Religious Festivals

Did you know that Chinese New Year was last week and we are now in the Year of the Rabbit?  I know, courtesy of an English education system which, in many cases, appears to have crossed the line between dissemination of information and active religious observance.  Goodbye reasoned respect; hello proselytism!

Do our children need to celebrate religious festivals other than their own, and only then if they hail from a religious family?  Surely, there is something akin to religious globalisation afoot when generations of individuals, originating from a myriad of cultures, ethnic groups and language streams, are actively encouraged to participate in this uniformly hybrid movement.  Are we not alarmed by the reality of legalised indoctrination, thinly cloaked as forward-thinking, state-funded religious education? 

And what benefit does it have in any case?  Are we as a society more peaceful, well integrated, wiser and happier as a result?  Have racism, bigotry, tokenism and xenophobia ceased to exist?  Has suspicion been superseded by serenity, violence by virtue and insularity by invaluableness?

I didn’t think so, but Happy Chinese New Year anyway!