we corrected for the Julain calendar?
Spreading a bit of goodwill that is not attributed to an otherwordly spirit would be much more becoming to a philosophy that has aspirations to universality. For Christians, all that isgood is from God, all that is evil is from man. For Humanists, both qualities are human. Let’s see the good prevail in dealing with those of different pursuasions.
Seasons greetings,
Ken Pollock
Most politicians play to the gallery but chubby funster Pickles is a master at it.
One only has to look at his gross obesity to know he does not believe a word of Christian dogma. If he did there is no way he could look the way he does whilst people in the world have so little. However he thinks his supporters think that way and so preaches to them. And as he increased his majority who is to say he is wrong.
Most politicians live in a bubble surrounded by sichophants and rarely associate with anyone who disagrees with their views. If they chance across someone who does, their view is dismissed as uninformed.