A very merry ‘Year in Review’

By Jeremy Sollars

THE Southern Downs Regional Council may be following the lead of many government bodies around the country by scrapping references to Christmas for its festive season events.
A council spokeswoman confirmed council staff would not be treated to a Christmas party this year, but rather a 2016 ‘Year in Review’ function, to be held this Friday 23 December.
Government departments, schools and other public institutions around Australia have come under fire for deleting references to Christmas, opting for non-religious titles for end of year celebrations to avoid causing offence to non-Christians.
One Brisbane primary school even changed the words to the carol ‘We wish you a merry Christmas’ to ‘We wish you a happy holiday’, part of what many see as political correctness taken to the extreme.
While the council spokeswoman would not comment on the council’s policy on the religious significance of Christmas, she did say that “council’s staff Christmas party has been called the ‘Year in Review’ since 2015”.
“It is a time for staff to get together to reflect on and celebrate both their and the organisation’s achievements over the year,” she said.
The Year in Review function will be held next Friday afternoon at the council’s Yangan Road Depot.
The Free Times wishes all our readers a very merry Christmas indeed …