Present Tense: This week, an Irish chain of creches decided not to put on nativity plays for fear of offending non-Christian parents.
Later in the week, there was the controversy over the removal of the word "crib" from the Veritas shops' radio ads. These were diverting tales of our times, tailor-made for those who can't say the words "political correctness" without adding "gone mad". But more ominously, they were the first signs that the War on Christmas has reached our shores. If you tolerate this, your Easter will be next.
The war has raged on the cultural battlegrounds of the US, and then Britain, with gathering intensity in recent years. Although, at times, it has seemed that only one side was fighting it: those who believe that wishy-washy lefties are forcing their culturally unspecific, religiously sensitive killjoy alternatives on the public.
They blame the companies who put "Season's Greetings" on their cards, so as not to mention the C-word. They target the councils who invent bland, inclusive Christmas-substitutes. And, knowing that the public loves to march to the steady drum of outrage, both the Daily Mail and the Sun last year ran campaigns to "save Christmas". "Kick 'em in the baubles," wrote the Sun's Christmas correspondent. "The Sun today makes no apology for printing pictures deemed deeply offensive by the PC brigade - of Christmas trees and baubles."
The ground zero for the "Save Christmas" campaigners remains Winterval, a festival invented by Birmingham City Council. This year, Winterval has already been mentioned in the Times, criticised in the Christian press and featured in reports from the US to India. The only flaw? It didn't really happen. There were Wintervals in 1997 and 1998, but they were two-month-long drives by the council to get shoppers into the newly refurbished town centre. There, shoppers walked under a Happy Christmas banner, in the shadow of a Christmas tree and in the glare of Christmas lights that highlighted the city's Anglican cathedral. Still, every year the council gets calls from journalists looking to drag up a seasonal reliable. "We tell them it's bollocks," a spokesman told the Guardian last year. "But it doesn't seem to make any difference."
In the UK, the "anti-Christmas" story has replaced previous hysteria about the EU and "straight banana" stories. And, as with that issue, this is where the War on Christmas causes collateral damage. For every verifiable story of halal chicken Christmas parties, there are oft-told urban myths, such as that of an American school that changed the words of Silent Night to rid it of its religious lyrics.
There is no doubt that the creche chain decided against the nativity play, and in favour of an inclusive concert. That could be looked at in one of two ways. It could be seen as a ludicrous fop to overly sensitive parents who should realise that the nativity is a long-held tradition of a Christian country. And if those parents don't want their kids to be involved, then they could keep them home for the day and let everyone else get on with it.
Or it could be that a manager tried to find a compromise that would not offend clients or damage business. That people who want religion can get it at home or in a church. That a changed Ireland has brought new challenges. And that the creche never expected the thing to end up on Liveline, of all places.
Meanwhile, RTÉ has said it didn't ban the word "crib" from the ad but merely advised Veritas to seek clarification from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland about whether the word breached rules regarding adverts directed towards a religious end.
However, in the minds of War on Christmas veterans, independent events are highlighted and sometimes exaggerated, until gradually perceived to be part of a planned strategy.
In the US and UK, religious groups and traditionalists are reacting to the supposed encroachment of both secularism and, at times, Islam. In return, Muslim groups have recently attempted to show a spirit of solidarity by saying that they don't want to spoil the Christmas spirit either.
Sometimes, it is just a good old-fashioned bash against "political correctness". Although, while this often disguises a deep-rooted fear of cultural change, it is encouraged by the occasionally ridiculous decisions of those whose attempts at equality only topple common sense. Nevertheless, as we are propelled into an Ireland that is increasingly secular and culturally diverse, Christmas will increasingly be a battleground on which these issues will be scrapped over. Real or not, the War on Christmas will be fought.
But the religious spirit and traditions of Christmas will not be easily wrenched away, no matter how consumerist it becomes. Unlike in the UK, a majority of Irish people will go to church on Christmas Day. Although, let's remember that Christians only imposed the holiday on the original pagan festivals. It's just that the Sun wasn't around to launch a campaign to Save Solstice.
