THE CHRISTMAS CARD I sent out as Blackburn’s MP is a proper one. It was designed by Anna Souroullas (Year 3 of Holy Souls RC Primary School), who won a competition that I organised with some Blackburn schools. But it also has a proper message inside. “Best wishes for Christmas and the new year”.

I claim no pride of ownership in this message. After all it’s what one should expect of a Christmas card. But I have just noticed — alas, for the first time — that the card I sent out in my capacity as Foreign Secretary has the anodyne, non-Christmas message of “Season’s Greetings”. And I was horrified to learn from an American friend that in the circles in which she, at least, moves it is considered not the done thing to wish people one does not know well “Merry Christmas”, still less to send out “Christmas” cards saying so.

It’s mad, in my opinion. And, in case you read certain national newspapers who imply that this kind of “politically correct” rubbish emanates from the Government, it doesn’t. Indeed, I’m not sure it comes from anyone in particular. Instead, someone somewhere who is unsure about how to behave in our multiracial, multireligious society which is Britain today thinks, wrongly, that offence might be taken if the “C” word is uttered too much when celebrating the birth of Christ. They then make what they think are “safe” decisions which will cause no one any offence, such as

“Season’s Greetings” or “winter festival”.

So here, I suggest, are ten points for navigation in our society of many religions and none.

(1) We are still, overwhelmingly, a Christian society. Yes, the number of people who go regularly to church is relatively small, and many fewer than 40 or 50 years ago. But in the last census 72 per cent described themselves as “Christian”. They didn’t have to do so. It wasn’t compulsory to say so.

(2) We have a deep Christian heritage in our society, which underpins many of our institutions — including Parliament, and the law.

(3) Christmas and Easter are the two key Christian festivals.

(4) Taking Christ out of Christmas, and pretending that you can celebrate Christmas without any acknowledgement of the profound religious origin and power of the festival, is simply wrong. We live in a free country. If someone wants to celebrate Saturnalia — the pagan winter festival — that’s fine, but don’t pretend it’s Christmas.

(5) Those of the Muslim faith recognise Christ not as a saviour but certainly as a prophet, just as they recognise Abraham, and most of what followed in the Judaeo-Christian tradition. Muslims respect the Christian religion, and our key festivals; just as in the UK we respect the Muslims’ Eid, and their need for haj or pilgrimage. (The Foreign Office sponsors an official haj delegation led by Lord Patel of Blackburn, to provide consular and medical services in Mecca to 25,000 British pilgrims each year.) I launched this year’s haj delegation on Tuesday. And I wished everyone “Haj Mabroor”, not “Season’s Greetings”.

(6) Those religions other than Islam also respect our festivals, just as we respect the Hindu Diwali, for example. Why shouldn’t we? I’ve never heard any Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Jew, Buddhist or follower of any other religion deny the Christian basis of Christmas.

(7) There have always been extremists in every religious tradition. We had the Crusades, effectively unprovoked, sustained and brutal assaults, on Islam, and centuries of anti-Semitism. (We also had centuries too of bloodshed between different Christian denominations.) Extremist Hindus (such as those who destroyed the Babri Mosque in Ayodyha in 1992) wish to turn India into a dominant Hindu society. And there are extremists who claim to be followers of Islam, to justify their intolerance and worse.

(8) But by and large most religious believers are very tolerant of believers in other religions, and that is especially true in this country. And it shows in people’s action, for example in the number of Muslim parents who have lobbied me over the years to get their children into Catholic and Anglican secondary schools because they believe it’s better for their children to be educated in a more religious environment.

(9) So we don’t have to drop to any lowest common denominator of belief or non-belief. There is space for respect and celebration of all religions in our society.

(10) Happy Christmas.

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