Woke UK officials ban the word ‘Christmas’ from COVID-19 vaccine ads
Maria Wheeler
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Cabinet officials in the UK have banned the word “Christmas” from use in COVID-19 vaccine ads, saying it might offend minority religions.
“We have been advised by Cabinet Office that we should not use the word Christmas – as the Government campaign needs to be inclusive and some religions don’t celebrate Christmas,” reads an email sent Thursday by a government official.
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The ban comes amidst the launch of a new angle of the government’s vaccine campaign. The new wing of the campaign is scheduled to run from December 3 to 17, specifically targeting young people through social media.
“Don’t take Covid home for Christmas,” was the slogan for the campaign until woke officials stepped in.
The distribution plan for the campaign includes utilizing social media sites like TikTok to reach over 1 million students the government anticipates travelling to their homes by the end of the year.
“The other option was ‘festive season’ which keeps the emotional motivation. We have gone with ‘Don’t take Covid-19 home for the holidays’ – as it links to school and university Christmas holidays. The alliteration with ‘home’ and ‘holidays’ scans well and is memorable,” the email continues.
“We don’t refer to Christmas as the holidays (that’s an Americanism). Please can we say, ‘Don’t take Covid-19 home,’” still another official objected.
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After editing, the slogan bears little resemblance to the original version. Muslim Saqib Bhatti, the Conservative MP for Meriden, objected to editing Christmas out of the slogan.
“It’s a time to celebrate, whatever your background,” Bhatti said. “It’s part of the British culture I love. It’s the celebration of all cultures that makes this the most welcoming country in the world. I’m proud of that and proud to celebrate Christmas.”
“As a Muslim, I find it ridiculous we can’t enjoy this special time of year,” he added. “I look forward to showing my new son his first Christmas tree. The idea you can’t mention Christmas is completely ridiculous.”