Spanish school cancels Christmas

updated 3:51 p.m. ET Nov. 29, 2006

MADRID, Spain - A school in traditionally Catholic Spain has canceled Christmas celebrations so as not to offend children who are not Christians, the ABC newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The Hilarion Gimeno school in Zaragoza said teachers had put forward various reasons for not celebrating Christmas, but ABC said the worry was that Muslim children might be upset.

The school will not put on a nativity play or hand out presents, but pupils will be free to decorate the halls and sing carols.

“We are educators and we want our school program to advance the personal development of our students as much as possible,” the school said.

Christmas celebrations usually last for about a month in Spain, with parties starting in December and running through to Jan. 6 for “Los Reyes,” a huge fiesta to celebrate the visit of the three wise men to the new-born Jesus in Bethlehem.

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