Canadian Quandary

Real Reason for the Season

I am a born Catholic,
with Christianity as my faith for last fifty years. Christmas can mean different things for each of us, regardless of how one chooses to celebrate it. I proudly cherish long lasting memories of many Christmas past celebrated with my friends of other faiths with true spirit and joy.

It seems every year there's a fuss by those who think,

advertising and celebrating "Christmas" somehow denigrates non christian religions.

Nativity scenes of baby Jesus in the manger provoke lawsuits and complaints by civil liberties zealots. "Happy Holidays" replaces "Merry Christmas."
Christmas trees are now called Holiday trees.

I am of the opinion that "Christmas"
has become international and multicultural.
With non Christians sometimes best reflecting the spirit of Christmas.

In 1223, St. Francis of Assisi commemorated the scene of the Nativity, according to the infancy Gospel. And the crib thus became one of the traditional and best loved symbols of Christmas.

According to " World Book of Encyclopedia-1976 edition", Christians "borrowed" the Roman Holiday celebrating the winter solstice which they celebrated on Dec,25. Christians wanted a day to mark the birth of Christ. And thus Christmas, despite numerous attacks against it over many centuries, continues to thrive.

My late father, a true christian devotee, celebrated each Christmas leading church choir. He believed, Christmas isn't organized by governments or planned by bureaucrats. But billions of us organize ourselves around it every year to celebrate Christmas without the aid of a single government mandarin.

The crib and the tree - precious symbols, which hand down in time the true meaning of Christmas. This Christmas, let's pray the brawling, irreverent, subversive spirit of Christmas, undermines officialdom and arrogant authority all the year round.

In advancement of faith, family and fraternity, may we all strive to keep Christ in Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

Madhuram Joseph Macwan.
Toronto, Canada.