Joy of Christmas

Archive for the ‘Bah Humbug’ Category

COUNCILS and firms that “ban” Christmas because it could offend other faiths are provoking an anti-Muslim backlash, religious leaders warned yesterday.

Christian and Muslim religious leaders have hit out at moves to force staff to wish customers “season’s greetings” rather than a “merry Christmas”.

The chair of the Christian Muslim Forum, set up by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Tony Blair to foster better links between the faiths, has now written to councils across the UK urging them not to drop Christian symbolism from this year’s festivities.

It follows criticism of Christmas postage stamps picturing Santa rather than Jesus and official Government cards with no mention of Christmas.

Across Wales only one council – Wrexham – is featuring the nativity story in its official public celebrations. Among the other 21 local authorities Caerphilly is celebrating Christmas with samba and carnival dance workshops. Swansea and Cardiff have outdoor skating rinks and fairground rides.

Speaking in light of yesterday’s comments, Saleem Kidwai, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Wales, said, “We feel exactly the same. It’s a religious occasion and should be celebrated accordingly whether people are following it or not. I don’t think it upsets us in the Muslim community. We’re very glad our Christian brothers and sisters are celebrating – this is what should be done rather than being too politically correct.”

His views were echoed by the vicar-general of the Roman Catholic diocese of Menevia, which covers much of Mid and West Wales, Monseigneur Brian Kinrade said, “I certainly feel that it would be most unfortunate if we lost the roots of our historic culture, which is Christian. I think the particularly important point is that the Muslim leaders themselves were suffering from a sort of backlash from misleading media reports and people who were being overly politically correct. I’m sure they can live perfectly happily with names and events.”

The chairman of the Christian Muslim Forum, the Rt Rev David Gillett, who is the Bishop of Bolton, said most people were “upset by the secularisation” of Christmas, but that some people were falsely laying the blame with Muslims.

He told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme, “Our Muslim colleagues have said very definitely it does not offend them and, in fact, they find it causes a backlash on their community if they are thought to be saying something they are not saying.

“I heard only yesterday that a big commercial concern had asked its staff not to wish people a ‘merry Christmas’ but simply ‘seasons’ greetings’ because it may offend people.

“When you talk to people of other religious communities, that’s not what they are asking for at all and they feel the backlash comes to them for, perhaps, a misunderstanding of what multiculturalism is all about.”

The forum issued a statement last month giving a stark warning that far-right extremism could be fanned. The letter to councils is designed to highlight that message.

It said, “Those who use the fact of religious pluralism as an excuse to de-Christianise British society unthinkingly become recruiting agents for the extreme right. They provoke antagonism towards Muslims and others by foisting on them an anti-Christian agenda which they do not hold.”

A town in Sweden this Christmas hopes to win its battle with vandals who almost every year for the past four decades have foiled security measures to burn down the town’s giant Yuletide straw ram.

By dousing the 13-metre (43-feet) version of the traditional Swedish Yule ram with flame retardant, officials in Gavle aim to thwart arsonists who target the straw structure, a smaller version of which most Swedes have in their homes at Christmas.

“Not even napalm will get the ram to burn now,” tabloid daily Aftonbladet quoted Freddy Klassmo, an official with the company who provided the flame retardant chemicals, as saying.

In the past, resourceful vandals have proved ingenious by outwitting guards and security cameras. Last year, two vandals disguised themselves as Santa Claus and a gingerbread man and set the ram ablaze by firing burning arrows at it.

I HAVE TO GET something out of my system right now: Bah, humbug.

There. That feels better.

I know that the first of December is unseasonably early for this Scroogism, but it seems appropriate given the unseasonably early arrival of Christmas this year.

I remember Christmases past when the first garlands of tinsel and fake pine trimmings didn’t get strung out until after Remembrance Day.

It always thought it was considered a mark of respect to hold off on the yuletide hoopla until we’d observed the sacrifices of the fallen.

Not so these days.

It was all sugar plums and jingle bells well before the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month this year.

In fact, I saw the first trickle of tinsel just after Thanksgiving, and that would be the Canadian Thanksgiving on the second weekend of October.

Talk about Christmas creep.

Maybe I’m out of touch. Maybe Christmas in October puts other people in the spirit.

Maybe we should just start celebrating Christmas in August, or better yet, let’s celebrate it 24-7-365. We could have Santa’s elves, goodwill-towards-men, harking and heralding angels singing year round. Wouldn’t that be great!

Or maybe I should just take a pill and accept that Christmas creep is here to stay.

Well, I’m not going to take that pill because I can’t be contemplating Christmas turkey while I’m still processing that belly full of Thanksgiving turkey. It’s a recipe for heartburn.

I’m not going to have Christmas shoved down my throat in October. And it’s just not because it makes for too much Christmas.

It’s because Christmas is a big, imposing, intense event that pushes aside the pleasures of October and November.

I enjoy ambling into autumn unencumbered by the pressures of Christmas. It’s fun to rake leaves or go for long beach walks in November, without the company of a Christmas to-do list.

I like the sombre ceremony of Remembrance Day. It makes me think about things — sometimes about unpleasant things like the trenches of the First World War.

Mixing the First World War with jingle bells also gives me heartburn. You need time to remember first and then celebrate.

To me, Christmas starts with that little jolt you get when you look at the calendar and suddenly realize it’s only a month away. You pretend to dread it, but it’s sort of exciting.

A month is just about the right amount of time for Christmas. If you push it much beyond that, you risk Christmas burnout. I’ve been doing everything possible to ignore it, if for no other reason than the fact that I want to enjoy it when the time comes.

Who wants to be sick of Christmas at the beginning of December?

Like my late Cape Breton grandmother used to say about ice cream: A teaspoonful is great, but a bathtub full gives you a bellyache.

There are as many holiday entertainment options as there are arts organizations desperately in need of cash, but how many of them revolve around sex? Michael Smuin should rename his sexy variety show, “The X-mas Ballet.” If you’ve got it, after all, why not flaunt it? Smuin Ballet’s version of winter wonder, which premiered at the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek on Friday night, is about as far from the “Nutcracker” as you can get. If only it were daring enough to be X-rated.

As it is, in a new, improved version for 2006, Grandma can still take in Act 1, the all-in-white, goody-goody part, a bunch of traditional carols, motets and other churchy-sounding bits of music turned into three-minute ballets. Patience will be rewarded for everyone else, however, in Act 2, when the heat gets turned up.

