The biggest 'war on Christmas' myths - It's Christmas time, and there's one proud tradition we see every year: the "War on Christmas" myth. We take a look at some of the best (and one or two with a grain of truth).
Winterval
The grandfather of British War on Christmas myths. Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, raised the spectre again in November this year, saying that "The War on Christmas is over, and likes of Winterval, Winter Lights and Luminos [more on those two later] deserve to be in the dustbin of history.” He’ll be pleased to know that not only is Winterval in the dustbin of history, but it was never part of a war on Christmas in the first place.
In 1997 and 1998, Birmingham City Council ran a promotional campaign called Winterval. It was three months long, and included celebrations of Hallowe’en, Bonfire Night, Diwali, Ramadan, Eid, Hannukah, Advent, Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and Chinese New Year. At Christmas, according to a statement from the council, "there was a banner saying Merry Christmas across the front of the council house, Christmas lights, Christmas trees in the main civil squares, regular carol-singing sessions by school choirs, and the Lord Mayor sent a Christmas card with a traditional Christmas scene wishing everyone a Merry Christmas". Yes, it’s political correctness gone mad.
Luton’s Harry Potter Luminos
Back in 2004, The Sun accused Luton Council of “cancelling Christmas” because it “offended Muslims”. The Liberal Democrat leader of the borough council, one David Granks, apparently attempted "to change Christmas into a Harry Potter festival" called Luminos (after what the Hogwarts wizards say to light up their wands). Shocking. And entirely untrue.
Three years previously, it had held a celebratory weekend festival called Luminos, but that was in November, and had not replaced the council’s usual Christmas celebrations. Mr Franks, understandably annoyed, said: "We had started with a Friday lantern procession to mark Diwali and ended as usual with the traditional switching-on of the town's Christmas lights on Sunday. In between, there was a funfair in the town centre as an added attraction to Christmas shoppers.
"Everyone had a great time, apart from some sections of the media deciding we had ‘cancelled’ traditional festivities. The reports were nonsense then and we were most annoyed to see The Sun repeat them three years later."
Lambeth’s Winter Lights
At last, one with a bit of truth behind it. In 2005, the turning-on of the annual Christmas lights was described in official literature as “Winter Lights” (or, toe-curlingly, as “Celebrity Lights” in one place). After several angry headlines (“The PC lights show”, etc) it transpired that a junior council member had renamed it for fear of offending non-Christians. A council spokesman said: "It was a junior-level decision and it happened to go into print, which was an error, basically.
"It was certainly not a council policy that we should call the lights ‘Winter Lights’."
Bernard Gentry, a Conservative councillor, caught the mood when he said "The idea that, in some way, the religious festival of Christmas is offensive to others is just daft - I have never heard a single person who's said that."
Hospital bans Christmas CD for mentioning Jesus
The Royal Edinburgh Hospital, apparently, refused to distribute a CD of Christmas songs in its shop, because some of the songs - get this - mentioned Jesus! It’s War. War on Christmas. Except, inevitably, it wasn’t true. As Oliver Burkeman reported in The Guardian in 2006, not only was the CD not banned, “it was actually made available at a hospital carol service that had mysteriously evaded the health authority's attempts to stamp out Christmas.” That’s the trouble with these anti-Christmas stormtroopers; they’re just not very good at it.
Wal-Mart bans Merry Christmas
In 2005, a woman emailed Wal-Mart, angry that its employees were wishing her “happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”. She received a slightly tongue in cheek response, saying that Christmas traditions rooted in Siberian shamanism:: "Santa is also borrowed from the Caucuses, mistletoe from the Celts, yule log from the Goths, the time from the Visigoth and the tree from the worship of Baal. It is a wide wide world".
The Catholic League threatened a boycott of Wal-Mart, and the sender of the email very soon found himself out of work.
Wal-Mart continued, however, to have its cashiers say “happy holidays”. In a statement, it said: “With more than 138 million customers coming through our stores every week and a variety of holidays that they celebrate throughout this season, ‘happy holidays’ is a pleasant greeting that applies to everyone and every celebration”.
The John Birch society
It’s not new, all of this. Way back in 1959, the John Birch Society warned America that it was under attack. A pamphlet called “There Goes Christmas?!” (note the interrobang) was distributed, including an essay by Hubert Kregeloh saying that the “Godless” United Nations was planning to take the meaning out of Christmas, so that the Communists would win. Somehow. "One of the techniques now being applied by the Reds to weaken the pillar of religion in our country is the drive to take Christ out of Christmas - to denude the event of its religious meaning", he said. In the end it turned out that the UN was not, in fact, trying to ban Christmas in American department stores, but it was worth checking.
Christmas with a capital C
It’s not exactly a War on Christmas myth, this, so much as a hilarious distillation of every other myth. It’s a film, released this year, in which Angry Atheist Daniel Baldwin (the other one. No, not Stephen. The other other one) returns to his small Alaskan hometown after years in the big city, and proceeds to Wage War on Christmas. To do that, he bans everything he can think of, generally in the name of the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Luckily, God-fearing All American Ted McGinley is there to see him off. Watch the trailer (above), it’s side-splitting. We’re not sure if there’s going to be a UK release, but we hope so. ( telegraph.co.uk )
Winterval
The grandfather of British War on Christmas myths. Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, raised the spectre again in November this year, saying that "The War on Christmas is over, and likes of Winterval, Winter Lights and Luminos [more on those two later] deserve to be in the dustbin of history.” He’ll be pleased to know that not only is Winterval in the dustbin of history, but it was never part of a war on Christmas in the first place.
