I was very sad this year to go to my 9 yr old's school play on Tuesday to find that the only
mention of Christmas was in relation to shopping for presents - it's consumerism that's the real
problem, not the religious side: cynically one might argue that "denaturing" Christmas gives
business much more opportunity to get people of all faiths or none to spend more on trash. Still,
it was Mithras' birthday before it became Christ's and, as a closet pagan, I quite like the Feast
of the Unconquered Sun meself....
Seriously, perhaps. as others have suggested, we should celebrate diversity not by making
everything blandly grey and thus "inoffensive" but by enjoying the differences as much and as often
as possible
Richard.
-- Begin original message --
> From: "Lefevre, Michele" <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2003 11:02:02 -0000
> Subject: Re: Gideon Bibles/French secularism
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Reply-To: HE Administrators equal opportunities list <[log in to unmask]>
>
> Hi Susanna
>
> I shouldn't think for one moment that you will be in a minority on
> this mailbase. I come from a service background and over the
> years have celebrated a wide variety of festivals, with different
> friends in different countries. I respected and celebrated their
> traditions as they did mine - Christmas included.
>
> As a non-believer I find this decision to be regrettable - assuming it
> isn't apocryphal. Christmas IS a Christian festival and this seems
> to deprive those that believe in Christ of the opportunity of buying
> cards that celebrate their belief and from which they would
> presumably gain most meaning. I always buy cards that don't have
> a religious image on them but that is my choice. I have to say that
> on principle I wouldn't buy anything from an organisation that
> denied that freedom of choice.
>
> I had hoped that we were increasingly moving towards a
> culture of acceptance and respect for diversity but this apparent
> denial of the fundamental meaning of Christmas seems to me to be
> a step backwards.
>
> Season's greetings everyone!
>
> Michele
>
> On 16 Dec 03, at 10:36, Susanna Hancock wrote:
>
> > And the same to your, Faith, and yours!
> >
> > I'm not sure about all this desecularisation! I don't find anybody's
> > religion offensive, and I don't think I'd mind being helped by
> > somebody with a different religion to me. After all, we all have our
> > different motivations. I suppose I might like de secularisation if I
> > was an atheist, but as it is, I like something in all the different
> > religions, and their traditions and cellebrations. Still, I expect
> > I'm in a minority, on this mail base, at anyrate.
> >
> > Susanna.
> >
> >
> > Susanna Hancock
> > Equal Opportunities Manager
> > Human Resource Services
> > Middlesex University
> > Trent Park, Bramley Road
> > London N14 4YZ
> > Telephone: (+44) 020 8411 6873
> > Mobile phone: 07946 411874
> > Email: [log in to unmask]
>
>
> Specialist Academic Support Tutor and HEEON Administrator
> University College Worcester
> Henwick Grove
> Worcester
> WR2 6AJ
> Tel: (01905 85) 5267
> Fax: 01905 855550
>
-- End original message --
Richard Price,Staff Welfare Officer.
Mantell 1A18, University of Sussex, Falmer,Brighton. BN1 9QN
Tel. 01273-877712; Internal 7712
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