Featuring a new red velvet set studded with huge cotton puffs (think Santa’s cap) and red-hot costumes by Sandra Woodall, the show really begins after intermission. Henceforth, almost every dance is sealed with a kiss. There are hula girls, a dancer in very high heels with a very long feather boa, and a ripply ab guy in a Speedo. There’s something for every libido in this ballet.

And then there is “Smuin Ballet: The Movie.” The new Act 2 opener, “Christmas by the Bay,” features a soulful jazz ballad by Clark Sterling and Nolan Glasser, sung by the raspy-voiced Tim Hockenberry. To go along with the song is a video showcase of San Francisco sights projected onto a scrim. The dancers at work behind this barrage of images are left to re-create the Golden Gate Bridge and other lyrics with their bodies, and to perform line dances that seem oddly reminiscent of Greek weddings. “Media Design” by Paul Swenson featured cable cars, Mel’s Diner and foggy beaches. A dreamy couple are seen walking around hand in hand, both live and onscreen. Other new pieces in “The Christmas Ballet” include a jazz-sax instrumental, “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” The ballerinas literally let their hair down in this piece, but the choreography, by Shannon Hurlburt, doesn’t add up to much. Mistletoe arrives just in time for the ending on another video screen upstage.

Smuin himself contributed a new solo for Jessica Touchet, in which the “Carol of the Bells” becomes a gag-filled, baton-twirling exhibition. Amy Seiwert and Celia Fushille-Burke also created new dances for the evening, both in the classical first act. Seiwert’s duet for Erin Yarbrough and Aaron Thayer, which was second on a program of 28 minidances, was clean and simple. In fact, the whole company looked well rehearsed and technically strong throughout. If only they had been offered better material to work with.

Smuin’s new solo for Aaron Thayer to a Placido Domingo recording of “La Virgen Lava Panales” was a case in point. Domingo’s voice soared in a traditional carol that was emotional and passionate, but the choreography, filled with plenty of flashy movement, didn’t communicate any of that.

WHAT IS your ideal Christmas Day? A lie-in, a gut-busting dinner with friends and family, followed by a snooze in front of the big film on TV? Or would you rather use your holiday to cram in some extra shopping, grabbing a few bargains in the seasonal sales?

Last week MSPs were asked to consider those questions before voting on Labour MSP Karen Whitefield’s bill proposing that department stores close on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day to protect shop workers from over-eager retailers who might want 365 days of trading a year.

Despite campaigning by business and tourism leaders, who believe a ban on Christmas and New Year opening would damage Scotland’s growing reputation as a festive destination, MSPs backed the proposals by 99 to four. Although it is likely at the next stage of the bill that ministers will try to engineer a compromise on January 1 to serve the hundreds of thousands who flock to Scotland for Hogmanay, there is little opposition to a law that ring-fences December 25. While there are no public polls on the issue, it is widely accepted that most people just aren’t interested in hoovering up cut-price Rudolph jumpers or inspecting the latest high-definition TVs on a day that is one of the highlights of the year.

But one view is that if the public in an increasingly secular Scotland are given a choice, they might gradually view Christmas Day differently. Professor Gill Hogg, an expert in retail strategy and shopping behaviour, at the University of Strathclyde, thinks a slide towards Christmas being “just another day” could start with the high street being open.

“I think if you were to ask people today if they would like shops to open on Christmas Day they will say no, and at the moment there is little demand for it, but I do feel that once the opportunity is there people will want to use it.

“Would you get into the situation where you are asking the person you’ve just given a gift to do you want to go and return it now?’ There is a creeping effect at work. If the shops were open, would people leave it to really the last minute to get a gift?”

Hogg, who personally views a ban on department stores opening on December 25 as “wonderful”, points out that we are also in a weak retail climate where sales are starting “earlier and earlier”. If the option to open on December 25 became available, she says, some retailers could be tempted to use it to launch their seasonal sales, and customers might find themselves “drifting there” without thinking about it.

Despite Hogg’s concerns, Christmas hasn’t always been special in Scotland. Until the 1960s December 25 was a working day for many Scots, and even today the TUC estimate that more than 100,000 people work on Christmas Day in Scotland.

Not all of them are going to care about celebrating Christmas, says Hogg.

“Believing Christmas Day is different’ has a number of implications for a multicultural society. For some people, Christmas means nothing, and we have to take that into account if we want an honest debate.

“I’ve had students asking why the university isn’t open over Christmas – they aren’t Christian, the festival means nothing to them. If we accept that we are a multicultural society then this debate shifts a little: considering how few people nowadays go to church, and that Sunday is one of the busiest days in the shops all year round, then you have to accept Christmas is not special for everyone.”

Andrew Turnbull, senior lecturer in retail marketing at Robert Gordon University, adds that under the modern cult of shopping, Britain has moved from half-day closing to Sunday trading to a retail landscape where huge amounts of logistics, security and planning go into making cloned high streets across the country work smoothly and productively.

He says that shopping has “polarised” society, with some people “delighted they don’t have to go near a retail outlet, they are happy to get what they need online or just shop for the basics”. However, he warns that others are “retailaholics”. “They love retail therapy, it’s a hobby for some people,” he says.

He adds: “I do think the legislation should be considered as a positive for the workforce of large retail organisations. If outlets were open, there would be pressure put on workers to offer to work, to help out their colleagues, to work for double or triple-time rates and told to just think of the money’.”

The Catholic Church did not put a formal submission to the parliament on this issue, but “generally agrees with the principles of the bill”. The Church of Scotland, however, made an appeal for support for the legislation. Morag Milne, convener of the Kirk’s church and society council, believes there is a point to be made about corrosion of family life in this legislation. She sums up her reaction to the idea of shopping as a hobby as “baffling”, “sad”, “uncaring” and “flat”.

“It beats me why people would want to shop on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day,” she says. “Personally, I couldn’t think of anything worse.

“As a Christian, Christmas Day is a religious festival but it goes beyond that: it is a day of rest, not necessarily of religious observance. New Year’s Day is the same. It doesn’t have any religious connotation but it is a traditional Scottish day of rest.”

Milne joins Hogg in her concern about the “chipping away” effect of shops following each other into trading over Christmas and New Year and wants to see the bill succeed. She says: “It is an unhappy situation where you have to legislate to protect special days and make sure people have time with their families, but that’s where things are at. It comes within a wider debate on family life.

“It is pretty difficult to have sympathy with these huge companies who are worried about the loss of revenue over a couple of days of trading. I think that is pretty hard to stomach when you see how much is spent in advance. To imagine it’s a substantial loss is difficult.”

