'I never thought I'd live to see the day', how often do we say that? Early on Thursday morning, because I was completely weary watching the Jim Murphy Show on the BBC, I decided to browse the papers for some light-hearted relief.
Imagine my surprise when, in the Scotland section of the Times, a header 'We wish you a merry Christmas (but not in Dundee)'. Yes, I did have to read it twice.
Dundee, the place of my birth, the once thriving centre of industries such as ship building, jute making, Smedleys, Timex, NCR, has finally been consumed by the Righteous brigade and in the first year of an SNP council to boot. I've heard of labour councils playing this silly game but it never crossed my mind an SNP council would be so accommodating to the Righteous.
All references to Christmas have been dropped from the switching-on ceremony, on 27 November, for the city's festive lights and the occasion will be now known as "Dundee Winter Light Night." Council officials have also decided that rather than a retelling of the Nativity story there will be a disco, a contemporary circus, a continental market and a 7 foot fairy on stilts.
Members of the Presbytery of Dundee are up in arms. Too right and good for them. I would have thought most of the population would disagree with this move.
The council really should do their homework rather better before including Winter in their title. Winter is usually defined here as starting on the winter solstice which is 21 December therefore, to be truly politically correct the title should be Dundee Autumnal Light Night.
Come on Dundee council, stop the nonsense and give Dundee's Christmas lights their proper label. There's nothing politically correct about this change. The message I get from it is you're still a bunch of numpties, even though you've changed colour.
I never thought I'd live to see the day Dundee purposely ignored the celebration of Christmas.
Posts
36 comments:
Agree entirely with your sentiments. (I have not seen the article though and can't comment on that.) If it's the Christmas lights, surely it's the Christmas lights. It's unlikely any other religion or faith will be confused by the word Christmas; more likely to be those of no faith or anti-faith. These are fair and honest positions to take, and such robust inidividuals don't need to be told that they are not compelled to attend (or smile) at such occasions.
I can't see Christmas Day ever being changed to 'Winter Dayoff' but we could change the name of Boxing Day (so tainted with class-bias, I think) to 'Faiths and Friends Together Day'. (And watch the Christmas lights together.)
First they came for..........
Those in Dundee complaining are not wanting their cake and eat it, surely....
I jest, I jest - sorry, could not resist it...
Seriously though SR, have we learnt nothing? What does anyone expect with the current 'pc religion' that pervades our bureaucracy?
As for changing the name of Boxing Day - For Christ's sake (no pun intended) it is f'king Boxing Day, has been and should remain so and anyone who doesn't like it can p'off and live somewhere else. Oh yes, and they are Christmas Lights, not Winter Lights, Winterval Lights or any other kind of lights - they are f'king Christmas Lights! Got it? Good!
I thought it was "Dundee Winter White Night"
Which is clearly, racist, seasonist and diurnalist, probably sexist too.
....and exactly what is the festive significance of "the seven foot fairy on stilts"? On stilts?
William Topaz McGonagall would have something to say about this latest Dundee catastrophe.
Dear Mek, there's a link at the bottom to the article. I always do my best to verify content of posts. :)
Faiths and Friends Together Day doesn't exactly roll off the tongue does it? Friends Day may sound better. Actually it could be called Sales Day if the actions of some in this house are anything to go by. They do sometimes get a bargain though!
Oh OR, developments such as this are worrying.
Good one WfW, well done!!
I'm just so disappointed that the SNP are going down this road and falling at the feet of the politically correct lobby.
I thought they had more intelligence.
I celebrate Christmas - end of.
Quiet_Man said...
'I thought it was "Dundee Winter White Night"
Which is clearly, racist, seasonist and diurnalist, probably sexist too'
They should just go the whole hog and call it the inauguration party of the Dundee Winter White Knights and have down with it..
w/v: kadshers - that's got to be a euphemism for something
I think the actual switching on of the lights is to be called 'Dundee Winter Light Night' QM but yes, I'm sure there's something sexist in it too.
Clarinda, the lassie who calls herself the 'Christmas fairy' (has no one told her the word's banned yet?), said this
:
Karen Scrimgeour, who will take on the role of Christmas — or possibly Winter Light — Fairy and will wear stilts that will boost her height to 7ft 6in, said: “It’s a bit of a power trip being this tall as I’m normally only 5ft 2in. I’m very excited about being the Christmas Fairy this year. I can’t wait to see all the kids’ faces light up.”
