The Sunday Times reported Dec.17 that one of the high notes of London office parties this year was the celebration organized by the financial firm Bloomberg. The event was held in a disused office block that took 10 days to renovate and prepare for the occasion. Among the attractions spread over four floors were massage and shiatsu rooms, manicure booths, a sushi bar, cabaret, casino, drag queens, a disco and live bands. Bloomberg invited about 2,000 employees from its European offices to the black-tie event. Don Feder, in an opinion piece Dec.16 in The Washington Times, noted that Christmas is fading from the culture and being rapidly replaced with a generic holiday that, by coincidence, comes around Dec. 25.
Stores have holiday sales, and schools have a winter recess.
America, Feder fears, is to be the first totally secular nation. Yet Feder notes that even for those who don't celebrate it, Christmas provides cultural coordinates. With sentiments like these in mind, an association in England has been established to promote St. Nicholas over Father Christmas. The campaign sprang from a growing awareness that many children now regard Father Christmas rather than Jesus Christ as the central character in the celebration, The Telegraph reported Dec.17. Campaigners believe that a revitalized St. Nicholas will increase awareness of the festival's Christian roots.