School have banned the word "christmas"!!!

inkie

I'm a primary school RE teacher.

If we want to get all technical about this, Christmas is the beginning of Christmastide, a twelve day period which begins at the close of advent. Christmas is a time when Christians remember the birth of Jesus, even though this event is most likely to have taken place in January. Advent, which I have been teaching about this afternoon, comes from the Latin 'adventus' which means arrival or coming. It is a Christian period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Advent is the four weeks before Christmas, beginning on November 30th, or the Sunday nearest to it (the four Sundays before Christmas Day). On each of the four Sundays in advent in traditional churches, a different candle on the Advent Wreath is lit, traditionally representing something different. The feast day Epiphany is traditionally celebrated in Western Christianity on 6th January representing the time the Magi (aka The Wise Men) visited Jesus. I believe Roman Catholics celebrate this on the Sunday closest to that date.

It may be worth checking that the assembly wasn't simply explaining that we are in Advent now and it is not Christmas yet. I'm not entirely sure that attempting to ban the use of a religious festival name is actually allowed, although I work in a community school with children from various faith groups, and none. I often talk about Eid or Yom Kippur at different times of the year (or even Christmas - when one delightful 7 year old thought that in July it was Christmas in Australia!).

On the entirely practical front, I am in full sympathy with the problems Christmas cards can cause - in the playground and in the classroom, especially if children are just handing them out. A child not getting a card when everyone else does can upset them for the rest of the day. A simple school post box system soon solves that one, they love posting the cards and each class gets given all their cards at the end of the week, including ones the teacher or head has written to make sure every child gets something. For some pupils, "Happy Holidays" will be more suitable, and Jehovah's Witness children require generic winter themed cards, but everyone can be included.

Might be worth checking she didn't mean Christmas cards are banned until a different date. We restrict them to the last two weeks of term (so beginning next Monday).

Excellent post. Advent and Christmas are 2 seperate seasons, and it is sad that Christmas is being allowed generally to crowd into Advent.
The school does well to focus on Advent during this time! I lead assemblies in an Infant school and I am purposefully focussing on Advent and not Christmas.

margaretclare

GracieP wrote: »

Not really. According to the descriptions in the New Testament Jesus was most certainly not born in December. There are different reasons for assuming it was in either April or October but it was certainly between those two months, between spring and the end of the summer. As numerous things which happened according to the bible would not ever have happened in the winter months, in that region, in that time period.

Besides that Jesus himself did not want his birth celebrated. It was not custom in Jewish society at that time and he would never have celebrated it himself. Instead he urged his followers to celebrate his death and rebirth, passages of The Corinthians even go so far as to state that celebrating his birth is unholy.

The mid-winter period was co-opted by the Christian church after the Roman Emperors converted and decided to convert their empire along with them. Co-option of local celebrations to Roman ones was a long standing method employed throughout the expansion of the empire, so much of Roman culture was basically Greek with a Latin twist, and it's not surprising that they used a method that had worked for them for centuries when they wanted to spread Christianity. Nearly all of the major Christian holidays are based on pre-existing festivals, Christmas is Yule, Mithrasmas and Saturnalia, Easter is Passover and Ostara, All Souls Day is Samhain, etc. Even local Christian festivals, such as celebrations of native saints very often have their roots in the celebrations of native gods, such as the Irish St. Bridgid's Day falling at the same time as the previous celebration to the fire goddess Br!d.

Realistically Christmas is just the latest name for the mid-winter celebration which has been held in Europe and the Middle-East for nearly as far back as there have been human tribes. It's a time for eating our fill and celebrating with our loved ones. It's about getting us through a grim winter and providing a little light and warmth during a dark and cold time. If people also want to add to this time a worship of their gods, then that's awesome for them and it's also a very old human tradition, for all believers in all sorts of gods. But the fact remains that the "real" meaning of Christmas is today what it has always been; a celebration of life and the people we love, a time to delight in having our loved ones to celebrate with and to remember those who we've lost, and to hope that we will all still be here to do it again next year.

Yes, I know all that. I don't need a history lesson.

I also have friends who have gone back to the old gods. They celebrate, but they don't call it Christmas, they call it Yule, or Geol in Anglo-Saxon.

I disagree with your assertion of what the real meaning of Christmas is. If you want it to be as you say, then please leave the name of Christ out of it.

Remembering those we've lost. Yes, this is another reason why this end of the year is particularly difficult for DH and me and why we don't 'celebrate' at all, apart from enjoying going to the Advent Service (last Sunday) and carol services to come. My younger daughter died very suddenly on 30th December 2002 when she was just 39. Tomorrow would have been her 48th birthday.

I completely agree with Inkie above. I was always led to believe that Christmas didn't start until midnight on Christmas Eve and that the 4 weeks preceding were Advent. I think a lot of the problem is that we get it rammed down our throats for so long beforehand, it just becomes a total bore. The supermarkets had Merry Christmas displayed on Remembrance Sunday, thereby conveying the message that it is all about spending money, shopping.

meritaten

I cannot help wondering why Christmas cards are not banned from the school entirely! tbh - they are merely a Victorian invention and hardly in the Tradition of christmas. after all the three kings and the shepherds actually turned up and didnt send a nice Hallmark card with a gift did they?

Padstow

ebayqueen wrote: »

I think you should be ashamed of yourself. How dare you insult everything that Christians treasure. :mad: That is a disgusting statement.

It seems acceptable to insult Christians but not other faiths.:(

Could others please do what I have done and report this posting.

I don't report, it's akin to running to the teacher. "Please Miss". No, I bide my time.

paddedjohn

ebayqueen wrote: »

I think you should be ashamed of yourself. How dare you insult everything that Christians treasure. :mad: That is a disgusting statement.

