Pritish Pagan Police People get days off for solstice, Halloween.

[Syt]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8154812.stm

Pagan police get solstice leave

Pagan police officers in some areas are being allowed to take as many as eight days leave a year for events such as the summer solstice and Halloween.

It comes after the Pagan Police Association was set up following discussions with Home Office officials.

Policy on police leave varies between forces in England and Wales.

Hertfordshire Police lets Pagan staff re-allocate the traditional bank holidays to meet their beliefs - it has also appointed two Pagan chaplains.

Pc Andy Pardy, a Pagan neighbourhood beat officer in Hemel Hempstead, Herts, was one of the officers involved in setting up the association.

Tree-huggers

He told Police Review: "Paganism is not the new age, tree-hugging fad that some people think it is.

"It is not the clandestine, horrible, evil thing that people think it is. A lot of people think it is about dancing naked around a fire.

"But the rituals involve chanting, music and meditation. For Pagans, the practices are seen to have the same power as prayer does for Christians."

Pc Pardy is allowed to take eight days per year for Pagan events - which form part of his annual leave.

Pagans worship nature and believe in many gods and their practices include witchcraft and druidism.

According to the Office of National Statistics there were 31,000 people practising Paganism in England and Wales in 2001.

Another officer, Pc Andy Hill, of Staffordshire Police, is a practising Wiccan - a kind of Pagan witch.

Healing Spells

He has offered to use spells to give fellow officers a helping hand with promotion exams or to heal ill colleagues and is the founder of the Pagan Police Group UK, a website for Pagan police officers and their families.

He told Police Review: "Wiccan has always been a bit of a taboo religion, there are lots of misconceptions about it.

"This is nothing to do with black magic or devil worshipping. Witchcraft is not the hocus pocus, puff of smoke, turning people into frogs stuff you see on television. It is working with nature for good."

Superintendent Simon Hawkins, of Hertfordshire Police, said: "While balancing operational needs, the force's religion and belief's policy gives all staff the choice of re-allocating the traditional Christian bank holiday festivals to suit their personal faith beliefs and this has been very well-received from a number of faith groups including Muslim and Jewish.

No public funding

"The force strives to provide a receptive environment for all its staff and our faith work stream is a positive example of our commitment to meet the diverse needs of all who work for us and the public we serve."

A Home Office spokesman said: the Pagan Police Association did not receive any funding from the Home Office.

He added: "The government wants a police service that reflects the diverse communities it serves.

"It is down to individual forces to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate the religion or beliefs of individual officers, as far as operational requirements permit."

Well, as long as everyone gets the same amount of holidays I don't care much which omnipotent invisible friend someone worships.

[Caliga]

I like this new trend of making thread titles alliterative.

[saskganesh]

yes: Thread Titles to Type.

[Josquius]

Well, as long as everyone gets the same amount of holidays I don't care much which omnipotent invisible friend someone worships.

I'd go further, its not just a "meh I don't care" but even a good thing. It gives you people who are defiantly going to be working on Christmas without having to try and convince others and go into extra pay and whatnot.

[Queequeg]

Wish we still burned these motherfuckers.  They'll pay for Howie!

[Martinus]

I wish we still threw motherfucking christians to lions, but we can't have it all, can we?

[Darth Wagtaros]

I don't get eight days a year.  I want Michaelmass off!

[Syt]

Austria: 11 religious holidays, plus 3 state holidays. Also, 24th of Dec and 31st of Dec are half days for working. If I'd be paying my church tax I'd also get the (here Lutheran) Good Friday off.

[Malthus]

He told Police Review: "Paganism is not the new age, tree-hugging fad that some people think it is.

"It is not the clandestine, horrible, evil thing that people think it is. A lot of people think it is about dancing naked around a fire.

"But the rituals involve chanting, music and meditation. For Pagans, the practices are seen to have the same power as prayer does for Christians."

How excessively lame.

What's the point of choosing a non-ancestral religion, if it *doesn't* feature naked chicks dancing about around a fire, or indeed *anything* bizzare or transgressive?

Might as well join the United Church.