Winterval

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Winterval is a portmanteau word coined by Mike Chubb[1] (former Head of Events at Birmingham City Council) to describe all festivities taking place around the end of the year (the winter in the Northern Hemisphere). It is a fusion of the words winter and festival and was intended to be an alternative description that encompasses the Neopagan (Winter solstice, Yule), Jewish (Hanukkah), Muslim (Ramadan and Eid; when they occur in that season), Hindu (Diwali) and secular holidays such as New Year's Day that take place during the last months of the year, rather than only encompassing the Christian festivals of Christmas, Advent and Boxing Day.

[edit] Birmingham controversy

Birmingham City Council in the United Kingdom used the term Winterval in 2 years – 1997/8 (20 November - 31 December [2]) and 1998/9 (mid-October - mid-January) – with the intention of driving business into Birmingham's newly rejuvenated town centre, as well as a way to be "inclusive". The latter the three month season was a collection of multi-faith and secular events and including Bonfire Night, Diwali, Eid, New Year and other seasonal events as well as Christmas itself.

The word came to prominence in late 1998 when elements of the popular press, spurred on by the then Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt Rev Mark Santer portrayed it as an attempt to give the Christmas festivities a politically correct flavour. The bishop stated:

I wonder what madness is in store for us this Christmas? I confess I laughed out loud when our city council came out with Winterval as a way of not talking about Christmas. No doubt it was a well-meaning attempt not to offend, not to exclude, not to say anything at all.

The council responded:

Birmingham City Council wants people to celebrate Christmas. Christmas is the very heart of Winterval; far from not talking about Christmas the events within Winterval and the publicity material for it are covered in Christmas greetings and traditional images, including angels and carol singers.

The council had drawn particular attention to the city's Anglican cathedral during the festival by placing Christmas lights in the trees around the building, and the greeting "Happy Christmas Birmingham" hung in large lights over the main entrance to the Council House as it had done every other year.

This story has almost become an urban legend and is regularly cited as an example of "political correctness gone mad" in the tabloid press, particularly around the Christmas period, as demonstrated on QI.

Mike Chubb, the originator of the word, in October 2008 stated:

Quite simply, as Head of events at that time, we needed a vehicle which could cover the marketing of a whole season of events…Diwali (festival of Lights), Christmas lights switch on, BBC Children in Need, Aston Hall by Candlelight, Chinese New year, New Years eve etc. Also a season that included theatre shows and open air ice rink, Frankfurt open air Christmas market and the Christmas seasonal retail offer. Christmas, called Christmas! and its celebration, lay at the heart of Winterval.

Political correctness was never the reasoning behind Winterval, but yes it was intended to be inclusive (which is no bad thing to my mind) and a brand to which other initiatives could be developed as part of The Winterval offer in order to sell the City at a time when all cities are competing against each other for the seasonal trade.

In December 2007, the Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan made the claim of local authorities calling Christmas "Winterval", and blamed this on what he referred to as "atheistic fundamentalism" [3][4].

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Winterval - the truth
  2. ^ Birmingham City Council 'Winterval' brochure
  3. ^ Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru | The Church in Wales
  4. ^ BBC NEWS | Wales | 'Atheistic fundamentalism' fears
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