Of the retailers contacted by the Sunday Herald who would be affected by a ban – those with shop floors more than 280sqm, about double the size of a tennis court – none showed any enthusiasm for opening on Christmas Day.

Supermarkets did, however show an interest in having a choice about New Year’s Day, with one spokesman observing: “I bet you this year will be the same as last year: that on the 26th and on the 1st there will be lots of really narked customers standing outside peering in, wondering why they can’t get in. It happens every year. They’ll chap the door and ask the cleaners and security staff why we aren’t open.”

Tesco’s submission to parliament ahead of last week’s vote was also indicative of the way supermarkets view any future legislation. Disagreeing with the bill’s definition of 280sqm as a big shop, the supermarket giant claimed a large store these days is in fact 25,000 sqft (2300 sqm), otherwise “we will not have a full range of products available for our customers”.

A spokeswoman for Debenhams defended the company’s decision to open 10 stores, from Inverness to Ayr, for seven hours on January 1, 2007, but refused to provide an employee to be interviewed about how they feel about working on New Year’s Day.

She said: “Debenhams opens on January 1 due to customer demand. This is a voluntary working day for all staff and we never have a problem getting enough people to work on this day.”

These claims were confirmed by sources who told the Sunday Herald that there are often too many staff willing to work on January 1, and that in years past Debenhams has been quiet on New Year’s Day, despite the lure of the sales.

Yet Usdaw, the shop workers’ union that worked closely with Whitefield to bring forward her bill, insists their 36,000 Scottish members are in favour of the legislation. One of them is Jackie Martin, who says: “There’s no amount of money you could pay me to work either day.”

Martin, who did not wish to reveal where she lives or works, adds: “It’s mayhem in the run-up to Christmas, you’d think we were feeding the five thousand. You work through your breaks half the time because there is so much to do, you don’t take a lunch break. At the same time you are trying to organise your own Christmas, get your own family organised and get presents for them.

“I want to be able to protect those days as a special time that I know I will spend with my family. It really annoys me that we don’t have that protection already.”

Another Usdaw member, Barry Robertson from Armadale, is looking forward to the “hectic” festive season being over and spending a first Christmas with his wife and baby son as a family. “If employers pushed the New Year’s Day opening, there would be an outcry in Scotland. We aren’t robots. There is a class issue going on here: the Tories didn’t support the bill. But it’s the workers who are on the receiving end of that. I’d like to know if those MSPs who voted against the bill would be willing to come and work in parliament at Christmas time.”

Whitefield said she had no plans to extend her mission to protect Christmas to other industries such as hospitality or entertainment. She also argued that if shops are widely open when they are normally closed, then public services have to be on duty as well.

David Williams, political officer for Usdaw, says the “snowball effect” will be amplified in years to come if Whitefield’s bill fails next year. “There is a larger community under threat that makes us want to push forward with this, it will have a big knock-on effect.

“Our members learned their lesson over Sunday trading. When that started there were promises of extra money, but that was eroded over time. They are promising treble time to work on New Year’s Day for 2007 but that cannot be sustained. It’s unaffordable. And retail workers will pay the price for it.”

A POPULAR factory shop has replaced Christmas tradition with what is thought to be East Lancashire’s first animatronic Santa. [The Autobiography of Santa Claus]

Winfields, in Blackburn Road, Haslingden, has hired the life-sized mechanical Father Christmas for children who visit the complex.

And he is accompanied by a whole selection of mechanical characters in Santa’s Magical Grotto, including a snowman, penguins and other festive characters.

Unfortunately, the children won’t be able to sit on Santa’s knee, but it responds to being touched, and they can hold his hand, see him move, hear him tell a Christmas story, and sing songs.

The only people children will see are the elves at the beginning and end of the grotto walk, who give out Christmas treat bags.

Dale Winfield, owner and managing director, would not disclose the sum invested to make the experience possible, but it is believed that animatronics can cost tens of thousands of pounds to hire.

He said: “We just wanted to do something for families and children that they would enjoy while doing their Christmas shopping.”

June Semeniuk, PA to Mr Winfield, said: “Technology and animatronics is the way the future is heading. Disney and other such companies are moving, and have moved, into computer-generated, animatronic technologies.

“Children who have visited the grotto so far have enjoyed the experience and we have had a great deal of positive feedback.

“We had human Santas many years ago, but it is a long time since we had a grotto in store.”

Santa is ready for photos, the tree is waiting to be lit, and stores and churches are stocked with cider and cookies. But one church pastor is feeling less than merry about this Saturday’s Old Fashioned Christmas in Hillsboro, an annual town celebration.

Greg Lull, a pastor at Valley Bible Chapel, said he had expected to host a Christmas tea and a reading of “The Night Before Christmas.” But then Lull asked organizers whether he could add a five-minute reading of the traditional Christmas story from the Gospels. In response, the Old Fashioned Christmas Committee decided to relocate the event, which is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and the downtown revitalization organization Hillsborough Pride, to keep it nondenominational. Organizers later cancelled the tea because they could not find another location. [The Criminalization of Christianity]

“I was offended by the fact that the Chamber apparently does not value a tradition I hold dear and many others do,” Lull said. “To call it the old-fashioned Christmas is a little ironic if it doesn’t acknowledge the oldest of all Christmas traditions.”

But Bonnie Morse, a board member of Hillsborough Pride who helped organize the event, said the town’s event is not meant to be religious. “They didn’t want to do it unless it had Jesus’s name in there,” she said. “We didn’t want to get involved in any religious stuff, to keep it as neutral as we can for everyone.”

Andrea Kaubris, administrative assistant to the Chamber of Commerce, said sponsoring a religious event would violate the Chamber’s bylaws, which require it to remain nonsectarian. Even though the holiday is Christian, Kaubris said the celebration is “a commercialized treatment of Christmas just because that’s what the whole Christmas season has come to. It’s about the kids, and it’s about the merchants in town.”

The event, in its 13th year, was created as a way to kick off the Christmas shopping season with sales and activities for kids, culminating in a tree-lighting ceremony, Kaubris said. Churches have been involved in secular ways. Smith Memorial Congregational Church annually hosts a “cookie walk,” where members bake thousands of Christmas cookies for revelers. The Hillsboro United Methodist Church holds a bazaar and serves hot drinks.

Last year, Valley Bible Chapel, an independent evangelical church, hosted photos with Santa Claus, crafts for kids and, Lull said, a puppet show with a Christian message. Chamber of Commerce member Jill Knight, who was involved in the planning last year, said she did not receive any complaints.

