Tabloid Watch takes up the press release “Councils should take pride in Christmas celebrations“, issued by Communities and Local Government secretary Eric Pickles, which repeats the familiar right-wing nonsense about the abolition of Christmas. The press release states:

“Mr Pickles urged councils to take pride in Britain’s Christian heritage; celebrating the nativity and all the traditions that have sprung up around it from tinsel and tree lights to turkey.

“We should actively celebrate the Christian basis of Christmas, and not allow politically correct Grinches to marginalise Christianity and the importance of the birth of Christ. The War on Christmas is over, and likes of Winterval, Winter Lights and Luminous deserve to be in the dustbin of history.”

Mr Pickles explained that the Christian festival has previously been ambushed by those intent on re-branding Christmas as a bland “Winter festival”, insisting that multi-cultural Britain can enjoy Christmas without abandoning its underlying Christian heritage in a misguided attempt to appease these politically correct “Grinches”.

See also Enemies of Reason, 27 November 2010