Celebrating Christmas confidently

In response to the seasonal flurry of stories about Christmas which attract the familiar words 'political correctness gone mad!', the Christian Muslim Forum have circulated some little-known facts about Christmas, Christians and Muslims:

• 'Winterval' was not intended as a replacement for Christmas.
• Christians celebrating Christmas do not offend people of other faiths.
• Many, many Muslims in this country were educated at Christian (mostly Church of England) schools in this country or elsewhere.
• Muslims are baffled when they read and hear that Christmas is being “banned” and replaced with something else to avoid offending Muslims.
• Both Christians and Muslims in the UK are concerned that a key religious festival is overly commercialised.

Their Christmas Statement can be found by clicking here and includes the following:

"Over the past few years there has been concern about the secularisation or de-Christianisation of certain religious festivals.In particular,concerns that local authorities decided to rename Christmas.In fact,this was not the case,although stories persist of Christmas ‘being banned ’.Some have suggested that Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and wishing people ‘Merry Christmas’ offends members of other religious traditions.

As Muslims and Christians together we are wholeheartedly committed to the recognition of Christian festivals. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus and we wish this significant part of the Christian heritage of this country to remain an acknowledged part of national life. We believe that the only beneficiaries of a declining Christian presence in public life are those committed to a totally non-religious standpoint. We value the presence of clear institutional markers within society of the reality and mystery of God in public life, rather than its absence.

We believe that our open and democratic society should promote freedom and expression of religion in the public space rather than restrict it ... We believe that downplaying the celebration of religious festivals promotes frustration, alienation and even anger within religious communities. Such negative approaches devalue religion and undermine the positive contributions that faith communities bring to society.

We also rejoice in the contribution and value of all religious communities in our country – Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and others. It is important for the integrity of all religious traditions that we recognise the centrality of their major festivals. In our diverse society we need to foster a mature and healthy outlook which recognizes this country’s Christian heritage as well as the important part that other religious traditions play within our culture."

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U2 - Peace On Earth / Walk On.