December 22, Sunday, marked the last Sunday of Advent and the start of the Christmas season. Christmas Day, liturgically called “The Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord” in the Catholic Church, includes both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day itself. For religiously observant Christians, however, Christmas is not just one day, but an entire season, lasting anywhere from 12 days to 40 days in different ecclesial traditions, beginning with Christmas Eve and lasting up to January 6th of the Feast of the Epiphany. So, technically speaking, Christmas begins on Christmas Day and ends with the Feast of the Three Kings or Magi, thus, Christmas decorations and lights should still be up until such time, and celebrations still continue.
Christmas is the birth of Jesus and despite the recent political correcting of the entire season by making greetings non-religious, and capitalizing on Hanukkah and Kwanzaa to take the spotlight off of the Christian holiday to make it more inclusive, Christians and non-Christians alike continue to emphasize the importance of keeping the celebrations a Christian one. Even Canadian non-Christian parliament members have time and again made speeches regarding Christmas as a celebration they share with Christians, and should therefore, remain the emphasis.
Today, the only thing Christmas is known for is its commercialism. Of course, we live in a world where making a lot of money is the objective of every capitalist in the business of milking the public with its well-planned marketing schemes and guilt-laden ads posed to make a person feel obligated to buy gifts for friends and family. They do this by pounding you with ads on “amazing deals” for things you don’t really need, and they do this as soon as Halloween is done, and the dollar store starts to stock up on Christmas decor even before October 31.
Unfortunately, for many this year, Christmas will not be as affordable as it was prior to the current Liberal government. The country is in shambles, there are more people lining up at the Food Bank than ever, and with Canada in billions of dollars in deficit more than what was expected. The Liberal government has collapsed, and no amount of hugging from the NDP’s Jagmeet Singh will save the government that has Canadians angry and desperate to get rid of its current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who unfortunately, is too arrogant to resign from his post. With a good friend like Singh and the NDPs, why would he? Singh will hold on to Trudeau as tight as possible so that he can get his pension as Canadians suffer in the long run.
There is always hope, though it will not come from these bosom buddies, the duo of Trudeau and Singh. It will come from the Liberal party who, themselves, would have had enough to ensure that they keep their jobs by being reelected in October, and quit while they’re ahead. If the election indicators are like anything that happened in the Cloverdale-Langley bi-election where Tamara Jensen beat current MLA Vanessa Sharma, then we know the Liberals and NDPs’ time is up. This lack of compassion for Canadians and their plight has become too obvious to ignore, and there is hope that things will change for the better when politicians who miss the point of what it means to be a civil servant will no longer be one.
But for now, we focus on what joy there is at hand despite the darkness. What the world needs right now is true giving, selflessness and tolerance, the one Jesus, Mary and Joseph were denied when they were looking for a place to stay many years ago. This scene gives us hope always, despite the challenges.
There will be hope for Canadians next year, and hopefully next Christmas, we will truly be happy with a new government who can better take care of its citizens.
By Rosette Correa
