COMMENT: Nativity plays still central to Christmas

9:04am Tuesday 11th December 2007

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IT is one of the great scare stories of our times. Schools across the country, according to the more reactionary parts of our national media, are cancelling traditional nativity plays for fear of offending non-Christian children.

The reality? Well, as a special supplement in your Worcester News next week will show, schools are staging nativity plays just as they have always done.

Some may have updated the story slightly but the birth of Christ remains central to the plot.

And what of the faiths that it is claimed schools fear offending? Again the reality is considerably different to what the rabidly anti-PC brigade would have us believe.

Yesterday, Trevor Phillips, head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission - backed by leaders of, among others, the Hindu and Sikh communities - urged Britain to put Christ at the centre of Christmas festivities.

Mr Phillips dismissed attempts to water down public celebrations of Christmas as "the agenda of a very small number of misguided, rather grim, Nobby No-Mates in a few public authorities".

We happen to think he is right and there is little evidence to suggest otherwise.

Unfortunately, some parts of the media and some extremist political parties are using a few incidents to create the myth that Christmas is effectively banned the length and breadth of Britain.

It's nonsense. Minority faiths have no problem with Christmas. If a problem exists, those with an ulterior motive are creating it.