The council has cancelled the Christmas carols

enjoyed by thousands of people.
The move was announced yesterday and  has already caused outrage. I am angry. The Senior Cat is angry.
Now I need to explain about the carols. There is a memorial park near to us. It is the land on which the local library is built. There is a small creek which runs through it and it is a green space where children are often to be found simply running around and enjoying themselves. 
The same park is also the venue for the ANZAC and Remembrance Day ceremonies, weddings, large family gatherings and - once a year - the "Carols by the Creek" event. 
The carols usually attract about 5000 - 6000 people - depending on the weather. All sorts of people would go, not all of them churchgoers by any means. The Senior Cat and I don't go but we know people who do, who take children along. Last year the  Hindu family in the court opposite took their children along and reported back to me that there was a Sikh family they know there. Later a Muslim woman told me that her family had gone along too. They all wanted their children to experience what other children were experiencing.
But, according to the council, the event is not "inclusive" and "it concentrates on just one religion". They want to say the cost of running the event and "if the churches want it then they can do it". The council does not seem to have recognised that the local churches do play a large part in running the event. The local schools play a large part in the event too. It's a chance for them to show off the musical and acting talents of their students.
And people sing. There isn't much community singing in Downunder. It's rare to get the opportunity to belt out a carol. It highlights a few of the Downunder carols that many people don't know. I remember explaining to a refugee who went to the event one year that "orana" meant "welcome" in one of the indigenous languages. She stood there looking at me for a moment and then said softly, "That is mag-ni-fi-cent."   The word comes into one of the carols and it made her feel welcome. 
I wonder if the local council really understands what the event is about. It isn't "just about Christmas". It is about community, about coming together, about making everyone welcome.  It is a recognition of what our country is about.
I hope the councillors are cancelling their own Christmas party - but I doubt it.