Morse said there were last-minute difficulties last year when the church told organizers the morning of the celebration that they could not sell their flowers, ornaments and crafts in the church, causing people to scramble for new locations. Lull said he hadn’t been told in advance about the sales, which are not permitted in church. Morse said that restriction was one reason that this year’s Santa Claus was relocated to the Moose Lodge.

But the committee still wanted the church to participate, so it asked Lull to host a Christmas tea after the evening tree-lighting, which would feature hot tea and cocoa and a reading of “The Night Before Christmas,” a tradition that started at the Fuller Public Library but was discontinued several years ago.

Lull agreed but about a week ago asked the Chamber of Commerce for permission to read the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke or Matthew.

“It’s valuable tradition to us and the oldest one,” Lull said. “I thought it would be the blink of an eye and no problem.”

Instead, the committee canceled the event. Kaubris explained that while the church can hold a reading on its own as part of the Old Fashioned Christmas celebration, the Chamber was uncomfortable sponsoring it.

“A lot of people celebrate Christmas but are not Christian,” committee member Yvonne Wiegelman said, “and a lot of Christians celebrate Christmas and don’t go near a church. We’re trying not to leave people out because of their specific religious leanings.”

But some feel left out nonetheless. Jim Hofford, a member of Valley Bible Chapel, hopes organizers will change their mind. “I’m deeply upset and surprised that at this time of year the one story which is perhaps most foundational to those involved in Christian activities would find any group that wouldn’t want people in the community to hear it,” he said. “The fact that we would have been reading from Scripture for five minutes at most would have been a very special addition to the celebration.

“This decision offends all the members of our chapel,” Hofford said. “It’s an attempt to keep the most famous story of Christmas from being told. Christmas came into being because of the birth of Jesus Christ, and the Bible is the best account we have of it.”

Fay Tomlinson, a deacon at Smith Memorial Congregational Church, said she too would like to see the event held. “Even though it’s a town celebration, people can come and participate in whatever part they want to participate in. If they don’t want to go to tea and hear scripture read, that’s okay,” she said. “Christmas is spelled C-H-R-I-S-T, that’s my feeling. But there are many people who prefer Santa Claus and things of that nature.”

Other celebration participants are divided over how Christian the town’s Christmas celebration should be. Judi Heer, owner of German John’s Bakery on West Main Street, said she understands both sides but agrees with the Chamber.

“If you’re having something at the church itself, they should follow their religious traditions because that’s what the holiday is about,” Heer said. “But I don’t necessarily think a town function should be religious. The town thing is more ‘come in, have refreshments and just enjoy the season.’ They’re right to try to keep their end of it nondenominational.”

But Sharon Whipple, owner of Country Clutter on the corner of School and West Main streets, disagreed. “What is Christmas all about, really?” she said. “Christmas is the birth of Jesus. Why should it be nondenominational? Why should we worry about having the Gospel read?”

Whipple said she would have no problem if part of the celebration were held in the church with Christian traditions.

Kim Wells, owner of Central Square Emporium on West Main Street, believes there must be a balance between religious freedom and respect for all residents. “It’s better to keep it neutral – you have people who are Jewish. They practice Hanukkah. We need to respect that. It’s a free country and everyone should be able to do what they want to do, but I wouldn’t want to offend anybody.”

An official with the US branch of Operation Christmas Child (OCC), an outreach of the international relief ministry Samaritan’s Purse, has denied claims that the programme banned its donors from offering religious items to children. [The Criminalization of Christianity: Read This Book Before It Becomes Illegal]

Operation Christmas Child spokesman Jim Harrelson said that media reports, claiming that the OCC had imposed the ban as part of an effort not to offend Muslims, were not true and that such a ban would be inconsistent with the ministry’s global mission, policies, and practices.

“Christian literature is not banned from the OCC shoebox gifts, as reported,” Harrelson insists. Some items, such as war-related toys, are removed from gift boxes. But seeing as this programme has had an evangelical focus from its inception, he notes that a gospel presentation for children is placed in every shoebox OCC distributes.

However, the ministry representative notes said there is “a slight operational difference in the way the OCC gifts are processed for overseas shipment.” In the UK programme all religious literature as well as “political and military things” are initially removed from the shoeboxes, he explains.

Then, according to procedure in the UK, the OCC staff sorts through these items. However, Harrelson emphasises, the ministry “keeps all the Christian literature, and all of that is sent to the national leadership teams for distribution to the children.”

The processing of the OCC shoebox gifts in the UK “is different from what we do in the US and some of the other sending countries,” the programme spokesman explains. But again, he stresses, “all the Christian literature is forwarded to the national leadership teams, and it’s used specifically for evangelism to children in and through the local churches that we work through.”

Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and distributed more than 46 million shoebox gifts to children in more than 120 countries. Last year alone, the ministry collected 7.6 million shoebox gifts worldwide and distributed them to children in 95 countries.

A public Christmas festival is no place for the Christmas story, the city says. Officials have asked organizers of a downtown Christmas festival, the German Christkindlmarket, to reconsider using a movie studio as a sponsor because it is worried ads for its film “The Nativity Story” might offend non-Christians.

New Line Cinema, which said it was dropped, had planned to play a loop of the new film on televisions at the event. The decision had both the studio and a prominent Christian group shaking their heads.

“The last time I checked, the first six letters of Christmas still spell out Christ,” said Paul Braoudakis, spokesman for the Barrington, Ill.-based Willow Creek Association, a group of more than 11,000 churches of various denominations. “It’s tantamount to celebrating Lincoln’s birthday without talking about Abraham Lincoln.”

He also said that there is a nativity scene in Daley Plaza — and that some vendors at the festival sell items related to the nativity.

The city does not want to appear to endorse one religion over another, said Cindy Gatziolis, a spokeswoman for the Mayor’s Office of Special Events. She acknowledged there is a nativity scene, but also said there will be representations of other faiths, including a Jewish menorah, all put up by private groups. She stressed that the city did not order organizers to drop the studio as a sponsor.

HOA President Says Peace Sign Is Anti-Iraq War, Symbol Of Satan

In a town in scenic southwestern Colorado homeowners are battling over whether a Christmas wreath that includes a peace sign is an anti-Iraq war protest or even a promotion of Satan.

“We have had three or four complaints. Some people have kids in Iraq and they are sensitive,” said Bob Kearns, president of the Loma Lynda Homeowners Association in Pagosa Springs. He also said some believe it is a symbol of Satan.