It seems acceptable to insult Christians but not other faiths.:(

Could others please do what I have done and report this posting.

Get a grip, grown up people believing in angels and virgin births is just crazy, there is more proof of dinosaurs roaming the earth than there is of Adan and Eve or J.C. I respect your right to your beliefs as I do with people of all religions but it cuts both ways, as soon as someone has the audacity to say something you dont like then you scream abuse.
Your views are tantamount to facism, you think you are entitled to your views whilst suppressing any opposition to them.

LIGHTEN UP IT'LL SOON BE CHRIMBO;)

jamespir

paddedjohn wrote: »

This is my take on the whole business.........................Christmas is supposedly Jesus's birthday and Santa is Father Christmas so therefore Santa is the father of Jesus and that means Father Christmas is God.
By this rhetoric, Mary had a bit with a bloke in a red suit 2000 odd years ago while Joseph was tending to his donkey and he ended up being lumbered with someone else's kid.
You couldn't make it up could you.;)

santa is actually saint nicolous who gave presents to the poor

paddedjohn

jamespir wrote: »

santa is actually saint nicolous who gave presents to the poor

More or less correct, St Nicholas was merged with Sinterclaas and Father Christmas to give us Santa Claus.;)

System

ebayqueen wrote: »

I think you should be ashamed of yourself. How dare you insult everything that Christians treasure. :mad: That is a disgusting statement.

It seems acceptable to insult Christians but not other faiths.:(

Could others please do what I have done and report this posting.

Personally, I took this as a joke - nothing to get offended over, and certainly nothing that should be reported. I'm a Christian, and when I was a kid I wrote an updated Christmas story which included something about Mary realising she had to find herself a husband after finding out she was pregnant, and going off to the local pub to get one. My mum thought it was hilarious (for a nine-year-old), and saw it for what it was - a joke.

As for it being unacceptable to insult people of other faiths, I think this assertion tends to get thrown about quite freely without much to back it up. The strongest example that jumps to mind is the Muhammad cartoons that were published a few years ago. There was was a big protest over that, but also lots of people protesting their right to free speech and arguing that the cartoons should be allowed.

ETA: I would imagine the original issue is probably a misunderstanding in some way, but would be interested to hear some clarification from the OP on Monday!

Welshwoofs

I wish someone would ban bloody Christmas.....people are already saying its Christmas and we're only just into December for goodness sake! Soon we'll no doubt be delighted with the festive sights of blowsy secretaries and lecherous beer-bellied men falling out of chain restaurants drunk on cheap wine and frozen turkey. Then there's the annual calling of the 'spoilt brat who wants to blackmail his parents into the latest games console by screaming his head off in the middle of Tesco Extra'. There's the tacky light displays and the oh-so-bloody hilarious comedy Christmas hats that total knobheads seem to delight in wearing around the place. Oh and let's not forget the obscene mountains of really c-rappy foods positively bursting from every supermarket shelf and the famine mentality of people ramming their trollys 10 miles high because O.M.G ?..the shops close for a whole bloody day. We may starve!!!!!

Secret bloody santas.....no I don't want to buy some crudhead in the office who I probably wouldn't recognise if I tripped over them, some piece of tat and then have to pretend that I'd actually put some thought into it rather than, say, rewrapped whatever piece of crud someone else I've never heard of gave me in last year's secret Santa.

Restaurants stop serving decent food and roll out their hideous Christmas menus...complete with crackers which, frankly, I'd rather see rammed up the backside of the waiting staff than ever open....especially if it involves the indignity of wearing a stupid bloody hat (this year I have spent £50 on 6 crackers PURELY because they have no hat and come with a nice Venetian masquerade mask....to mask the tears of shame....instead)

Bah....be glad when it's sodding January.

liana_y2kuk

Welshwoofs wrote: »

I wish someone would ban bloody Christmas.....people are already saying its Christmas and we're only just into December for goodness sake! Soon we'll no doubt be delighted with the festive sights of blowsy secretaries and lecherous beer-bellied men falling out of chain restaurants drunk on cheap wine and frozen turkey. Then there's the annual calling of the 'spoilt brat who wants to blackmail his parents into the latest games console by screaming his head off in the middle of Tesco Extra'. There's the tacky light displays and the oh-so-bloody hilarious comedy Christmas hats that total knobheads seem to delight in wearing around the place. Oh and let's not forget the obscene mountains of really c-rappy foods positively bursting from every supermarket shelf and the famine mentality of people ramming their trollys 10 miles high because O.M.G ?..the shops close for a whole bloody day. We may starve!!!!!

Secret bloody santas.....no I don't want to buy some crudhead in the office who I probably wouldn't recognise if I tripped over them, some piece of tat and then have to pretend that I'd actually put some thought into it rather than, say, rewrapped whatever piece of crud someone else I've never heard of gave me in last year's secret Santa.

Restaurants stop serving decent food and roll out their hideous Christmas menus...complete with crackers which, frankly, I'd rather see rammed up the backside of the waiting staff than ever open....especially if it involves the indignity of wearing a stupid bloody hat (this year I have spent £50 on 6 crackers PURELY because they have no hat and come with a nice Venetian masquerade mask....to mask the tears of shame....instead)

Bah....be glad when it's sodding January.

Wow good rant. I havent heard crudhead for a while, it made me laugh. I must admit that I do agree with you on a few points. People buying 60 pints of milk to last one day winds me up. I dont understand why my mum has to empty her freezer just before christmas too. Its big enough to fit food AND a turkey.