Pagan police get right to take festivals as holiday

Pagan police get right to take festivals as holiday

Police officers have been given the right to take days off to dance naked on the solstices, celebrate fertility rituals and burn Yule logs if they profess pagan beliefs.

The Pagan Police Association claimed yesterday that it had been recognised by the Home Office as a “diversity staff support association” — a status also enjoyed by groups representing female, black, gay, Muslim and disabled officers.

Endorsement would mean that chief constables could not refuse a pagan officer’s request to take feast days as part of his or her annual leave. The eight pagan festivals include Imbolc (the feast of lactating sheep), Lammas (the harvest festival) and the Summer Solstice (when mead drinking and naked dancing are the order of the day).

Problematically, the pagan festivals also include Samhain (known to non-pagans as Hallowe’en), a day when police leave is often cancelled because of the high incidence of vandalism, violence and antisocial behaviour.

Nice to see other religions getting recognition finally.
But the story seems to say that some people weren't too pleased about that.No shock there.

Story continued at the link.

I found the wording of the article mildly offensive but I do hope that it sets a precedent although somehow I cant see my company allowing me time off for occasions which are important to me but mean diddly squat to them.

helen damnation wrote:: I found the wording of the article mildly offensive but I do hope that it sets a precedent although somehow I cant see my company allowing me time off for occasions which are important to me but mean diddly squat to them.

The verbiage of the article clearly had an undertone of being sardonic, with the journalist (term used loosely), poking fun of the history and practices of Pagan celebrations.

Perhaps if one wrote:
Police Officers will soon be allowed to take off for Easter; a holiday where practitioners worship the death of a man whose mother was a virgin. Celebrating acts of cannibalism, blood-drinking, torture, raising of the dead, and large invisible rabbits which place the painted eggs of chickens around one's property.

Then Christian holidays would seem a bit silly too.

Freedom of religion only seems important to most people when it's their religion, and everyone else seems to get the dust-off, head-shake, or eye-roll treatment. Sad.

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