]Actually this Idea that somehow you have to water down or neuter your own traditions in order not to exclude or offend is a peculiarly Anglo-Saxon one - celebrating Christmas does not invalidate anyone else's belief system except for the one group that is easily offended , White Secular Liberals . This minority group is always offended on behalf of one group or another claiming that celebrating something traditionally western , especially if it is Christian is exclusive. They tried this type of nonsense in the UK a few years ago when Birmingham (UK) city council tried to rename the Christmas period "Winterval" - they backed down after it was clear that it wasn't a very popular move locally . So I may not be attending my company's Christmas party this year , but I know a lot of my Sikh and Hindu colleagues will be .
Your basic premise is flawed, so your conclusion is also flawed.Being inclusive in no way waters down or neuters your own tradition.
Drew
So don't address the point I'm making instead make a generic comment about my assumption being "flawed" - I provided a real world example to back up my point so to say there is a flaw in my argument without backing that up is ridiculous, but the dismissive attitude is typical of secular white liberal thinking.
Actually the premise that Winterval was so named to avoid giving offence is flawed. Birmingham council decided to use Winterval as a term to cover all the events it was putting on in the late November\December period. These included the Christmas light switch-on, Christmas shopping and Christmas markets and carol services and also Children in Need, Diwali and New Years Eve. Rather than market them all separately it was decided to use the umbrella term 'Winterval'. At no point was the intention avoid saying Christmas. Unfortunately the term was picked up by the media and not just by the more strident tabloids. This coverage led to the myth that refuses to die to this day.
On two occasions I have been asked, "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" ... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.
—Charles Babbage, Passages from the Life of a Philosopher
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