A Scottish primary school now calls Christmas cards “winter cards” to promote inclusivity, drawing parent fury and a threatening call after the email spread online.
Kaimhill Primary School in Aberdeen told parents it would drop the word Christmas from seasonal cards and use “winter cards” instead. The message framed the change as a way to keep language welcoming for every family in the school community.
The email, which later circulated as a screenshot on X, set off sharp pushback from parents who saw another round of holiday renaming. The deputy head then took an abusive and threatening phone call once the note went wide.
Breitbart reported the school’s notice spelled out the reason in plain terms.
“To reflect this inclusivity in our communications we refer to seasonal cards as winter cards rather than Christmas cards. This terminology helps ensure that our language is welcoming and inclusive of all members of our school community.”
Officials added a soft landing for anyone who still preferred the traditional label.
“Of course families are free to refer to these cards as Christmas cards if they wish.”
The note closed by asking for patience while the school chased an “inclusive, respectful and welcoming environment for everyone.” That language did little to calm readers who viewed the swap as bureaucratic scrubbing of a Christian holiday children actually celebrate.
Once the screenshot moved across X, parents answered in blunt terms. One wrote, “This woke nonsense needs to stop.” Another asked, “Who is getting paid to destroy our customs and traditions?” A third said, “This is just utter madness. Why are they cancelling Christmas for kids?”
The reaction treated the wording as more than a style guide. It looked like another small institutional step away from the holiday most families still mark with cards, trees, and carols.
The Times reported that the school’s deputy head received an abusive and threatening phone call after the email gained traction online. No name for the deputy head appears in the coverage, and no further detail on police involvement was given.
Online accusations followed the same track: that the school was trying to cancel Christmas. The fury landed on staff even though the school still planned ordinary festive events.
The Daily Record noted that Kaimhill still has a party, a fair, and carol singing lined up for this year. The school did not scrap the season. It only rebranded the cards in official messages while telling families they could keep saying Christmas at home.
That split, public language stripped of Christmas, private language left alone, left critics unconvinced. If the word is fine for parents and carols, the argument ran, why scrub it from the school’s own communications?
Similar moves have appeared elsewhere. In 2023, Bradford announced a “multi-faith festive tree” for the season while still allowing a traditional Christmas tree alongside it. The Aberdeen card language fits the same habit: dilute the specific Christian name, keep a generic winter shell, and call the result inclusion.
Kaimhill sits in the Garthdee area of Aberdeen, long known as the Granite City. National readers need no local map to see the larger habit. Schools and councils keep sanding the edges off Christmas under the banner of welcome, then act surprised when parents notice.
When a primary school treats the word Christmas as a problem to manage, it is not protecting children. It is teaching them that their own traditions come second to official sensitivity scripts.
