Hundreds of criminals are to be given four days a year off prison work - to celebrate pagan festivals. Prison governors have been issued with a list of eight annual pagan holidays and told pagan inmates can choose four to celebrate. The festivals include Imbolc - The Festival of the Lactating Sheep - which falls on February 1 and is dedicated to the goddess Brighid. Another is the festival of Beltane, which falls in early May, devotees are urged to celebrate the Sun God with 'unabashed sexuality and promiscuity'. The Yule festival involves pagans 'casting spells' and dressing up as ghosts. Pagan inmates may even be allowed special food and drink on their days off. Traditional pagan food include Ewe's milk for Imbolc, Simnel Cake and eggs on Spring Equinox and Roast Goose on Autumn Equinox. On Samhain - celebrated on Halloween - pagans by tradition go apple bobbing. It is the latest in a series of rulings to protect convicts' rights and ensure equality among different faiths. New guidelines entitled 'Religious Festival dates for 2011' state that all prison staff must be made aware of the pagan festival dates. It states: 'The Prison Service is committed to ensuring that prisoners from all religious faiths are given the opportunity and facilities to practise their religions. (Daily Mail) .... [Opinion: Obviously the journalist who wrote this article has a problem with Paganism. The tone of the article is frankly awful.] Tuesday 7 December 2010
Pagan prisoners given time off to worship the Sun God
Hundreds of criminals are to be given four days a year off prison work - to celebrate pagan festivals. Prison governors have been issued with a list of eight annual pagan holidays and told pagan inmates can choose four to celebrate. The festivals include Imbolc - The Festival of the Lactating Sheep - which falls on February 1 and is dedicated to the goddess Brighid. Another is the festival of Beltane, which falls in early May, devotees are urged to celebrate the Sun God with 'unabashed sexuality and promiscuity'. The Yule festival involves pagans 'casting spells' and dressing up as ghosts. Pagan inmates may even be allowed special food and drink on their days off. Traditional pagan food include Ewe's milk for Imbolc, Simnel Cake and eggs on Spring Equinox and Roast Goose on Autumn Equinox. On Samhain - celebrated on Halloween - pagans by tradition go apple bobbing. It is the latest in a series of rulings to protect convicts' rights and ensure equality among different faiths. New guidelines entitled 'Religious Festival dates for 2011' state that all prison staff must be made aware of the pagan festival dates. It states: 'The Prison Service is committed to ensuring that prisoners from all religious faiths are given the opportunity and facilities to practise their religions. (Daily Mail) .... [Opinion: Obviously the journalist who wrote this article has a problem with Paganism. The tone of the article is frankly awful.] 