The tableaux of children's book or television characters in Town Hall Square are one of the pleasures of Christmas in Leicester. There are always two of them - usually one inspired by a literary classic and one by something more contemporary.
This year it is tradition all the way, with displays inspired by Lewis Carroll and Beatrix Potter. Add to that a nativity scene and a "Christmas Greetings" banner on the front of the Town Hall in Britain's most ethnically diverse city and it seems Christmas is safe for a few years yet whatever the Daily Mail says.
But then my view of multiculturalism has always been that we should celebrate any festival going, not cancel them all in case we offend someone.
Leicester's approach, to celebrate each major festival in turn, and thus show respect for each culture, is the right one, and exactly what multiculturalism means.
ReplyDeleteOf course the 'traditional' Christmas is actually an example of what the Daily Fail claims to be against. The Christians usurped our traditional Winter Solstice festival!
That's quite lovely! And I agree about celebrations, especially after the clocks have gone back and the nights are colder and darker, we all need all the excuses we can get.
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