Christian holidays have been excluded from the National Trust’s inclusion calendar [1], triggering a backlash from members.
While Diwali, Eid and Ramadan feature in the heritage group’s “inclusivity and wellbeing” calendar, distributed to volunteers, Christmas and Easter go unmentioned.
At the Trust’s Annual General Meeting, a panel member was forced to deny it was in favour of “internal discrimination” when it was pointed out that its calendar for volunteers highlighted Muslim, Hindu and Jewish festivals while ignoring those celebrated by Christians.
David Lamming, a Trust member from Suffolk, had asked for an explanation, prompting a loud round of applause from the audience, one of whom later said it was a sign that the heritage group had become “too woke”.
John Orna-Ornstein, the Trust’s curation director, said in response: “I’m really clear that there is no such internal discrimination”.
Other dates flagged up on the calendar include Transgender Awareness Week, Black History Month and LGBT+ History Month.