Scrapping Christian Holy Days
INTRODUCTION
Recent calls for the government to drop religious public holidays
such as Good Friday and Christmas Day shocked many Christians, still
reeling from the government's attempts to ban Christian ceremonies
and prayer from schools. Many angry voices were raised after a statement
by the National Association of School Governing Bodies at a media
briefing in Cape Town asking the government to review all public holidays
of a religious nature. This call was rejected by the ACDP, which said
that these holidays are sacred to Christians, which are in the majority
in South Africa. To demonstrate the party's commitment to celebrating
Christian holy days, ACDP Members of Parliament and staff celebrated
Ascension Day with their family and churches. While no formal attempt
has been made to remove Good Friday and Christmas Day from the holiday
calendar, the ACDP has vowed to resist any such attempts and has called
for Ascension Day to be returned to the public holiday calendar.
WHAT THE ACDP HAD TO SAY:
Recent calls for the government to drop religious public holidays
such as Good Friday and Christmas Day shocked many Christians, still
reeling from the government's attempts to ban Christian ceremonies
and prayer from schools. Many angry voices were raised after a statement
by the National Association of School Governing Bodies at a media
briefing in Cape Town asking the government to review all public
holidays of a religious nature. This call was rejected by the ACDP,
which said that these holidays are sacred to Christians, which are
in the majority in South Africa. To demonstrate the party's commitment
to celebrating Christian holy days, ACDP Members of Parliament and
staff celebrated Ascension Day with their family and churches. While
no formal attempt has been made to remove Good Friday and Christmas
Day from the holiday calendar, the ACDP has vowed to resist any
such attempts and has called for Ascension Day to be returned to
the public holiday calendar.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
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