Jeff Heitz, of the association board, sent a letter to Lisa Jensen saying, “Loma Lynda residents are offended by the peace sign displayed on the front of your house. … This Board will not allow any signs, flags etc. that can be considered divisive….”

The subdivision’s covenants said no signs, billboards or advertising are permitted without the consent of the architectural control committee.

When Kearns ordered the association’s architectural control committee to require Jensen to remove the wreath, they refused. Jack Lilly, chairman of the group, said it decided it was merely a seasonal symbol that didn’t say anything. Lilly also said he had received no complaints from homeowners. Kearns fired all five members of the architectural control committee.

“Somebody could put up signs that say, ‘Drop bombs on Iraq.’ If you let one go up you have to let them all go up,” said Kearns in a telephone interview Sunday. Earlier another homeowner had complied when required to take down a peace sign that was made of a pie plate held up by two skis.

Jensen, a past president of the association in the subdivision of 200 homes 270 miles southwest of Denver, said, “I honestly wasn’t thinking of the Iraq war. Peace is way bigger than not being at war. This is a spiritual thing. I am not going to take it down until after Christmas. Now that it has come to this, I feel I can’t get bullied. What if they don’t like my Santa Claus?” she said.

Kearns said the association will fine Jensen $25 a day for everyday it remains up. She calculates that will cost her about $1,000, although she said she doubts they will be able to make her pay.

Kearns, meanwhile, also said he was concerned about the pagan symbolism of the peace sign. “It’s also an anti-Christ sign. That’s how it started,” he told the Durango Herald.

The newspaper, citing the 1972 edition of “Symbol Sourcebook: An Authoritative Guide to International Graphic Symbols” said that the author was also uncertain about the source of the “crow’s foot” design in the peace symbol. While some say it’s a symbol of total nuclear disarmament (coming from the semaphore signals for N and D) others claim the symbol represents an upside-down cross with broken arms and is therefore anti-Christian or Satanic.

“It’s something that ought to be resolved between the Homeowners Association and the resident right now,” said attorney Mark Payne of Winzenburg, Left, Purvis and Payne.

Payne said these kinds of disputes can be public relations nightmares for homeowner groups even if the facts are on their side.

“The better associations try not to let these things happen,” said Payne. “They try to find a way around it. They try to find a way to resolve the dispute. Other times, these things can’t be resolved and they do end up in court.”

Jensen said she put up the wreath to honor the biblical call for peace and goodwill toward men. She said she and her husband hung the wreath on their outside wall Nov. 15 and plan to leave the wreath and all of her other Christmas decorations up until after Dec. 25.

Jensen said that she’s already gotten a lot of support.

“One of the guys who called us was in tears almost, choked up. He said, ‘I went to war and I fought for peace and they don’t have the right to take that away from you,’” Jensen said.

I don’t know whether the city of York has jumped on some kind of bandwagon, but I was saddened to see that our civic leaders have succumbed to the prevailing political correctness by making reference to several faiths around the area of the Christmas tree (if one is permitted to call it that), located in St Helen’s Square.

May I ask if this is really necessary, when Christmas is, after all, essentially a Christian festival?

When discussions of this nature take place, it is said that unless we either water down Christmas, or at least make reference to other faiths, people of other faiths might be offended. [The Criminalization of Christianity]

However, I have noticed that we only ever hear this from white, Anglo-Saxon local government officials. I have never heard of any Muslim, Sikh, Hindu or adherent to any other faith being offended.

Quite the opposite; I hear them saying on radio, TV and in newspapers “celebrate Christmas and remember the birth of Jesus Christ at this time of year”.

It would appear that certain government officials would like to see the end of the Christian faith in this country, while hiding behind the excuse that we might offend somebody.

As a leader of a medium size to large Christian Church in York, I have respect for all faiths and the people who live by them. Indeed, I worked among people of a mainly Muslim community for three months in 2003.

However, I see no reason to make a hotchpotch of an important Christian festival in the name of political correctness.

Paul V Westlake, The Salvation Army, Gillygate, York.

I have noticed the Archbishop of York’s name cropping up all the time in The Press.

I think this man should be running the country, and just do a bit of church work in his spare time.

Too many people with titles don’t say what they really think in case they offend some one, I think some times you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette.

I wish John Sentamu and his family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

A Stephenson, Huntington Road, York.

Staff at a London borough’s council have been forbidden from hanging some Christmas decorations at work to avoid seasonal injuries.

The Tower Hamlet’s council advised staff in an e-mail Wednesday no decorations such as streamers could be displayed that required climbing to hang from ceilings or walls, the Daily Mail reported.

The council said it had the staff’s well-being in mind, but said it also wanted to avoid lawsuits from employees who were injured while decorating.

Christmas lights of all kinds were banned to cut power bills and to ensure compliance with unspecified safety standards, the memo said.

The council went to lengths to stress it was not canceling Christmas, and endorsed the use of tinsel and baubles and anything else that doesn’t use electricity, the newspaper said.

When you think of the festive season, your mind turns to happy images of joyful families decorating a Christmas tree in all manner of sparkling and prettily coloured items, like baubles and streamers and handguns.

Okay, maybe not handguns.

But that’s what the determinedly edgy shop Urban Outfitters would quite like you to do. In America, the chain has unveiled a 5-inch long glittering handgun ornament as part of its Christmas offerings.

‘Bust a cap in your tree with this superglittery ornament in the shape of a handgun, complete with a satin ribbon for hanging,’ says the classy description of the ‘Glitter Gun Ornament’ in the retailer’s online catalogue.

Predictably, they claim that it puts an ‘ironic twist’ on the holidays.

It’s not the first time Urban Outfitters have courted controversy. They were criticised in the past for t-shirts with slogans like ‘Everyone Loves a Jewish Girl’ (juxtaposed with a dollar sign) and ‘New Mexico, Cleaner Than Regular Mexico’, while they attracted the most impotent rage when they sold a spoof board game called Ghettopoly, in which players competed to buy crack houses.

Leading the grumpiness over the bauble were anti-gun groups.

‘Once again, you see someone trying to profit off of the violent nature of our society, and if that’s the case, they should withdraw the ornament from their catalog right away and submit an apology to the community,’ said Darryl Coates, executive director of the Philadelphia Anti-Drug/Anti-Violence Network – Philadelphia being the city Urban Outfitters is based in.

A statement from Urban Outfitters said: ‘This specific ‘Glitter Gun Ornament’ is by no means condoning the violence that we face in our city, or any city, for that matter, and is not meant to celebrate guns or gun violence.’

A Massachusetts town that canceled its Veterans Day parade is letting another holiday tradition go by the wayside.

