A primary school in northeastern Switzerland has dropped three carols from its Christmas singing event out of respect to other cultures. The decision has been greeted with widespread surprise.
“Go Tell It On The Mountain”, “Fröhliche Weihnacht überall” and the Swiss German modern carol “S’grööschte Gschänk” – all songs recounting the birth of Jesus – will not be sung by the school Schulhaus Matt in Wil during its traditional Christmas singing event on December 20, as reported by 20 Minutes. Consideration for other cultures and religions was the reason given, the newspaper said.
The town of Wil in canton St Gallen – where justice minister Karin Keller-Sutter grew up – has a population of almost 24,000, of which around 29% are foreigners.
Farhad Afshar, president of the Coordination of Islamic Organisations of Switzerland, said he regretted the decision to drop the Christian carols. It was not the right path to take religion out of schools completely, he told SRF.
He proposed that schools also celebrate Muslim or Jewish holidays. In this way, children would learn about other religions. “This way is much more interesting for children than if you try and distance schools from religious issues,” he said.
Via SwissInfo