In 1997 and 1998, Birmingham City Council ran a promotional campaign called Winterval. It was three months long, and included celebrations of Hallowe’en, Bonfire Night, Diwali, Ramadan, Eid, Hannukah, Advent, Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and Chinese New Year. At Christmas, according to a statement from the council, "there was a banner saying Merry Christmas across the front of the council house, Christmas lights, Christmas trees in the main civil squares, regular carol-singing sessions by school choirs, and the Lord Mayor sent a Christmas card with a traditional Christmas scene wishing everyone a Merry Christmas". Yes, it’s political correctness gone mad.
Luton’s Harry Potter Luminos
Back in 2004, The Sun accused Luton Council of “cancelling Christmas” because it “offended Muslims”. The Liberal Democrat leader of the borough council, one David Granks, apparently attempted "to change Christmas into a Harry Potter festival" called Luminos (after what the Hogwarts wizards say to light up their wands). Shocking. And entirely untrue.
Three years previously, it had held a celebratory weekend festival called Luminos, but that was in November, and had not replaced the council’s usual Christmas celebrations. Mr Franks, understandably annoyed, said: "We had started with a Friday lantern procession to mark Diwali and ended as usual with the traditional switching-on of the town's Christmas lights on Sunday. In between, there was a funfair in the town centre as an added attraction to Christmas shoppers.
"Everyone had a great time, apart from some sections of the media deciding we had ‘cancelled’ traditional festivities. The reports were nonsense then and we were most annoyed to see The Sun repeat them three years later."
Lambeth’s Winter Lights
At last, one with a bit of truth behind it. In 2005, the turning-on of the annual Christmas lights was described in official literature as “Winter Lights” (or, toe-curlingly, as “Celebrity Lights” in one place). After several angry headlines (“The PC lights show”, etc) it transpired that a junior council member had renamed it for fear of offending non-Christians. A council spokesman said: "It was a junior-level decision and it happened to go into print, which was an error, basically.
"It was certainly not a council policy that we should call the lights ‘Winter Lights’."
Bernard Gentry, a Conservative councillor, caught the mood when he said "The idea that, in some way, the religious festival of Christmas is offensive to others is just daft - I have never heard a single person who's said that."
Hospital bans Christmas CD for mentioning Jesus
The Royal Edinburgh Hospital, apparently, refused to distribute a CD of Christmas songs in its shop, because some of the songs - get this - mentioned Jesus! It’s War. War on Christmas. Except, inevitably, it wasn’t true. As Oliver Burkeman reported in The Guardian in 2006, not only was the CD not banned, “it was actually made available at a hospital carol service that had mysteriously evaded the health authority's attempts to stamp out Christmas.” That’s the trouble with these anti-Christmas stormtroopers; they’re just not very good at it.
Wal-Mart bans Merry Christmas
In 2005, a woman emailed Wal-Mart, angry that its employees were wishing her “happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”. She received a slightly tongue in cheek response, saying that Christmas traditions rooted in Siberian shamanism:: "Santa is also borrowed from the Caucuses, mistletoe from the Celts, yule log from the Goths, the time from the Visigoth and the tree from the worship of Baal. It is a wide wide world".
The Catholic League threatened a boycott of Wal-Mart, and the sender of the email very soon found himself out of work.
Wal-Mart continued, however, to have its cashiers say “happy holidays”. In a statement, it said: “With more than 138 million customers coming through our stores every week and a variety of holidays that they celebrate throughout this season, ‘happy holidays’ is a pleasant greeting that applies to everyone and every celebration”.
The John Birch society
It’s not new, all of this. Way back in 1959, the John Birch Society warned America that it was under attack. A pamphlet called “There Goes Christmas?!” (note the interrobang) was distributed, including an essay by Hubert Kregeloh saying that the “Godless” United Nations was planning to take the meaning out of Christmas, so that the Communists would win. Somehow. "One of the techniques now being applied by the Reds to weaken the pillar of religion in our country is the drive to take Christ out of Christmas - to denude the event of its religious meaning", he said. In the end it turned out that the UN was not, in fact, trying to ban Christmas in American department stores, but it was worth checking.
Christmas with a capital C
It’s not exactly a War on Christmas myth, this, so much as a hilarious distillation of every other myth. It’s a film, released this year, in which Angry Atheist Daniel Baldwin (the other one. No, not Stephen. The other other one) returns to his small Alaskan hometown after years in the big city, and proceeds to Wage War on Christmas. To do that, he bans everything he can think of, generally in the name of the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Luckily, God-fearing All American Ted McGinley is there to see him off. Watch the trailer (above), it’s side-splitting. We’re not sure if there’s going to be a UK release, but we hope so. ( telegraph.co.uk )
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