..Apparently Birmingham City Council proposed the idea of Winterval in 1998, but backed down in the face of protests from the local Christian churches-Not a myth..
daithi
Perhaps the most notorious of the anti-Christmas rebrandings is Winterval, in Birmingham, and when you telephone the Birmingham city council press office to ask about it, you are met first of all with a silence that might seasonably be described as frosty. "We get this every year," a press officer sighs, eventually. "It just depends how many rogue journalists you get in any given year. We tell them it's bollocks, but it doesn't seem to make much difference." According to an official statement from the council, Winterval - which ran in 1997 and 1998, and never since - was a promotional campaign to drive business into Birmingham's newly regenerated town centre. It began in early November and finished in January. During the part of that period traditionally celebrated as Christmas, "there was a banner saying Merry Christmas across the front of the council house, Christmas lights, Christmas trees in the main civil squares, regular carol-singing sessions by school choirs, and the Lord Mayor sent a Christmas card with a traditional Christmas scene wishing everyone a Merry Christmas".
Monday, November 9, 1998 Published at 11:41 GMT
UK
Winterval gets frosty reception
Church leaders have clashed with a council over its decision to call Christmas festivities Winterval.
Birmingham City Council used the phrase to describe its programme of festive family events over Christmas and the New Year.
The change is being made because city council officials hope to create a more multi-cultural atmosphere in keeping with the city's mix of ethnic groups.
But critics have attacked the move as political correctness gone mad and have accused council officials of trying to take the Christ out of Christmas...
The change is being made because city council officials hope to create a more multi-cultural atmosphere in keeping with the city's mix of ethnic groups.
Birmingham City Council wants people to celebrate Christmas. Christmas is the very heart of Winterval," she said.
"Far from not talking about Christmas the events within Winterval and the publicity material for it are covered in Christmas greetings and traditional images, including angels and carol singers."
I further propose that because of the risk of offending Polish people, "poles" (as in ESB poles etc) should be renamed.
I think we should instead refer to them as "erections" - who could possibly be offended by that?
after 911 , the Indians will have to change the name of Bombay too !
eh.....they did, didn't they? It's been Mumbai for some years now!
There is a pub in Ballyhale, Kilkenny called Pakie's Pub. What do you do when your name is politically incorrect?
There is a pub in Ballyhale, Kilkenny called Pakie's Pub. What do you do when your name is politically incorrect?
And indeed if you decide to drop into Pakie's Pub some day make sure you don't ask for a "ham sambo".
..didn't some English town come up with the bright idea of replacing Christmas with a festival called "Winterval" so as not to offend non-Christian residents of the town? Political correctness gone competely mad...
The vast majority of people in so-called Christian countries do not practice religion
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