The Vancouver Sun
Get used to it. Christmas is coming to a store near you, if it hasn’t already arrived. And right behind will be the annual argument over whether it’s insensitive or insulting to say “Merry Christmas” to the growing number of Canadians who don’t celebrate the religious holiday of Christmas.
Christianity is still by far the dominant religion in Canada. And our statutory holidays that have a religious anchor are all based on the Christian calendar.
But millions of Canadians now follow other religions or profess no religious affiliation. In 2001, the last time the question was put on a census form, there were 135,000 Sikhs in B.C, 56,000 Muslims, 85,000 Buddhists, 31,000 Hindus and 21,000 Jews along with thousands of who follow other faiths.
Categories: Americas, Arab World, Belief, Canada, Indonesia, Israel, Jesus Son Of Mary, Law and Religion, Minorities
whatta hell is wrong with this picture excuse my my american expression.
Most so-called Christians are, in fact, secular these days, and Christmas has become a commercialised holiday with few people going to church or including religion in their celebrations. Christmas actually pre-dates the religious event we know, having previously been the celebration of the changing seasons and the new light in the northern hemisphere, after the long, dark winter days. The same for Easter, where spring is the actual pre-Christian celebration. Both dates, along with the symbols like decorated trees and eggs, were adopted by the Romans to celebrate the new Christian religion. Perhaps we should revert to these ancient celebrations and give them new names (which has in fact been tried), so that all religions could participate in universal festivities, and for the religious they could still celebrate their own holidays.
Leila dear, what is so rare about an Arab shopping at a Canadian shopping mall!!