Boris saves Christmas
A marvellous story courtesy of Iain Dale showing yet another reason why Londoners were right to vote for Boris earlier this year.
Boris has made yet another stride forward in his quest to drive political correctness from City Hall for good. He has decided that Christmas must remain Christmas and that all mentions of Winter Festivals or the like are to be banished. Today City Hall sent out a press release telling a grateful capital city of its Mayor’s Christmas Carol Service at Southwark Cathedral.
Boris says: “It is truly an honour to have the first ever GLA Christmas Carol Service at Southwark Cathedral and I am pleased to be joined by such special guests… I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and I hope this carol service will be a wonderful occasion.”
Well, that’s not quite the whole story. Originally the City Hall wallahs (who still think they have Ken as mayor) didn’t want to call it a carol service or even mention the dreaded word ‘Christmas’ for fear of offending minorities. This, despite the fact that all the songs were, er, carols. Boris put his foot down. He struck his pen through the original title of a ‘Multi faith Concert’ on the basis that no one celebrating Diwali or Jewish festivals would entertain the thought of a ‘multi faith concert’ so why should Christians at Christmas?
There then came the vexed question of the City Hall Christmas Tree. I have been in receipt of a leaked email (on rice paper, natch) which details the unbelievable mindset still operating among certain officials. The Christmas Tree is provided by the charity CRISIS, whose corporate colour is red. This is important to bear in mind when reading the following email from City Hall officials to CRISIS…
"Please find below our requirements as per previous years. We are looking for a Christmas tree from a sustainable source for the front lobby of City Hall, approx 15ft tall with decorations, bells, bows etc. We would like delivery and set up of the tree on 8th Dec 2008 and removed on 2nd Jan 2009. Usual rules, no Christian symbols, colours or fairies! We cannot have any political colours for the decorations e.g. red, blue, green, yellow, so white and silver is best. Any decorations must be from a recycled, eco friendly source. No star or fairy please."
CRISIS emailed back questioning the fact that "it has to be a Christmas tree with no connection to Christmas and [we] can’t use red – even without the limits it puts on Christmas, as red is Crisis’ main brand colour we are severely limited!" They go on to describe it all as "a severe case of political correctness gone mad". No kidding
I think it is safe to say that the Mayor went ballistic when he heard about this and ordered all this PC stuff to be halted forthwith. Unfortunately by the time this had all proceeded the Christmas Tree had already been delivered, replete with silver decorations. But one suspects that things might be a little different next year.
Indeed, when I phone the Mayor’s team to ask what form the Christmas Tree will take next year I am assured that next year the Christmas Tree will come with a fairy on the top, angels on the branches and God knows what else.
Marvellous. How the heck can you have a non-religious Christmas Carol service? Little picky point though Iain, it’s an *angel* on top of the tree, not a fairy…
Fairy on top and angels on the branches? In the US where I live, fairies are pagan and angels are Christian. Does England have a Christmas fairy tradition?
Perpetua: no, as Peter implied we don’t have a Christian fairy tradition (at least not in the Christmas tree sense, ahem). I agree with you in suspecting fairies on Christmas trees are simply a pagan misunderstanding of angels. In my family we normally put a biggish star on top or hang it from the ceiling just over the tree (there’s a limit to the weight of star the flimsy top bit of the tree will hold), and angels may figure among the other bits lower down but need not. But we don’t make much effort to Christianise the tree apart from that: it’s just there to look nice and festive, and we have a nativity set elsewhere in the house (or sometimes round the bottom of the tree, although that’s a bit awkward in practice; if we do put the set there we try to hang an angel in the bit of tree above it).
    As for our Glorious Leader Boris, I’m with him on this one, although the council may have a point in suggesting that the decorations be made from renewable/eco-friendly sources (especially if they are going to be thrown away afterwards – it’s not so important if they are going to be lovingly treasured and re-used for years).
   I seem to be in a via media mood today …