Thanks for the forward, Charles.
Wayne
Build on the Past, Forge the Future
-----Original Message-----
From: Charles Scott [mailto:crscott@...]
Sent: Tuesday, December 24, 2002 1:31 AM
To: faithandlife@...
Subject: [FaithandLife] Saving the significance of symbols in a
multi-cultural society
From Christian Week, Canada's National Christian Newspaper
Oh, Christmas tree
For a very short time, the brightly festooned fir in front of Toronto's
city
hall was called a "holiday" tree. When people began to ask what happened
to
the word "Christmas," the city's executive director of tourism explained
that Christmas was too exclusive in Canada's multicultural society. "We
want
to get the message out that [the Cavalcade of Lights] is an inclusive
celebration," he said.
Nonsense, replied a chorus of voices. In fact, no one had complained
about
the tree being called a Christmas tree. And Bernie Farber, executive
director of the Canadian Jewish Congress of Ontario, observed that
taking
away or changing the names of symbols for any religious group is denying
Canadians their right to a truly multicultural society. "The tree in
front
of City Hall is a Christmas tree," he said. "The menorah in front of
Queen's
Park is a menorah, not a candelabra...We should really be celebrating
traditions, not looking for a way to deny them."
This well-stated rebuttal to the ongoing secular bleaching of faith from
public life is very welcome. But while politicians in Toronto bowed
immediately to public pressure and without debate voted unanimously on
November 27 to officially refer to the 16-metre tree in Nathan Phillips
Square as a "Christmas tree," the underlying issue is not likely to
disappear so quickly.
Many Canadian already celebrate "winter" festivals, attend "holiday"
concerts, participate in a variety of "light" cavalcades or parades and
gather around "multicultural" trees decked out with menorahs and symbols
from other faiths. That these celebrations normally occur during
traditional
Christianity's Advent and Christmas season is a mark of Christianity's
pervasive influence on our culture. But this culture is changing, and
the
diminution of symbols is an important indicator of things to come.
One ethics consultant commenting on the Toronto tree simply observed
that
the word Christmas is associated with Christianity, and only by removing
the
word does the holiday take on an air of neutrality without religious
undertones. This makes the extraordinary assumption that religious tones
of
any sort are not welcome in public life. Sadly, all too many Canadians
are
content to drift toward a dominant secularism, taking it on faith that
this
represents a neutral position.
But excluding or demeaning religious expression is not the best way to
reap
the benefits of a multicultural society. The multifaith reality does not
mean we must abandon beliefs in order to be properly inclusive. It does
mean
we who would uphold religious faith in public settings must be properly
respectful of any who believe otherwise, humble in the manner we commend
our
convictions and gracious in our public presence.
This is what Christians should practise, what we should expect from
practitioners of other religions and what we should expect from
governments.
Christians, of all people, should know that societal acceptance of
religious
holidays is not the real measure of our faith; and the Christmas tree is
a
compromised symbol at best. The way to embed a truly authentic Christian
presence in the culture is for those who claim the name of Christ to
draw
near to Him, and allow Him to transform our lives. That's the real
reason we
celebrate this season.
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