The Labour Humanist

Our most esteemed Winterval Wally to date - Baroness Julia Neuberger

Oh how wonderful, we have our most esteemed Winterval Wally to date. The establishment's near favourite faith leader Baroness Julia Neuberger has just spouted this untruthful nonsense for the Washington Post:

"Some local authorities in the UK wanted to ban Christmas at one stage, and tried to invent a 'winterval', a winter festival, with no associations."

Oh no they didn't Julia and you are our latest nominee for Winterval Wally of 2007 for recycling lies in the Phoney War on Christmas. See here, here and here for more details on the award. 

Read the article and it seems Julia might be a potential recruit for this year's new culture clash, the War on Halloween. We shall watch with interest.

The Phoney War on Christmas: We have our 2nd Winterval Wally

Wow, if this story had appeared in a national newspaper we could have declared this year's phoney War on Christmas well and truly open. However, and slightly bizarrely, our latest nomination for a Winterval Wally award for trotting out myths about Winterval goes to Management Today magazine. In an article about a biblical toys franchise the magazine boldly states:

"Yet it seems like an unlikely time to be pushing religious toys, especially given that the multicultural nature of our country has already led to many schools ditching the term ‘Christmas’ in favour of the more inclusive ‘Winterval’."

Excuse me? Schools ditching Christmas in favour of Winterval! Where is the evidence for this, it's a new one on me. Of course, we know there isn't any, as evidence and truth play no part in the phoney War on Christmas. 

Anyhow, as no one has put their name to this article, on the online version at least, we will have to award this Winterval Wally award to the guy who signed off this guff, Management Today editor, Matthew Gwyther. Congratulations Matthew, you are our second* Winterval Wally of the season. Happy Holidays!

* Nathan Bevan from Wales on Sunday was the winner of the first Winterval Wally award.

It's Early October, but we are able to name our first Winterval Wally award

The phoney War on Christmas slowly grinds into gear. And so we have our first Winterval Wally of the new season. Please step forward Nathan Bevan of Wales on Sunday.

This blog is awarding (recap here) the Wally awards for journalists, bishops and anyone else who falsely trot out myths about the phoney War on Christmas.

Strangely, this first award has come around from the surprise new front of the War on Halloween.

In today's Wales on Sunday, Nathan Bevan, in a story about the War on Halloween, trots out the biggest myth about the phoney War on Christmas:

"The row is the latest in a long-running series of much maligned PC re-brands in Britain which, in 1997, saw Birmingham City Council effectively cancel Christmas – instead dubbing it Winterval – so as not to offend people of other religious faiths."

No Nathan, Birmingham did not "effectively cancel Christmas", if you'd bothered to conduct 2 minutes of desk research and you would know that. You are our first Winterval Wally of the year. Congratulations.