Dìmeas air Nollaig: Coisir Ghàidhlig bruidhinn a-mach!
Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 11:12 pm
Dìmeas air Nollaig – Coisir Ghàidhlig Inbhir Narann bruidhinn a-mach!
Tha Fèis ‘Wintersong’ Inbhir Narann air a’ chuthach a chur air Coisir Ghàidhlig Inbhir Narann. Sgrìobh iad litir don Nairnshire Telegraph ga càineadh gu mòr. Seo leth-bhreac dhith.
‘ Sir,
This weekend many of Nairn’s young people will be taking part in the Winter Procession and we, members of Nairn Gaelic Choir, have been invited to participate in this community event.
As a choir we have always made every effort to support the community which so generously gives its support to us in our endeavours to promote Gaelic music.
But we feel we cannot let this occasion pass without expressing our views at the absence of any reference to Christmas.
Wintersong is essentially a seasonal festival built on the backof the switching on of Nairn’s Christmas lights. But the word Christmas seems to have been eliminated from the celebrations.
Whether this is an attempt by the funding bodies Highland Council, Leader Fund and Scottish Arts Council to appease the PC brigade we know not.
But as a group who are being invited to take part and contribute to the festival, we wish it known that we object strongly to the lack of any reference to Christmas in the celebrations.
There has been a similar row in Dundee where the Christmas Lights ceremony was changed to Winter Lights and local church leaders have made representations on this matter.
At Friday’s ceremony when the switch is pressed what will we see above the streets of Nairn town centre? We will see scenes of the nativity and other symbols of Christmas and the season of goodwill to ALL men. And behold the lights will come down after Christmas rather than when winter is at an end.
Members of Nairn Gaelic Choir feel deeply offended that what began originally as public start of the celebration of Christmas has been eroded by our politicians in an insidious and crafty way to turn it into an entirely seasonal celebration devoid of its religious origins.
We are absolutely certain that Muslims, Hindus and people of other faiths, and none, in our midst have no problem whatsoever with the recognition of the Christian origins of this festival – the celebration of Christ’s birth – being at the centre of the event.
By attempting to be politically correct and (apparently) to create religious tolerance the politicians are surely guilty themselves of fuelling religious intolerance.
We will be making our views known formally to the organisers that we are unhappy with the move away from the celebration of Christmas. We will be participating in this year’s festival but would ask our politicians to reinstate the real meaning of this community celebration in 2010.
Yours etc.
NINA MCKELLAR
Conducter and the members of Nairn Gaelic Choir
Tha Fèis ‘Wintersong’ Inbhir Narann air a’ chuthach a chur air Coisir Ghàidhlig Inbhir Narann. Sgrìobh iad litir don Nairnshire Telegraph ga càineadh gu mòr. Seo leth-bhreac dhith.
‘ Sir,
This weekend many of Nairn’s young people will be taking part in the Winter Procession and we, members of Nairn Gaelic Choir, have been invited to participate in this community event.
As a choir we have always made every effort to support the community which so generously gives its support to us in our endeavours to promote Gaelic music.
But we feel we cannot let this occasion pass without expressing our views at the absence of any reference to Christmas.
Wintersong is essentially a seasonal festival built on the backof the switching on of Nairn’s Christmas lights. But the word Christmas seems to have been eliminated from the celebrations.
Whether this is an attempt by the funding bodies Highland Council, Leader Fund and Scottish Arts Council to appease the PC brigade we know not.
But as a group who are being invited to take part and contribute to the festival, we wish it known that we object strongly to the lack of any reference to Christmas in the celebrations.
There has been a similar row in Dundee where the Christmas Lights ceremony was changed to Winter Lights and local church leaders have made representations on this matter.
At Friday’s ceremony when the switch is pressed what will we see above the streets of Nairn town centre? We will see scenes of the nativity and other symbols of Christmas and the season of goodwill to ALL men. And behold the lights will come down after Christmas rather than when winter is at an end.
Members of Nairn Gaelic Choir feel deeply offended that what began originally as public start of the celebration of Christmas has been eroded by our politicians in an insidious and crafty way to turn it into an entirely seasonal celebration devoid of its religious origins.
We are absolutely certain that Muslims, Hindus and people of other faiths, and none, in our midst have no problem whatsoever with the recognition of the Christian origins of this festival – the celebration of Christ’s birth – being at the centre of the event.
By attempting to be politically correct and (apparently) to create religious tolerance the politicians are surely guilty themselves of fuelling religious intolerance.
We will be making our views known formally to the organisers that we are unhappy with the move away from the celebration of Christmas. We will be participating in this year’s festival but would ask our politicians to reinstate the real meaning of this community celebration in 2010.
Yours etc.
NINA MCKELLAR
Conducter and the members of Nairn Gaelic Choir
air a ghoid a charaid, air a ghoid