ISSUES IN FOCUS - Holy days

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?
http://www.acdp.org.za/index.php?page=issue7