The National Trust is one of the country's most respected institutions, but according to some the organisation is coming after one of the country's most beloved holidays - Christmas. 

The charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has its headquarters at the Heelis building in Swindon and recently held its Annual General Meeting at the STEAM Museum. 

However, a question asked at the meeting over a charity 'inclusivity and wellbeing' calendar, which was provided for volunteers has sparked a row because it included Hinduism's Diwali, and Islam's Eid and Ramadan but had no sign of the Christian holidays.

This has led to a Daily Mail article accusing the National Trust of trying to 'abolish Christmas' like Vladimir Lenin and Oliver Cromwell, which the Trust has enthusiastically denied. 

The Daily Mail reports that this was raised during the Annual General Meeting, with Trust member David Lamming asking why Christmas and Easter were 'omitted'. 

In response, a National Trust spokesman said: "This internal guidance is specifically designed to supplement the National Trust's year-round programming that includes Christmas and Easter, which are national public holidays and which are celebrated at all properties.

"It enables our teams to mark more religious and cultural festivals, to serve local communities and allow everyone to learn about and enjoy different cultures.

"We're proud to host some wonderful celebrations for Eid, Diwali, Hanukkah, and other occasions. The National Trust is for everyone."

Indeed, on November 2, just over a week before the AGM and the Daily Mail articles, the National Trust released its own Christmas advert.

In the video, Mouse, Hare and their snowmen friends discover the joy of giving from a good place with gifts from the National Trust’s new Christmas shop which is full of seasonal cards, gifts and food and drink. 

In addition to this, the National Trust website has a dedicated calendar for Christmas events at its locations, of which there are 148. 

But that hasn't stopped the suggestion being discussed, including on GB News where Graham Nicholls, director of Affinity, Gospel church said: "Across the world, Christians are persecuted... Why wouldn't you include Christmas? Lots of people from other religions would be staggered that Christian festivals aren't on there!"

The row eventually led to the National Trust making the following tongue-in-cheek tweet: "We're hearing rumours that we've cancelled Christmas! If you've heard that too, don't worry. Our celebration for 2023 has only just begun, and you can find out more about what we're planning at the link below. PS. It's still printed in all the calendars in our shop, too."