NBC 10′s Larry Estepa reported that tight finances have forced Wareham to cancel this year’s Christmas parade.

Many people in town said canceling the parade will only hurt families.

“It’s a shame. What are they going to take away from us next?” one woman said.

For 10 years, the parade stepped off from Besse Park, headed down Main Street and ended at Town Hall with a fireworks display.

The Wareham Police Association, which paid for the fireworks and Santa’s visit, said it was disappointed by the decision to cancel the parade.

Town merchants said they might step in to organize a parade next year if the Recreation Department can’t.

PARENTS expressed outrage last night over a school’s plans to serve pupils a Muslim Christmas dinner.

The headteacher announced that she intended to replace the children’s traditional turkey meal with halal chicken.

She explained that eating poultry which had been slaughtered in the Muslim way would create an “integrated Christmas”.

But furious parents accused the school of undermining the Christian faith.
They were backed by Labour MP Denis MacShane who demanded to know why the children were not being offered a choice.

Mr MacShane said: “No child should be obliged to eat food that is contrary to their personal convictions or religion. Schools should offer a choice and not allow the joyous celebrations of a Christmas dinner to become a divisive issue.

“I hope all the children can join in this fun and if I am invited I would be delighted to sit down with all the children for a Christmas dinner, halal, non halal or the healthy option, vegetarian.”

After Mr MacShane’s intervention, Jan Charters, head of Oakwood School in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, backed down and youngsters will now be offered a choice of halal chicken or a traditional turkey dinner, costing £1.75.

Campaigners and religious organisations said the ban on traditional Christmas celebrations was making Britain a more divided society.

John Midgley, of the Campaign Against Political Correctness, said: “It seems as though the parents have made the school see sense.

“Until common sense prevailed the school was creating a problem when there was no problem.”

Nick Seaton, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: “Headteachers and school governors should not make this sort of mistake in the first place. There are a lot of these silly people around who undermine British culture.

“This is a victory for common sense. It is good these mad politically correct people have been made to think again.”

Abdul Dean, ethnic minorities officer for the Christian People’s Alliance, said: “There is a political agenda here. Who are these people speaking on behalf of Muslims?

“Muslim parents themselves would not have objected to children being offered a choice. The teachers should have taken this on board especially in this time of tension.”

Ms Charters said: “This was an attempt to extend the spirit of inclusion which would allow Muslim children to sit down and enjoy a meal together.

“It is very frustrating that people find motives which are not present and we will not now be doing this.”

Halal meat is slaughtered in accordance with strict Muslim laws with a single cut to the throat.

It is also important that the animal does not have any blood as Muslims are banned from drinking it. This places a great importance on the method of slaughter, in which a sharp knife is used to sever all the vessels in the animal’s neck, causing blood to drain completely.

The practice has been criticised as inhumane by The Farm Animal Welfare Council which has called for it to be banned.

Ms Charters added: “We secured assurances that the slaughterhouse was certified to be killing humanely and all animals were stunned.

“When we discussed the Christmas dinner we said that there was nothing to stop anyone from eating the main course because it was halal although the Muslim pupils will not eat the sausage and bacon rolls. Chicken is chicken as far as I am concerned but there will also be other choices on the menu apart from a Christmas meal.”

Outraged mother Rachel Johnson, from Kimberworth, said: “This is not a racial issue. Why can’t the non-Muslim kids enjoy traditional Christmas fare?

“Why can’t we have a choice of chicken which suits everyone, Muslims and non-Muslims.

“We bend over backwards at Eid (an Islamic festival) to eat traditional Muslim food so why should we have to change our Christmas tradition?” Mrs Johnson added: “I feel my culture is being stolen away from me. I have no objections to halal meat being on the menu so long as there is a choice of traditional Christian Christmas fare.

“A lot of parents have been in touch to support my views. Our culture and religion are being trampled on and it is not right. It is almost as stupid as serving up pork on Eid.”

Her 15-year-old daughter, who did not want to be named, added: “I have no objections to including Muslims in celebrating Christmas but it is quite wrong to offer us only halal meat. A lot of my friends feel the same and say there should be a choice and they were thinking of boycotting the Christmas meal.

“I also think a lot of people will be horrified to know that halal meat is often served at school without a choice. I will not be staying for any more school dinners

“I think the people who make these decisions are adding to the conflict.”

A Rotherham Council spokesman said: “Out of 16 comprehensive schools in the borough only two use private school suppliers. The rest use in-house council caterers. Of those 14 all offer a choice between halal meat and conventionally slaughtered meat”.

Local councillor Mahroof Hussain said: “Christmas is an important time in everybody’s life in Britain and we should celebrate it. If we are talking about food maybe we should have choice but that is a decision for the school governing body.”

THE Hawick Christmas Lights Appeal has been refused any more Scottish Border Council cash this year.
An application for a £500 grant from SBCs ‘Community Council Special Project Fund’ has been rejected, because the lights fund has already received a separate grant of £2,500 earlier this year.
The grant refusal was revealed at a meeting of Hawick Community Council this week — the body which operates the Christmas Lights Appeal — where members were dismayed to learn that a grant awarded for the lights in 2005 was expected to last until 2007.
SBC Community Engagement Officer Clare Master explained to the ‘News’: “Hawick Community Council was awarded £2,500 last year, which was paid in February this year towards Christmas lights.
“However, the lighting purchased in 2005 was not erected as it was caught up in the flooding situation.
“The lighting was purchased, stored and not used, and some areas of Hawick had to go without lighting.”
Referring to the £2,500 Community Grant Scheme, administered by Hawick’s local councillors, she went on: “Members were reluctant to fund for this reason but, so that Hawick Community Council was not out of pocket, the compromise was to fund in 2005, but the grant to be treated as a grant towards Christmas light provision in 2006.
She added: “The Community Council formally accepted the additional condition as part of their Community Grants Scheme contract agreement.”
However, Chairman Zandra Elliot says she had “a pistol to her head” in agreeing to sign the contract last year, in order to avoid paying large lights bills from her own pocket. She added that she was “bemused” by a refusal for the £500 Special Project Fund.
However Clare Master says the decision for no more money had to be honoured.
She added: “Given the condition imposed by the Teviot and Liddesdale Area Committee, we are unfortunately unable to award Hawick Community Council further Council funding towards the Christmas lights during this financial year.”
But she added: “We recognise the excellent work they do for the people of Hawick.”
The refusal for further grants refers to 2006 Christmas lighting provision only, with the Community Council free to apply early in the financial year 2007/2008.
l The Community Council has decided to recommend that the £500 Special Project Fund is spent on refurbishments to Hawick Youth Centre.

