pinkkristen

My daughter came back from her school the other day, not understanding why nobody seemed excited about xmas - only her! I think in her young way of not being able to describe properly how she felt, was the fact that xmas in her school (and i presume most public schools) is hardly recognised and not celebrated.

In her old school at this time, she would have been taking part in the Nativity Play, they would have been having a xmas party in her class, exchanging xmas cards with her friends, the school would be hosting a big xmas fair with all the typical games, santas grotto etc. There would be decorations up and a tree etc etc.

No wonder she can't understand why nobody is interested in xmas, they arn't!! Must seem to think it would be shameful to celebrate it in schools. Very Sad IMO and completley wrong and i can't wait to go back to the UK next sunday for a holiday and the first time to feel really chrissmassy.

marimac

Sadly, it seems that in recent years, Christmas has become taboo in Canada, due to the PC Brigade. They have to have 'holiday parties' not Christmas parties - and not just school, but in offices and shops, etc. too. You'll notice a lot of Christmas cards don't actually say 'Happy Christmas' either - they tend to say 'Happy Holidays'.

It's a shame, cause I love Christmas!

snoopster

They do Christmas in school here where we live. We're going to a Christmas concert next week and my daughters been learning Christmas songs for weeks. They also buy and deliver Candygrams to their classmates, there's been lots of Christmas collections for less fortunate members of our community, and they're all off to the theatre next week.
I think it must depend on where you live. As for the 'Happy holidays' thing, I think that's come up from the USA, where they've referred to it as that for years and years.

rae

yep here too, must be a redneck thing as they have not yet heard of PC eh!
just had a traditional christmas concert. cards are being made in class along with other christmas stuff, and they say merry christmas. this is a public school.

Oink

There is a tension between allowing religion and schools to mix. Most provinces have an official separation in their school acts, though that is often ignored. You'll find Christmas concerts but rarely overt religious icons such nativity scenes. If there are any, it'll be in a classroom, usually because the teacher is religiousy and is trying to fight back against what they see as encroaching PCism.

Rodge9

See personally I like the more secular approach used in North America...seems to me that if you have a country that's a mixture of a range of cultures - as Canada is - then you can't present one religion in a government institution like a public school as being 'the norm'. So you either celebrate all the different religions and their festivals - which would surely be impractical - or keep it nice and generic by saying 'happy holidays'. Presumably the fact that Hannukah falls around the same time, as well as the new year in the Gregorian calendar, are two obvious examples of doing this near Christmas. I think it's just about respecting a wide range of beliefs rather than things being taken over by the 'PC brigade' (an expression I hate incidentally).

That's not to say that people shouldn't be able to celebrate Christmas or any other religious festival (within reason), nor that there's anything wrong with Christmas, I quite like it personally.

Partially discharged

Don't forget Festivus

Alan2005

Does anybody really consider christmas as a religious holiday? I like christmas because it's a tradition rather than a celebration of some things that never actually happened.

Butch Cassidy

So you deny the Roman Empire existed? You deny there was indeed a cenus? You deny there was indeed a second Jewish exodus from Egypt?

Alan2005

The story of the nativity is made up; the son of god did not actually exist.

Back on topic, it's 'merry christmas' for me, 'happy holidays' is just an irritating americanism.

Oink

I like Christmas because you get presents and you can get drunk and your mum can't tell you off.

bananahammock

Pretty much the same as the UK school I worked in here on the Island. I work in an Elementary with the Grade 7s ... It's xmas craft day on Monday (plus other crafts coz one of my students is JW) then later in the day we're all off to watch A Christmas Carol 3D (parents as well), Tue is the door decorating comp, Wed ~ fun lunch & carol singers from Grade 1 are visiting Thu we might actually get some work done & Friday is the Christmas dance

pinkkristen

I don't mind at all that the kids are learning different beliefs - in fact i like it. My daughter over the last few weeks has come back with many pieces of work related to the different cultures in her class which is great. I feel though that christmas as what i believe in (the birth of christ) is being dismissed. Why is it ok to celebrate Honaka and the many others, which the kids are being taught and to teach kids what they stand for, but when it comes to christmas and Easter etc it is just classed as a holiday because noone wants to offend people.

I am glad that some schools are still doing all the traditional stuff, maybe it comes down to school and the area you live in . I still believe its wrong and i feel for my kids who used to enjoy all the festivities that were part of christmas - she looked lovely as an angel! (never chosen to be Mary though!!)

World going mad with PC, it has to stop somewhere!!

Helen Parnell

when we moved 7 years ago and put the boys into the catholic system, we thought they would do all the christmas stuff.

For my eldest boy who was then 9 it was the lack of christmas at the school which was the biggest culture shock for him. I don't think he has got over it yet and he is now 17!!

fledermaus

I don't know about schools but at work they decorate for everything. Christmas decorations went up at the beginning of the month, though it does say Happy Holidays. I find this bizarre as at the works party last weekend they said a Christian grace before the meal. Everyone except us hung their heads and did their best to look holy.