By late October, before Halloween, hints of Christmas are already in the air and on the windows of shopping malls.
The radio and television start the tunes of “Jingle Bells” and “Santa Claus is coming to Town.”
By the middle of November the Santa Claus Parade brings thrills and excitement to children and their parents as well.
In early December, piles of Christmas trees are on the front doors of stores.
Colorful Christmas lights, dome of them in abundance, start to attract passersby and cars to stop and admire the artful displays.
Christmas cards have started pouring in. .It is the time of the year when family, friends and acquaintances whom we have not heard of for a long long time, remember to drop a line and let us know they are still around.
People are very busy, shopping for presents, attending office and school parties, decorating their homes, baking Christmas goodies.
It is indeed a time of the year that everybody seems to look forward to.
But there seems to be something amiss. The cards, most of them, anyway, do not have the “Merry Christmas” greetings. Instead, it is substituted by “Happy Holidays,” “The Manger Scene” is not in the shop windows anymore.
Public schools do not present the Christmas Tableau these days. These are all parts of being politically correct.
We are fortunate that we live in a free country. We enjoy freedom of speech, from want, as well as freedom of religion. We celebrate our own beliefs, among ourselves who have the same faith and with other faiths.
All faiths teach the admirable values of goodwill, humility, service to others and peace.
All these faiths are celebrated in Canada. We hear of Ramadan, Hanukah, Diwali or Festival of Lights, Chinese New Year and many more.
These celebrations are happily observed with great parties –festive decorations, sumptuous feasts, dancing and parading. They are all accepted as parts of the multiculturalism and contributions to the Canadian Mosaic.
But why have there been some objections to the celebration of the true origin of Christmas? We all know that Christmas is the birthday of Jesus Christ. Why do we refuse to celebrate that faith?
My four year old grandniece came home from her junior kindergarten class in a Catholic school and told me: “Do you know that the angel Gabriel came to Mary and said, “Do not be afraid! You will have a baby and his name will be Jesus. Mother Mary said to God, “Thy will be done! And Christ was born. That was the first Christmas!”
This four year old child was taught what Christmas is all about. She is also waiting for Santa Claus to bring her presents. I do not know if she will be told that giving presents did not start with Santa Claus but with the “The Three Magi”, the Tree Kings from the East who visited the baby Jesus in the manger and brought presents of gold, incense and myrrh.
These are the faiths that have been handed down from generation to generation in the Christian World. These are the faiths held dear by Christians just as the Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Shintoists and other faiths have their own.
These are the faiths carried by people from all parts of the world and practiced if they are not prohibited in the land they settle in as home.
Let not our different faiths divide us, Let us live together with tolerance for each other and for the faiths that each of us carry in our hearts.
It has been observed that the number of church goers, especially among the young has decreased. Could it be because we have not held steadfast to some of the traditions of our faiths?
As we celebrate Christmas this year, let us remember the age old traditions and their origins. Let us now forget the universal message of Christmas and of other faiths – peace, humility, tolerance and goodwill.
As my little grandniece said, “Do not be afraid!”
Merry Christmas to all!
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