In promoting their scrummy advent calendar, high street bakers Greggs have recently attracted a lot of criticism. Most of the complaints have come from religious groups.
You see, in creating their unique nativity scene, Greggs chose to replace the baby Jesus with a sausage roll - as you can see in the picture above. It's sacrilegious! It's a disgrace! One complainant pointed out that Jesus was a Jew so the connection with pig products seems particularly insensitive.
Personally, I have no problem with Jesus's replacement. After all, sausage rolls are perfectly capable of walking on water and other miracles such as turning a skinny man into a sumo wrestler. As for the three wise men from the east, it is surprising that Greggs didn't replace them with meat pies or doughnuts (American: donuts)
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It's probably not intended as such but it's a very pointed commentary on the way we approach Christmas. I wonder about the complainers: how much of their Christmas is about food/ gifts/ parties and how much is focused on their "Lord"
ReplyDeleteI'm considering a vegan Christmas so there will be no sausage rolls if food committee (my daughters) pass the plan :)
We'll be having our usual vegan Christmas too as all turkeys are vegans!
Delete(In reality there will be two meals because our son is now a pretty strict vegan. It's such a pain when you can't even put a knob of butter on his vegetables).
I once mentioned butter in a vegan facebook group and was nearly hung drawn and quartered for it!
DeleteI saw the bosh Christmas dinner, it looks amazing!
I hope that video gives you one or two ideas Kylie.
DeleteThere MAY be a connection...you never know! We could be secret heirs to the Greggs empire...😜
ReplyDeleteHave you ever heard of Gary Barlow, the songwriting leader of Take That? I think there is more likelihood that Gregg is connected with him! (You could still inherit a fortune!).
DeleteGregg's brother is named Gary! He lives in Jacksonville Florida.
DeleteWhen we lived in Northumberland in the mid 70s one of my best friends was a member of THE Gregg family ! We met with her again last year after a 20 yr gap. ( she didn't serve us sausage rolls !!)
DeleteOooo! May I have your autograph Frances?
DeleteI'm not religious in any way but I do find that quite insensitive for those who believe. Maybe Greggs should have stuck with secular holiday symbols, say, a sausage roll in place of Santa's sleigh ...
ReplyDeleteYou may be right Jenny. Or Santa's sleigh could have been pulled by a team of sausage rolls... Or the ad could have shown children gleefully unwrapping Christmas gifts below a sausage roll tree.
DeleteMight have been more prudent of Greggs to use a picture of Rudolf and his gang eating the sausage roll. (Sarah is here for Christmas so I'm already fretting on how I'm going to cook a vegan and a non-vegan feast.)
ReplyDeleteGo to Bosh! to see the very recent Christmas dinner video. How lovely that Sarah will be coming home for Christmas!
DeleteAlready got it saved! Just need to track down some chestnuts to give it a trial before Christmas.
Deletei never realised a Greggs Sausage Roll had any meat in it , they taste just the same as the Linda Mcartney one
ReplyDeleteAccording to Paul McCartney, Linda was quite partial to a meaty sausage roll.
DeleteAlthough I am not part of any organised religion, I have a strong personal faith and - mostly due to my upbringing - enough affinity to "the church" (meaning all sorts of Christian denominations) to understand that replacing Jesus with a sausage roll may really hurt some people's feelings.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't hurt mine, and my faith certainly does not feel threatened by a sausage roll. And of course I wonder, aren't there more important things to deal with than an advent calendar? Aren't there REAL problems to try and solve?
As a result of the promotion, I have found myself believing in the holy sausage roll. A new religion is born - overseen by the all-loving and almighty Greggs.
DeleteYou seem like and enlightened and open minded human; any chance I can convert you to my religion? I am a Pastafarian, the only religion based on empirical evidence. Our sacred text, the Gospels of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, contains the necessary contradictions, lies, and exaggerations of any such holy scripture in order to test its followers' faith, which, besides putting money in the pockets of its priests, is what religion is all about, eh?
DeleteThe Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) is for real. You can look it up. And he's VEGAN!!
As a weak and impressionable human being who dreams of everlasting life, I must say that I am very much drawn to Patafarianism but I have enough moral fibre to stick with Sausage Rollism.
DeleteThat is freaking HILARIOUS.
ReplyDeleteGlad it tickled you Steve!
DeleteWay to go! ( it was a Sheffield store)
ReplyDeleteOh. I didn't know that.
DeleteToo many people are too damn "precious" these days...the poor,tender little souls!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to munch on a sausage roll.
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