A decision to call Christmas lights "Winter Lights" in south London has been condemned as showing a "total lack of respect" for Christians.
Advertisements for the switch-on of the lights in multi-cultural Lambeth have renamed them, apparently for fear of offending other faiths.
Tory councillor Bernard Gentry told the BBC: "Christmas appears to have been cancelled in our borough".
A spokesman said it was an error by a junior official and not council policy.
In three of Lambeth's main town centres, the lights were referred to as "Winter Lights", while in a fourth they were called "Celebrity Lights".
The idea that, in some way, the religious festival of Christmas is offensive to others is just daft
Bernard Gentry
Lambeth councillor
The council spokeswoman said an official was concerned about people from other religions. She said: "It was a junior-level decision and it happened to go into print which was an error basically..........