Don’t leave Easter out of the egg hunt

Sir — Cadbury’s apparent omission of the word ‘Easter’ from traditional egg hunt events

in the UK is another example of political correctness gone mad.

I’m not a big fan of organised religion. I warmly applauded the courage of Salman Rushdie in writing The Satanic Verses, a book that offended many Muslims, though that wasn’t the author’s intention.

But I equally applauded the makers of the film Life of Brian, which poked fun at aspects of Christianity, and I wrote letters to newspapers decrying the attitude of some Catholic priests who prohibited the singing of Always Look on the Bright Side

of Life (a song from the film) at funerals.

I’m not anti-religious. I acknowledge the contribution of all faiths and belief systems and the commendable codes of ethics they have developed and bequeathed to humanity. But being afraid to say “Happy Easter” or “Happy Christmas” is unhealthy in a society that purports to be democratic and committed to religious freedom.

I believe that ALL religions should be free to celebrate their beliefs and special feast days or festivals without interference from any rival or different religious groupings.

I would extend that right to atheists and agnostics. They could have their ‘Happy I don’t believe in any God day’ and ‘Happy I don’t know what to believe day’ respectively.

The faction I don’t like at all is the political correctness one. Still, to be consistent, I would suggest setting aside one day of the 365 in the year for them too, on which an appropriate slogan could be emblazoned on supermarket products, billboards, and in assorted public places. It could read: “Happy PC day… Now F*** off!” John Fitzgerald,

Callan, Co Kilkenny