I hope her parents have her well insured and the council's public liability is up to date.
BTS, Dundonians should just shun the event. That may teach these foolish councillors their ideas aren't acceptable.
Subrosa
Sounds depressingly like the famous "Winterval" dreamt up by Birmingham City Council a couple of years ago.
That was quietly dropped after a year following a chorus of derision from Brummies (including muslim, hindu, christian and non-faith). Another example of the people having more sense than their elected representatives and their officials.
Ah yes you're rigth Cruachan, it was Birmingham.
I had Manchester in mind when I was typing it.
Do hope Dundonians protest though. What's disappointing is that, for the first time in my adult life, Dundee is now an SNP run council and they come up with this.
SR, why not just turn up and start singing Christmas carols very loudly?
I'm an atheist but I even think this whole concept is bloody mental..
BTS I'd possibly be arrested for breach of the peace.
It's the children I feel sorry for, they're having their childhood removed by this type of bureaucratic behaviour.
Hi SR
Notice that the Press and Journal still has no comments at 11:00pm!
Will we find out who is responsible?
Perhaps! But they would not dare mess with an Islamic festival, they would not even get near one.
Find the specific councillors responsible and find out why this happened. People should make the council aware they are not pleased. If not satisfied, dont vote for them again!
If you feel it necessary, contact their party organisation and make them aware of your displeasure.
THEY know for every person who writes, ten others would have but didnt get a chance, and probably another fifty were not happy about it. The numbers soon add up. And when elections come, the public tend to be reminded of these things.
D.
Yes the SNP in Dundee have been a massive let down. Cancelling the hogmany party in the City Square after all the promises before they were elected was disgraceful. And now this nonsense with the winter lights.
The SNP have been helpless while NCR, Tesco Distribution, Foreman Construction, Waterfront housing projects and many other small businesses have closed or shed jobs. If this is the best that the SNP can do then I think many people will desert them.
I'm now a floating voter and don't see the SNP giving me much to hang onto.
Independence doesn't look too good if we stay part of the EU so the SNP's slogan of Independence in Europe doesn't appeal to me. Their policy of more immigration while thousands are on the dole is electoral suicide. Their million pound support for the Scottish Islamic Foundation is damaging to our culture and upsets christian voters.
And their recent defeat in Glasgow highlights how out of touch they are with ordinary people. Some ex Pravda hooray henry was the wrong choice. A real local bruiser would have been more successful. He was a good candidate for Stirling or Edinburgh but not a place like Glasgow North East.
I live outside Dundee Apogee so don't have a vote there but I've plenty friends who do.
Earlier on Twitter I saw a Dundee councillor and told him what I thought. I may write to the Courier too - that's the local paper.
Quite a few of my Dundee based friends voted SNP guinness and they all feel like yourself. I'm always saying give the SNP more time. Now I'll stop that because I'm not going to keep talking them up any longer.
Of course it wasn't the SNP's fault so many businesses have gone to the wall or shrunk in size, but you'd think they would want local support wouldn't you and acting like this is only going to give ammunition to the unionists and antagonise the Dundonians.
They definitely seem out of touch with the people and I hope they get their comeuppance quickly to waken them up.
Being in power is all very well, but if the power loses the confidence of the people then it is no longer useful.
Oooh! A seven foot fairy on stilts. I'm coming, I'm coming. Where are you sweetheart!
Careful now DL, she's only a lassie. Now if it was me ... rofl
In the biggest Moslem country in the world, Indonesia, you will see lots of "Merry Christmas" signs at Christmas. And Moslems will wish their Christian neighbours "Happy Christmas". - Aangirfan
Doesn't surprise me in the least Aangirfan.
It's not the Muslim lobby or any other religious lobby which calls for the word to be dropped, it's the liberal nutters who think they know what everyone else thinks and somehow they're believed.
I have 2 points of view as far as this is concerned. The first is that the political correct nutters in Dundee Council need firing. This is NOT what we pay our council taxes for.
I don't wnat to go back to the days when it was perfectly reasonable to have a notice saying "Blacks and Irish need not apply", or when there was a salary scale for men and one for women, but this kind of political correctness has gone far too far.
