Canadian school to censor Christmas?

[patrick a]

What's everyone think of something like this?:

Popular holiday song 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' to be edited to erase references to Christmas in upcoming Canadian elementary school play

AP, 2008 — In a move that annoyed some local parents, officials at Parks Hill Elementary School in Vancouver, British Columbia have decided to erase all reference to "Christmas" in an upcoming December 19 student rendition of pop–punk band My Chemical Romance's 2004 holiday hit, "All I Want for Christmas Is You".

Any original references to "Christmas" in the song have been supplanted with generic alternatives such as "year" or "holiday", as well as a reference to "Santa Claus" changing to "Ole Mr. Nick", to avoid reference to the Christian (Roman Catholic) tradition of Sainthood. The song's title itself has also been changed, to "All I Want This Year Is You". The bed track for MCR's song will be used in the performance, with the original vocals removed and dubbed with the students'.

Many parents are disturbed by the edits, one mother of three calling them "far beyond the usual backward-bending political correctness in today's world". A Muslim parent, scoffing at the notion that she could be offended by Christmas, called the edits "ridiculous", and noted that she "can't believe how much Christmas is scorned in this Christian country".

On behalf of the school and its staff, Lower Vancouver Minister of Education Ron Cantelon offered an apology, but stood behind the decision:

"We understand that many parents are upset about the edits made to the song, and we feel that the decision to remove the religion-specific holiday references were made on good judgment." He continued, "In a multicultural country like Canada, we have no business teaching our Muslim, Jewish, or atheist students about these holiday celebrations".

A parent-initiated petition is currently in circulation regarding the issue, demanding that this decision be reversed before the concert in December. In addition to singing "All I Want This Year Is You", the students will be performing a genericized version of the play "A Christmas Carol". It is not known if the original title or storyline for the play will be changed for the Parks Hill students' rendition.