The Church is getting all peevish at the thought of cinemas opening on Christmas Day.
Andrea Minichiello Williams, a member of the Church’s ‘parliament’, the General Synod, said: ‘The stillness of Christmas Day in our country is one of the last reminders of our great Christian heritage.
‘It is a day when, together with family and loved ones, we remember something greater than ourselves – the birth of Jesus Christ with his message of salvation, hope, peace and goodwill that is for all of us. Do we want to ruin this?’
Under the Christmas Day Trading Act 2004, large stores are banned from opening on December 25, but cinemas do not face such restrictions.
Yeah, because the pews are full to bursting, aren’t they? Claims that the UK is a Christian nation are false. We aren’t. We are, at best, a secular nation with vague CofE leanings. That’s about it. And even those who are nominally religious don’t exactly flood to the local church. Besides, if people were religious and wanted to celebrate a 1st century myth, they are free to do so and eschew the cinema. Or does the Church not trust them to make the “right” decision without the force of the law?
And that doesn’t account for those who are not Christian and don’t believe and don’t celebrate Christmas – me, for example. So if I wanted to go to a cinema on December 25th, why shouldn’t I, if the cinema wants to open for a screening? After all, there’s bugger all else going on…
“.. Christ with his message of salvation, hope, peace and goodwill that is for all of us.”
It isn’t for all of us, it is for Christians only. I resent them trying to claim that their cult includes me, it doesn’t.
And I am perfectly relaxed about ruining it. I hate Christmas with a vengeance.
Andrea Minichiello Williams has something to do with an outfit called the Christian Legal Centre which specialises in law suits on behalf of Christians who claim to have been discriminated against in some way. Since their claims bear more resemblance to the fantasy version that appears in the newspapers than they do to reality, they just about always lose. They seem to be very well funded because they always seem to be able to appeal to a higher court where they just about always lose.
Regarding Christmas, I still enjoy it. We don’t go stupidly overboard on presents. We just have a couple of weeks off work and have lots of family get togethers which are always convivial.
Screw them twice. Can they show The Omen on Christmas Day?
Wouldn’t preventing the peaceful ones from watching a fillum on Christmas day be racist..?