GETTY•WIKI Dr Alasdair Allan launched a £390,000 for winter events in Scotland but failed to mention Christmas

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Last month, international development minister Dr Alasdair Allan launched a £390,000 funding package for a series of 23 events to celebrate St Andrew's Day, Hogmanay and Burns Night. He described them as "key dates in our national calendar" and said the "exciting and diverse" programme would help Scots "celebrate everything great about our wonderful country during the winter months". But Dr Allan made no mention of Christmas, breaking with a precedent set by culture secretary Fiona Hyslop when she was in charge of the festival in 2014 and 2015. None of this year's funded events, which include Edinburgh's Hogmanay, a St Andrew's Day torchlight parade in Glasgow and festivals in Oban, St Andrews and Dumfries, have any connection with Christmas.

PH Dr Allan promoted 23 events to celebrate St Andrew's Day, Hogmanay and Burns Night

In fact, the Scottish Government has spent around £4million on the annual Scotland's Winter Festival programme since 2007 without ever funding a Christmas event. Meanwhile, a further £20,000 grant has been given to voluntary organisation BEMIS this year to help ethnic minorities celebrate "Scotland's three national days". They include a Kurdish and Turkish women's Burns night in Glasgow, a Chinese and Lebanese Hogmanay in Glasgow, two Chanukah events in Dumfries and Stirling and a celebration of Jamhuri Day (the national day of Kenya) in Edinburgh. Last night, the decision to remove any mention of Christmas from the Scotland's Winter Festivals programme sparked fury among church leaders and opposition politicians. A spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland said: "It is deeply disappointing that the Scottish Government has chosen not to recognise the religious reality of Christmas in its Winter Festival events. "Over half of the population stated their religion as Christian in the last census. Catholics, and other Christians, may quite rightly wonder why this publicly-funded Festival does not include any events designed to help Scots celebrate the birth of Christ which is undoubtedly the most significant celebration in the winter months."

Gordon MacDonald, from Christian lobby group CARE Scotland, added: "It is part of the general secularisation that has been taking place within the Scottish Government for a number of years where our Christian heritage and value system has been undermined as a direct result of government policy." And Scottish Conservative shadow culture secretary Rachael Hamilton said: "While not everyone celebrates Christmas, it seems totally bizarre to avoid even mentioning it in the Scotland’s Winter Festivals programme. "Other parts of the UK have had success in attracting visitors to celebrate Christmas, and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be doing the same here in Scotland." South of the Border public money helps to fund extensive Christmas programmes in cities such as York, Bath and Oxford, which in turn also encourages people to visit cathedrals and attend carol services.

GETTY SNP has funded Scotland's Winter Festival programme since 2007 without funding a Christmas event

Mr MacDonald added: "We totally undervalue the potential tourist interest there would be in Scotland's Christian heritage if we were to market it it properly, so that is obviously a missed opportunity." Although Visit Scotland does invite tourists to "join us for a magical Christmas", none of the festive events on its website have received money from the Scottish Government. Christmas was banned in Scotland during the Reformation and was still only celebrated quietly up until a few decades ago, with Hogmanay playing a much bigger part in national life. Two years ago, Nicola Sturgeon told TV viewers: "For many of us in Scotland, Hogmanay is as important as Christmas Day when it comes to spending time with family and friends." But an opinion poll has shown that most Scots now prefer Christmas with 61 per cent describing it as their favourite time of year and 73 per cent saying they would rather have Christmas Day off work than Ne'erday. Mr MacDonald said: "It is a misrepresentation to say the public is not bothered about Christmas because clearly they are."

WIKI Alasdair claimed the dates would help Scots 'celebrate everything good' about Scotland

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