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Christian Democrats wants mandatory school services

Bible. Photo: Nordisk bibelmuseum

The Christian Democrats (KrF) wants mandatory school services

The Christian Democrats proposes to make it mandatory for Norwegian schools to offer school services to students before Christmas. 

 

Leader of the Christian Democrats, Knut Arild Hareide, believes the proposal will be supported by the Parliament.

– At a time when we need to look after our roots and traditions, other parties also see the value in this, says the KrF leader to NRK.

Students who do not wish to participate can apply to be exempt

– religious services in connection Christmas is a long standing tradition, but there is uncertainty among teachers and principals if they should be arranged. We want to give a clear signal from the Parliament that all pupils who want to, should be allowed to attend the Christmas services, according to Hareide.

in 2015 the Directorate stated that schools should employ a scheme whereby students have to actively sign up for church service or alternaives. The Conservatives presently does not provide support for making school services mandatory.

– I encourage principals to offer school services, but they will not be instructed to do so, says political adviser in the Ministry of Education, Hannah Atic (Conservatives).

In 2016, an overview from the Municipal Report shows that one in five schools, consituting 600 of the country’s 3,000 primary schools, chose to drop school services, according to s Avisenes Nyhetsbyrå (ANB).

 

Yule tide (wikipedia)

Yule or Yuletide (“Yule time”) is a festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples. Scholars have connected the celebration to the Wild Hunt, the god Odin, and the pagan Anglo-Saxon Mōdraniht. It later underwent Christianised reformulation resulting in the term Christmastide.
Terms with an etymological equivalent to Yule are used in the Nordic countries for Christmas with its religious rites, but also for the holidays of this season. Today Yule is also used to a lesser extent in the English-speaking world as a synonym for Christmas. Present day Christmas customs and traditions such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from pagan Yule. Today the event is celebrated in Heathenry and some other forms of Modern Paganism.

 

©  NTB Scanpix / Norway Today