FIVE thousand people joined a town’s Christmas lights countdown – but there were no lights to switch on.

They were torn down for safety reasons a week ago after one string of bulbs fell into the street.

But the organisers had the bright idea of going ahead with the switch-on anyway.

The event in Colchester, Essex, had been billed as the “biggest-ever parade and town light switch-on”. It included children marching through the streets with Father Christmas, the chance to meet Colchester United players and youngsters decorating a tree.

But as the countdown reached zero, the only lights that flickered into action were in shop windows and on a Christmas tree.

Father-of-four Lance Harrington, said: “I was disgusted. It was a massive anti-climax.”

Chris Rawlinson, of the Colchester Town Partnership, said: “Two of the cross-street features fell but nobody was injured. “We took them all down for safety reasons.”

When you think of the festive season, your mind turns to happy images of joyful families decorating a Christmas tree in all manner of sparkling and prettily coloured items, like baubles and streamers and handguns.

Okay, maybe not handguns.

But that’s what the determinedly edgy shop Urban Outfitters would quite like you to do. In America, the chain has unveiled a 5-inch long glittering handgun ornament as part of its Christmas offerings.

‘Bust a cap in your tree with this superglittery ornament in the shape of a handgun, complete with a satin ribbon for hanging,’ says the classy description of the ‘Glitter Gun Ornament’ in the retailer’s online catalogue.

Predictably, they claim that it puts an ‘ironic twist’ on the holidays.

It’s not the first time Urban Outfitters have courted controversy. They were criticised in the past for t-shirts with slogans like ‘Everyone Loves a Jewish Girl’ (juxtaposed with a dollar sign) and ‘New Mexico, Cleaner Than Regular Mexico’, while they attracted the most impotent rage when they sold a spoof board game called Ghettopoly, in which players competed to buy crack houses.

Leading the grumpiness over the bauble were anti-gun groups.

‘Once again, you see someone trying to profit off of the violent nature of our society, and if that’s the case, they should withdraw the ornament from their catalog right away and submit an apology to the community,’ said Darryl Coates, executive director of the Philadelphia Anti-Drug/Anti-Violence Network – Philadelphia being the city Urban Outfitters is based in.

A statement from Urban Outfitters said: ‘This specific ‘Glitter Gun Ornament’ is by no means condoning the violence that we face in our city, or any city, for that matter, and is not meant to celebrate guns or gun violence.’

EYEBROWS were raised outside the Myer Christmas windows in Bourke St yesterday when a platypus appeared to be intimately involved with a wombat.

A malfunction was the cause of the accidental and unfortunate positioning of the two characters in this year’s Christmas windows titled Wombat Devine.

But window watchers in attendance did not know about the mistakefor some time and many were quite surprised by what they saw.

“I don’t know what to think,” said a mother of four.

“They look like they are … involved.”

Morning radio programs were flooded with upset callers who thought what they had seen in the particular window was in bad taste.

One curious punter posted a rather raunchy video on the internet site youtube.com allegedly of two koalas from the Melbourne window display also involved in a questionable position.

The video depicts one koala bent over with some sort of robe or sheet covering its head with the other koala positioned behind it.

The mechanical nature of the display creates an interaction between the furry characters that would be better suited to a more adult forum.

But some people who were getting into the Christmas spirit outside the traditional window scenes weren’t at all upset by the scenes.

“It’s for kids and they don’t think like we (adults) do so I’m sure they wouldn’t even notice it,” said one woman with her grandchildren.

Technicians from the company Myer employed to create and install the displays were called in quickly and climbed into the window scene to fix the problem.

They explained the platypus was supposed to be rolling the sleeping wombat to try and wake it up, but the coupling that attached its hand to the wombat was loosened by the rocking motion.

A Rotherham comprehensive school has had to abandon its plan to serve a halal-only Christmas meal to its pupils. [Muslims in America: Race, Politics, and Community Building]

Oakwood Comprehensive had planned to serve only halal chicken for its Christmas dinner, as 20% of its pupils are Asian. The headmistress believed it would extend a “spirit of inclusion” through the school.

Pupils were to be given the choice of halal chicken or a sausage roll wrapped in bacon, but parents objected, as it would undermine the traditional British Christmas. The children now have the option of turkey for the Christmas dinner, as well as a vegetarian choice.

Parents of children at the school claimed that, as they “bent over backwards” to eat Muslim food at Eid, why should the traditional Christmas meal be changed? [The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought]

Rotherham has 16 comprehensive schools, 14 of them use in-house catering and offer halal food alongside conventional meat. Halal meat is obtained from animals slaughtered with a single cut to the throat, with no pre-stunning so the animal remains fully conscious throughout. Animal welfare groups have called the method inhumane. Large amounts of meat served in the schools is halal meat.

There’s no money in this year’s municipal budget for Chemainus Christmas lighting. That’s the decision of the North Cowichan council in response to a request by the Chemainus Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber wants North Cowichan to take over the lighting because of the fire liability issue of putting incandescent lights under overhangs on the old buildings and the expense of replacing them with LED lights.

North Cowichan said it’s too late to get funding this year and advised the Chamber to develop a budget for 2007.

But the town won’t be in the dark. Municipal administrator Jim Dias pointed out that the municipality has contributed $6,000 this year to lighting Waterwheel Park.

Thanksgiving is still a few days away, but in many ways, the Christmas season (which seems to arrive earlier every year) is already upon us.

All the stores have their decorations up, and their pre-pre-Christmas sales are under way. Christmas-themed movies areopening in a theater near you. And now it seems as if the season’s first secular/religious culture clash has already broken out.

A Christmas-themed controversy erupted this week in the unlikeliest of places – the Toys for Tots program. Toys for Tots is a charitable organization run by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve that collects toys from October to December each year to provide Christmas gifts for underprivileged kids.

Seems like the most unlikely thing in the world to generate controversy, right? But trouble came to the program this year when a Los Angeles-based company called one2believe tried to donate 4,000 brand new talking action figures to Toys for Tots, and were turned down.

Why would such a gift be turned down, you might wonder. Could it be that the dolls were too scary, or too “adult”? Did the little figures say things that were too off-color to be heard by tender young ears? Were they unsafe, with sharp edges or pointy surfaces that might injure a little nipper?

No, no, and no. The generous donation was refused because the dolls were a likeness of Jesus Christ that quoted Bible verses at the touch of a button.

