I WAS disappointed to learn that the Christmas lights in Trowbridge, including those on the Christmas tree in the town centre, are blue and white.
I have always associated the colours green and red with Christmas, ie green for Christmas trees and evergreens such as holly, ivy and mistletoe, and red for holly berries and, of course, my outfit. Is this a case of the Tory Town Council using rate-payers’ (and tax payers’) money to cover the town in their party colours? I associate white with snow and blue with ice. And then I realised my mistake; it’s not Christmas that the Town Council is celebrating, it’s the Winter Solstice.
As many people will be aware, this pagan festival was widely celebrated before the early Christians converted the festival into a Christian event.
: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special report/for christmas/new year/pagan christmas/37276.stm
They did the same with Easter; this too was originally a pagan festival.
So, as an atheist/secularist/humanist, I am delighted that Trowbridge Town Council is doing its bit to help speed up the departure of organised religion from the UK and the separation of the church and the state because, like many of Britain’s European neighbours, the UK is overwhelmingly a secular country. The USA is the only Christian country in the western world.
So well done Trowbridge Town Council. Let’s hope that many other local authorities follow your lead and celebrate the Winter Solstice in future. Bah Humbug to Christmas.
Santa Claus
Santa’s Grotto
Reindeer Land
North Pole