Daily Express 'Mass Migration' Threat To 'British' Christmas Warning Is Lampooned On Twitter

So we're ignoring the German, Roman and Israeli roots, are we?

As Autumn begins, newspapers have turned their attention to Christmas. Not in the warm, present-giving, snow-topped-roofs fashion, but instead to warn of its impending demise at the hands of political correctness and immigrants.

First there was the Sunday Telegraph, which carried a warning that Christmas was “under threat” given the “waves of immigration [that] have rapidly changed the character of some state schools”.

Its preview of a government report claimed “these issues must be tackled head on, rather than swept under the carpet by politically correct council officials”.

The Sunday's Telegraph's front page
The Sunday's Telegraph's front page
Sunday Telegraph

Not to be outdone, the Express followed suit a day later with a front page headline detailing how “mass migration” was set to “kill off” core British traditions - such as Christmas.

It carried a quote inside from the government’s immigration tsar, who blasted a council official for putting up a “festive tree” instead of a Christmas tree last winter.

The front page of Monday's Daily Express
The front page of Monday's Daily Express
Daily Express

But the description by both papers of Christmas and all its festive trimmings as a “British tradition” might not be entirely accurate.

The BBC’s Philip Sim pointed out that the Christmas tree itself has origins in Germany, and that Christianity itself was born out of the Middle East.

Other social media users pointed to the wintry festival having other international roots - including Roman and Israeli.

Yes the great British Christmas. A German importation via the Roman festival of Saturnalia celebrating a Jewish baby pic.twitter.com/O2LDbyeV07

— Otto English (@Otto_English) September 12, 2016

@kariebookish Obsvly this is HILARIOUS bec a) Yule, b) Midwinter, c) Xmas tree a German trad, d) holiday celebrating Middle-Eastern refugee.

— Karie Westermann (@kariebookish) September 11, 2016

The Express is worried that mass migration will kill of British traditions like Xmas. Now, let's see ... The tree's a German idea ...

— Jacka Garth (@SocialBeastie) September 11, 2016

@TF_PFoz actually, struggling to think of any bit of British Christmas that isn't German/Russian/Eastern European

— Macula (@The_Macula) September 12, 2016

SNP MSP James Dornan also questioned how the impact of immigration into Britain would affect Christmas celebrations.

Does this mean Jesus was no longer born on Christmas Day because of immigrants? How does that work? Was he not one? https://t.co/ihDLpPNWa7

— James Dornan SNP (@glasgowcathcart) September 11, 2016

While self-described “migrant” Christian said the celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth was “too international” to be claimed by one country to be its own tradition.

Seriously. Christmas really isn't British. Call it Christian if you want to but that's probably too international. https://t.co/I2IO9m00w4

— Christian (@interchris) September 12, 2016

But by some newspaper’s logic, this could be a centuries-old headline.

Headline from @Daily_Express September 216AD:
"Christian immigrants may destroy British religious holiday Yule" #ExpressXmas

— Pretty Hat Machine (@PrettyHatMech) September 12, 2016

Leaving one user with only a single conclusion:

unless you celebrate a white heteronormative Xmas with a blonde wife slaving over a turkey, the paedophiles have won pic.twitter.com/8dVoET0dP5

— Dr. Helen Finch (@HelenCFinch) September 11, 2016

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