Once at a meeting in the council, I was told not to use the term "brain storming" as it might offend people sho suffered from epilepsy!!!!!
So, I'll be trying to find out tomorrow who came up with this whole stupid idea and when I find out, I'll let the have some home truths. I count christains, athiests, muslims and hindus among my mates and I've never once, ever heard anyone say anything that remotely indicates that they are offended by Christmas. NEVER. What nonsense.
OK, from the other side of the coin, I can now say that I am deeply surprised that the Presbytery of Dundee are getting into any kind of state about this, except for the reasons of objecting to political correctness.
How anyone who is a committed Christian can be in the least bit happy with the idea of having their religion associated with 2 months of frenzied spending, greed gluttony and drunkenness and debt that Christmas has been allowed to become in this country is well and truely beyond my comprehension.
I've spent the last few years working in the community centres in some of the least well-off parts of town (hence my knowledge of PC council rules and regulations) and the misery that Christmas and its commericalisation has caused is simply untold. People still paying off last year's debts and getting into more debt because "ye hae tae gie the bairns a guid christmas". it goes against everything I have ever heard of belonging to the church.
If I were the Pesbytery I'd wish the whole stinking lot of it good riddence and make an effort to sieze back Christmas for it's original purpose. The birth of Christ.
Sorry for all the spelling mistakes in that rather hastily dashed off in anger post.......
kinda drive by shouting response on this as i stumbled over your blog....
erm....
Didn't christ steal the winter soltace?
I'm sure he did -
in fact didnt the beloved show QI do a whole piece on it?
yeah they did, you know.... -
give it back -
I for one will be embracing Dundee's decision -
Well done Dundee!
No more dead effigies on a bit a wood!
OH while we are at it, can we take that digrace of flag down and represent a nation, not a spagetti monster?
and further, to Scotland in Europe - An independent scotland (just like all the other independent nations) would qualify for more MEP representation than the poxy six we currently have, prob around 13 is the current equivalent -
I cant believe some people are still banging on about the union in the uk - when London has already left and gone to Brussels!
Sorry, poor spelling and missing bits, while Soapboxing.)
Thank you Tris, lovely post.
When I was a wee girl Christmas Day was a special day but everyone went to work as normal, no holiday.
Everyone I knew had a special meal sometime in the day, either a lunch or evening meal and it was usually chicken.
Children were treated much as today - they were the focal part of the festivities but of course their presents weren't vast, they were special.
None of my family took part in any Christmas Day religious services although we always said grace at the table every day.
The financial cost of Christmas has been encouraged by politicians and Christian religious leaders over the years - neither have made any attempt to curb the commercialisation which goes on now.
It was a time in the year which we quietly celebrated for peace and goodwill to others. Time the Dundee presbytery thought a bit about that right enough. In fact, long past time.
Hope you didn't hurt yourself coming here Calling Lugton...
I'm not sure if you're aware that the present SNP policy for Europe is to become a member once we become independent.
That's a debate I'd like us to have and soon.
I didn't, thanks -
I am fully aware that is the SNP policy.
I would hope the basic increase in representation 6/13 Meps in the "new world order's union/empire" would make pro and anti europeans, in Scotland, both decide independence is the way to have either of those choices.
I would love to see more information / debate and a referendum on Europe.
I would furthermore like to see more availability and scrutiny over the actual
"consolidated EU treaty",
so people actually know what they are talking about, so as to make an informed decision.
Should everyone not have a full readable copy of their new constitution given to them?
Tony Blairs 5 year Presidency to start on the 19th?
but I shall wait for the appropriate blog to get my EU soapbox out if thats oki!)
Thanks CL.
Oh, happy “Dundee Winter Light Night" btw ;-)
Could've picked a better name I must admit))
Look at the councils own website and please explain to us how Christmas has been "banned" given the numerous Christmas and other Christian events advertised.
Honestly I do despair sometimes.
http://www.dundee.com/winter-light-night.html
I despair too doug, when time in spent by councils passing silly legislation like this.
What a complete waste of time when the city needs so much done.
Thanks. I haven't looked at their website, just a poster which mentioned Winter Lights.
Furthermore Doug, the whole thing is a PR disaster.
I totally agree. The name change was dumb as hell. The sad thing is, that Dundee has so much potential to be a great city. But Dundee city council seems to be run by a troop of retarded chimps.
Post a Comment