Danish populist party blasts government for removing ‘Christmas’ in holiday greetings

COPENHAGEN, Denmark: A populist party that opposes immigration and defends Danish traditions blasted the Foreign Ministry on Thursday for using the phrase “Season’s Greetings” instead of “Merry Christmas” on its official holiday cards.

The Danish People’s Party, a key backer of the center-right government, accused the ministry of “buttering up” Muslims and caving into a “silly tendency” of political correctness it said has gained foothold in Britain and the United States.

On the official greeting cards, the ministry has printed translations of “Merry Christmas” in Danish, German, French and Spanish, but opted for “Season’s Greetings” in English.

The reason for the different phrasing in English was to be able to “use the card in the whole world,” the Foreign Ministry told the Kristeligt Dagblad newspaper.

Soeren Espersen, a senior member of the Danish People’s Party, said the cards were “laughable.”

“The fact that it has to say ‘Season’s Greetings’ and not ‘Merry Christmas’ is in itself an expression of another unbearable way of buttering up Muslims,” Espersen said.

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Source:
Herald tribune