Let that sink in for a minute. It was deemed inappropriate for Toys for Tots to give out Jesus action figures as gifts during a holiday that celebrates his birth. [The Criminalization of Christianity: Read This Book Before It Becomes Illegal!]

The whole thing may seem a little ridiculous at first blush, but Toys for Tots had good reason to turn down the donation. The Marine Corps is a government entity, and is therefore not allowed to advance the cause of any particular religion.

Plus the toys they give out go to children from various religious backgrounds, so there is every possibility that a talking Jesus doll could have ended up being unwrapped by a Jewish kid, or a Muslim kid and, well, it might be a little awkward to say the least.

Still, it’s a shame that these dolls can’t get into the hands of some Christian tykes who would enjoy and appreciate them. They really are high-quality toys – 12 inches tall, fully articulating hands with fingers that can grasp things (a feature we called “kung fu grip” when I was a kid), and hand-sewn clothing and sandals.

For those of you who are looking for a complete Bible-inspired action figure set, the company that produces the Jesus doll also sells dolls in the likeness of Mary (featuring a “multi-directional waist” and “rooted hair”), Moses (comes with a cool walking staff), and David (complete with – you guessed it – a slingshot).

I know that there are children out there who would enjoy recreating their favorite Bible stories with these nifty action figures, and my hope is that some private religious organization will come along and coordinate their distribution to needy children whose families wouldn’t be offended by the gift.

Someone really needs to step forward and make sure these dolls get good homes. The thought of 4,000 talking Jesus dolls ending up on the “Island of Misfit Toys” is a scenario that is just too dreadful to contemplate.

Environmental activists are calling for a blackout’ this Christmas.

The calls come in the wake of the ‘I Count’ rally in Trafalgar Square, which called on the UK government to take action against climate change by introducing a new law to reduce carbon emissions year-on-year, and taking lead to keep global warming below a two degree Celsius increase.

On the Saturday night of the rally, lights around London were switched off for two hours to make a symbolic statement which is was hoped would also encourage people to change their energy consumption

Even London Mayor Ken Livingstone gave permission for the lights in City Hall to be turned out.

The organisers, Blackout London, are now extending the ‘War on Energy Abuse’. This time they are hitting the consumerism of Christmas in its most public display – Christmas lights in all shapes and forms be they on a tree, as a rope or a big neon sign outside on homes.

The calls for a Blackout come after Oxford Street Christmas lights were switched on a week earlier than in 2005.

It is hoped that on the December 4th 2006, a whole month after Blackout London took place people will be turning off for one whole day, rather than just a few hours. This includes, say campaigners, switching out lights, pulling the plug on anything sitting on standby and keeping off as many as possible, if not all, electrical appliances.

The campaign is not just aimed at homes. The organisers are asking that public buildings of all description turn off and do their part to stop global destruction (providing that permission is sought first). It is hoped too that churches may join in the campaign, by turning out their floodlights.

Nor is it just Christmas lights which are the target of the festive campaign. Blackout London are also asking the public to wear more clothes when at home, school and work, and turn down the central heating thermostat.

The campaign is a light hearted attempt at delivering a serious message. Right now climate change is the world’s largest problem say activists.

The organisers of the event are clear that people need to re think their ideas and practices even at such a time of celebration.

On their website the public are urged ‘to cut the Carbon’ and that this is a lesson which ‘we must learn soon’. They suggest that there is a window of just ten years to make significant changes.

It was a traditional event which attracted young and old to the streets of the seaside town.

But there will be no ceremonial switching-on of the Christmas lights at Scarborough this year. [Bah Humbug!: And Everything Else We Love About Christmas]

Ten thousand visitors came in December 2005 – but the fire service says that only a fifth of that number can safely attend.

So instead of turning families away – or face a compensation claim if someone was injured – council officials have cancelled the event altogether. Organisers suggested ways to make the ceremony next Sunday safer. But a council spokesman said: ‘It could still seriously jeopardise the health and safety of those who come.’

The problems began when North Yorkshire Fire Service claimed the town centre could cope with only 2,000 visitors.

Scarborough is believed to be the first town to cancel its lights show. [Cancel Christmas]

The decision has outraged residents, who yesterday condemned it as yet another intrusion of the ‘nanny state’.

Penny Marsden, an independent councillor and shopkeeper, said the whole thing was ‘a joke’.

She said: ‘It is another result of the ill-thought-out regulations imposed by the Government. This is no football crowd and I would question whether there have been any problems down the years.

‘This is a joyous occasion when children come out to enjoy the start of Christmas – and we are going to rob them of it.’

Town centre manager Malcolm Hall said he had tried to obtain anti-surge barriers and stewards, but had failed.

‘We’re all bitterly disappointed, but the health and safety of people is paramount,’ he added.

‘I appreciate how much disappointment this decision will cause, but it would be more disappointing if people had to be turned away because of restrictions on the numbers.’

Council chief executive Jim Dillon added: ‘A vast amount of hard work by all parties has been carried out in looking at ways of staging the event safely, but we all feel the risks are far too great.’

It is not the first time Scarborough has enforced stringent health-and-safety guidelines. In September, police applied to ban a war veterans’ annual march through the town unless they paid £300 for an insurance policy. The parade went ahead after a public outcry.

Last year in Bolton, JobCentre staff were banned from putting Christmas decorations on the office ceiling – as they apparently posed a health and safety hazard.

And in the market town of Beverley, East Yorkshire, officials decided that reindeer posed a hygiene risk to the thousands who turned out every year for a festive parade.

They said anyone who touched the animals – the parade’s star attraction – should be made to wash their hands immediately. After much negotiation, it was decided the animals could take part after all. But an official walked alongside the reindeer, carrying antiseptic wipes.

Where has Christmas gone? As we head into another Christmas season, I notice the decorations around Lincoln starting to come out. This year my wife and I decided to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.

We decided to put a Nativity scene on our front lawn, and guess what? There are NO nativity scenes anywhere to be found.

The local stores have deer, birds, bears, elk – all kinds of animals that plug in and light up – but no Nativity scene. The salesman at the local hardware store said, “I don’t think you can buy them anymore.”

The more I thought about that statement, I wondered what are we really celebrating this Christmas season? Can anybody even say “The Birth of Jesus Christ” anymore?

And while we were all asleep over the past years, who has stolen Christmas from us?

I hope the people of Lincoln will join me and look around our city this season and see if they see it is Christmas being celebrated or Disneyland.

I really hope we haven’t lost the true meaning of Christmas. Merry Christmas everyone!