The Guardian UK report – Baker accused of ‘manufacturing a scandal to sell baked goods’ after replacing Jesus in advert for new advent calendar
The bakery chain Greggs has apologised for offending Christians with a nativity scene advert that replaces Jesus with a sausage roll.
The chief executive of the Freedom Association, a rightwing pressure group, claimed the advert was “sick” and that the retailer would “never dare” insult other religions.
The UK Evangelical Alliance strongly criticised the baker, saying it was a gimmick that seemed to be about “manufacturing a scandal to sell baked goods”.
Greggs released the image to promote its £24 advent calendar, which goes on sale next Monday. Its decision to use an image depicting the three wise men gathering round a crib containing a sausage roll sparked criticism from Twitter users and religious groups.
Greggs is not withdrawing the product – its first ever advent calendar – but said in a statement: “We’re really sorry to have caused any offence, this was never our intention.”
Simon Richards, chief executive of the Freedom Association, tweeted: “Please boycott @GreggsOfficial to protest against its sick anti-Christian advent calendar.
“What cowards these people are: we all know that they would never dare insult other religions! They should donate every penny of their profits to @salvationarmyuk.”
Christians on Twitter said the advert was disrespectful. “I’m glad Christians kicked off and Greggs apologised,” wrote one Twitter user. “No other religion would stand for that nonsense.”
The calendar will go on sale in selected Greggs store … read more
Centia Ezeh, a Prophetess at World Harvest Christian Centre and the founder of Christian Women of Influence (CWOI) , as a concern Christian has spoken up on social media condemning the acts of the baker portraying Jesus as a sausage. Centia and her followers are considering staging a peaceful protest
Metro UK report – Why Greggs’ portrayal of Jesus as a sausage roll is not as weird as you might think
M J C Warren, Lecturer in Biblical and Religious Studies, University of Sheffield
WITH more than 1,000 outlets across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom, Greggs the baker is a national institution. It’s not uncommon for queues to form in some towns and cities as the daily doughnuts, cheese and onion pasties and steak bakes come out of the ovens. But it is the sausage roll that is the star turn.
Now, though, it seems it is the star that Greggs took too far. For Britain’s biggest bakery has had to apologise after it replaced the traditional baby Jesus in the manger with its famed product in a nativity scene. The image was used to promote its advent calendar and, the company says, it wasn’t meant to cause offence.
Well, regardless of intentions, the image, with three wise men reverently surrounding a golden sausage roll in a manger, caused quite an uproar.
Many Christian Twitter users were at the forefront of this backlash against the image, tapping into the false narrative of the persecution of Christians in Western countries including the UK and US, and the idea that there is a ‘war on Christmas’ … read more