It’s Christmas, not Bright and Merry season
It’s gratifying to see that Christmas and the Christmas season have arrived in these difficult COVID-dominated times. All of us in the Cowichan Valley could use the boost that the Christmas season brings during these trying times, and for most people it’s a joyous time of year. Longtime readers of the Citizen Opinion section may know that in the past I have defended Christmas and the use of “Merry Christmas” on more than one occasion in letters that the Citizen has kindly chosen to print. Thank you to the editorial staff of the Citizen for doing so.
In the early 2000s a campaign began to eradicate the use of Merry Christmas and the mention of Christmas in public venues. It hasn’t succeeded, and you can still see “Merry Christmas” used in various places and the use of the term “Christmas” in public, but… it hasn’t ended either. Christmas has survived, but on public banners in the Duncan area, and in commercial outlets and grocery stores, you see terms like “Bright and Merry” and “Be Merry” or, as in the case of WalMart this year, “Welcome to Wonderful…” These are innocuous terms, unconnected to the season and are an attempt to nullify Christmas by using watered down PC terms while at the same time cashing in on the Christmas season.
Well folks, it’s Christmas, not Bright and Merry season, and we ought to acknowledge that. The number of people actually offended by Christmas is minuscule. Those who claim that the war on Christmas doesn’t exist, which is often the tactic used these days, are wrong. It continues and we ought to both be aware of that and determined to acknowledge that this is the Christmas season, not winter festival time. In recognition of that, Merry Christmas to everyone.
Perry Foster
Duncan