Kids’ tears over vicar’s Santa message
`Children left a school Christmas assembly in tears after claiming a vicar said Father Christmas does not exist.
Teachers at St George’s C of E Primary in Mossley told the Rev Martin Dowland he had upset children after reading `Why Jesus Is Better Than Santa Claus’.
It was during the reading with colleague the Rev Richard Lindsay, of St George’s Church, that Mr Dowland is reported to have said: “You all should know by now that he (Santa Claus) is not real.” Parents said they were stunned. And Mr Dowland, of St Mary’s Church, Haughton Green, said a teacher made him aware some children were upset, but denied he actually said Santa was not real.’
