Bambi will start by thanking her “non-Christian” friend who recently shared with her a rather odd article in the National Post, which informed us of the following: “the Canadian Human Rights Commission, which wields broad quasi-judicial powers, argued that a day off on Christmas is ‘discriminatory’ ” (https://shorturl.at/mrwA3).
Interestingly, just the night before reading the above, Bambi read about the same nonsense in the Journal de Montréal, thanks to a sarcastic French article by Mr. Richard Martineau entitled “Christmas is a colonialist holiday! Making Christmas a public holiday would be discriminatory...” (https://shorturl.at/qBJV8). Of note, Mr. Martineau reminded us of the following: “Every year, it’s the same thing. There is always a group that attacks the Christmas party. You should not say “Christmas tree” because it discriminates against other religions. The focus should not be on Santa Claus, because it is sexist and patriarchal. You should not play the song Baby, It’s Cold Outside, because it is an apology for rape. We should not install crèches in town halls, because this does not respect secularism”.
Related to the above, what do you reply to people who lost the sense of childhood wonder and historical perspective to that extent, regardless of their own family traditions? You do not have to be of a specific spiritual faith to appreciate its beauty, including the magic of Christmas-related decorations or traditionally-based days off. For instance, think of the Diwali light magic celebrations or the sources of joy of Ramadan social gatherings. Think also of the nice Jewish tradition of lighting the menorah candles on Hanukkah? Bearing all the above in mind, why should we sacrifice Christmas’ lovely traditions just because it is historically linked to the silent majority (and to individuals members of visible or invisible minorities in Canada for whom Christmas means the world, whether they are religious or not)?
To conclude this post on a musical note, it is time for the lovely French version of the “Oh Christmas Tree” song now with the uniquely talented Mr. Kendji Girac. Enjoy!
