Christmas in Birmingham - Winterval poster 1998

Winterval was a season of public events in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, organised by

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom ...

in each of two consecutive

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...

s: first from 20 November to 31 December 1997, and then again from mid-October 1998 to mid-January 1999. The intention was to encourage people into the newly rejuvenated city centre, with

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

and

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

events marking religious and other occasions, including Christmas, during the relevant period. The name "Winterval" has since become used in the UK as shorthand for what are misrepresented as attempts to "

rebrand Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...

" Christmas so as not to exclude non-

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

1997

The name "Winterval" was a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordswinter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...

'' and ''

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

'', coined by the Council's Head of Events, Mike Chubb. In October 2008 he explained: The programme of events in 1997 included theatre and arts events; marking of Diwali; candlelit tours of

Aston Hall Aston Hall is a Grade I listed Jacobean house in Aston, Birmingham, England, designed by John Thorpe and built between 1618 and 1635. It is a leading example of the Jacobean prodigy house. In 1864, the house was bought by Birmingham Corpor ...

; an outdoor

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...

; a German-style

Christmas market A Christmas market, also known as ''Christkindlmarkt'' (literally: ''Christ Child Market'', but the term "Christkind" usually refers to an angel-like "spirit of Christmas" rather than literally the Christ Child), ''Christkindlesmarkt'', ''Chris ...

;

Christmas lights Christmas lights (also known as fairy lights, festive lights or string lights) are lights often used for decoration in celebration of Christmas, often on display throughout the Christmas season including Advent and Christmastide. The custom g ...

in the streets; and a New Year's Eve Party. The front cover of the promotional brochure used the word "Christmas" three times and featured a photograph of the City's official Christmas tree. Each of its six pages featured the word "Christmas" in text or images.

1998

The extended Winterval the following year included:

Hallowe'en Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...

; Guy Fawkes Night; Diwali; Ramadan and Eid;

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...

; Advent,

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

, and Boxing Day; New Year's Eve; and Chinese New Year. Posters were displayed, advertising Christmas events, with the word "Christmas" in large type, and the "Winterval 98" logo only as a footnote.

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

leaders in Birmingham criticised the 1998 "Winterval" concept. Mark Santer, then

Bishop of Birmingham A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, said in a message to his parishes that he "laughed out loud" when he learned of the concept of Winterval, which he considered to be "a way of not talking about Christmas" and "a well-meaning attempt not to offend". He wondered whether Christianity had been censored. The Archdeacon of Aston called it "a totally unnecessary example of political correctness to avoid sensitivities people simply do not have". The council responded that "Christmas is the very heart of Winterval", saying that Christmas-themed events were prominent among those included in Winterval, and that Christmas-related words and symbols were prominent in its publicity material. While the Winterval season was longer than the Christmas season, Christmas was the focus of the relevant portion of Winterval, and a statement from Birmingham Council explained: Neighbouring Solihull council invited Birmingham residents desiring a traditional Christmas to go there instead.

Legacy

Birmingham City Council did not use the name "Winterval" after the 1998–9 season, but it persists as shorthand for any secular replacement for Christmas, used both by supporters and opponents of the traditional Christmas; it is also cited as a cautionary tale or urban legend by those who regard allegations of the existence of a " war on Christmas" as overblown. On 8 November 2011 the '' Daily Mail'' issued a correction after using the term 'Winterval' in an opinion piece by

Melanie Phillips Melanie Phillips (born 4 June 1951) is a British journalist, author, and public commentator. She began her career writing for ''The Guardian'' and ''New Statesman''. During the 1990s, she came to identify with ideas more associated with the righ ...

, which it ran on 26 September 2011, stating: The lawyer and law correspondent

David Allen Green David Allen Green (born 28 March 1971; 'Allen' is his second forename) is an English lawyer and writer. He is the former legal correspondent for the ''New Statesman''; writes about law and policy for the ''Financial Times''; and has previously b ...

, and the campaigner

Inayat Bunglawala Inayat Bunglawala was media secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain until 2010. He joined The Young Muslims UK in 1987. He is also a co-presenter of the weekly 'Politics and Media Show' on the Islam Channel (SKY 813). In October 2009 he regist ...

both included Winterval as an example in evidence to the Leveson Inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press. Green wrote: The city of

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

has named its municipal mid-winter festivities 'Winterval' since 2012 as an annual event that continues up to the present.

References

External links

Winterval: the unpalatable making of a modern myth

'Winterval debunked'
QI clip on their official YouTube Channel {{Christmas 1997 establishments in England 1999 disestablishments in England Festivals established in 1997 Recurring events disestablished in 1999 Festivals in Birmingham, West Midlands History of Birmingham, West Midlands Winter festivals Christianity-related controversies Political controversies Winter events in England

1997

1998

Legacy

See also

References

External links