I heard they want to ban the word ‘Christmas’ from schools because it offends Muslims. Makes my blood boil that does.

I heard they want to ban the word ‘Christmas’ from schools because it offends Muslims. Makes my blood boil that does.

The origins of the Christmas is banned myth goes back to 1997 when Birmingham City Council's sought to create a campaign that encompassed Christmas, Diwali, the Frankfurt Christmas Market, Children in Need, the outdoor ice rink, New Year's Eve and various other city-wide celebrations. Preferring a single banner campaign, the outcome was 'Winterval', a portmanteau of 'winter' and 'festival'.
Despite the front page of the Council's Winterval brochure (which included details of all of the city's events including Christmas) having the word 'Christmas' on its front page three times - the street posters also prominently featured the word 'Christmas' - a local newspaper 'broke' the Christmas is banned story on 8 November 1998.
Within days, the story had gone national.
As the Guardian reported a few years ago, between the Times and Sunday Times the Winterval myth has been repeated 40 times since 1998, surpassed only by the Daily Mail repeated on 44 separate occasions. Elsewhere, the Sun has repeated it 31 times, the Daily Telegraph 22 and the Express 26. Tellingly, the Guardian has mentioned it just six times (a number of which seek to debunk the myth), the Daily Mirror just four.
Possibly more problematic than the mere repetition of the original myth is that, as with our conservative friend, the myth gets exported and mass-produced, endemic amongst a vast array of different - and nameless - councils and authorities all over the country.
Equally problematic is the way in which the original myth is also routinely and regularly updated and expanded.
So for example, one local newspaper recently claimed that councils had been given a set of "new rules" that enforce the banning of Christmas. Unsurprisingly, the newspaper failed to detail who created 'the rules' as also who might be required to enforce them.
A worrying part of this expansion is the inclusion of who is to 'blame' for the banning of Christmas. As the national newspaper articles referred to previously show, at least 15 of them directly claim that Christmas is being banned because it offends 'other faiths' (hence the Christmas cards from the Muslim Council of Britain).
A further 10 directly claim it is because Christmas offends 'ethnic minorities'.
Again somewhat unsurprisingly, none appear to be substantiated with evidence.

The origins of the Christmas is banned myth goes back to 1997 when Birmingham City Council's sought to create a campaign that encompassed Christmas, Diwali, the Frankfurt Christmas Market, Children in Need, the outdoor ice rink, New Year's Eve and various other city-wide celebrations. Preferring a single banner campaign, the outcome was 'Winterval', a portmanteau of 'winter' and 'festival'.
Despite the front page of the Council's Winterval brochure (which included details of all of the city's events including Christmas) having the word 'Christmas' on its front page three times - the street posters also prominently featured the word 'Christmas' - a local newspaper 'broke' the Christmas is banned story on 8 November 1998.
Within days, the story had gone national.
As the Guardian reported a few years ago, between the Times and Sunday Times the Winterval myth has been repeated 40 times since 1998, surpassed only by the Daily Mail repeated on 44 separate occasions. Elsewhere, the Sun has repeated it 31 times, the Daily Telegraph 22 and the Express 26. Tellingly, the Guardian has mentioned it just six times (a number of which seek to debunk the myth), the Daily Mirror just four.
Possibly more problematic than the mere repetition of the original myth is that, as with our conservative friend, the myth gets exported and mass-produced, endemic amongst a vast array of different - and nameless - councils and authorities all over the country.
Equally problematic is the way in which the original myth is also routinely and regularly updated and expanded.
So for example, one local newspaper recently claimed that councils had been given a set of "new rules" that enforce the banning of Christmas. Unsurprisingly, the newspaper failed to detail who created 'the rules' as also who might be required to enforce them.
A worrying part of this expansion is the inclusion of who is to 'blame' for the banning of Christmas. As the national newspaper articles referred to previously show, at least 15 of them directly claim that Christmas is being banned because it offends 'other faiths' (hence the Christmas cards from the Muslim Council of Britain).
A further 10 directly claim it is because Christmas offends 'ethnic minorities'.
Again somewhat unsurprisingly, none appear to be substantiated with evidence.

Hold the respect - the article's a copy'n'paste from the Huffington Post