Excerpt:
I've been running behind with various stories, and so only now I've gotten around to some of the Christmas stories. While I was summarizing them up, I realized they all revolve around the same motif: Is Christmas a religious holiday or a traditional national-cultural holiday?
Muslims should go to church
Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Centre Party) says Norwegian Muslims should visit churches (h/t Hodja) during the Christmas holiday, in order to understand Norway and Norwegians better.
He says Norwegian Christian traditions are part of Norwegian history and culture that immigrants would be better off knowing. He also says non-Christians should send their children to school Christmas services, so they will see the similarities between Christianity, Judaism and Islam, and learn about the traditions and rituals, and understand the customs better: why we have Christmas and why it's important.