According to the National Post dated Nov 24, 2023 (Tristin Hopper), https://nationalpost.com/opinion/federal-commission-declares-christmas-holiday-is-religious-intolerance, “The Canadian Human Rights Commission, which wields broad quasi-judicial powers, argued that a day off on Christmas is 'discriminatory'... The Canadian Human Rights Commission — an agency with broad judicial powers that is fully funded by the federal government — has declared that the celebration of Christmas is evidence of Canada’s “colonialist” religious intolerance.”
So, what does this mean for the average person in Canada? According to the article, Easter and Christmas should not be statutory holidays. You see they are based on colonialist religious intolerance and should be eliminated as they are not in keeping with inclusion of all as the other religions have to seek special permissions to get their days off. The article does go on and it quite interesting (I have included the link above) but, again I ask, what does this mean to the average citizen in Canada? It means that those statutory holidays would be rescinded, and it will either become another named statutory holiday or it will become just another day of the week. Happy holidays all.
Here is another way to consider this push. The Christians of Canada would still celebrate the birth of the Saviour because the celebration of Christmas (Mass- the Holy Communion...of Christ) and of Easter, that is, the celebration of Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection for us all, is more than a paid day off. These holiest of celebrations for the Christian community are above and beyond the laws of mankind and we, as a faith nation, would still celebrate regardless of the situation. But what I want to know is this, why is this agency so opposed to the celebration of the birth of the Prince of peace? The message is about loving those around us and spreading the joy of the season. The Easter message is not about bunnies that produce chocolate eggs but rather the fulfillment of the promise of salvation. Do we need a statutory holiday, a paid day off, to realize the birth and the sacrifice of the Messiah?
"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 5:10 NIV
Persecute the faithful and they will only grow stronger, try to remove the relevance of the two seasons and they will only dig in their heels and become stronger, eliminate the religious rights of the Christian nation and nothing will change because we know the true reason for the season. Here is the kicker, eliminate the statutory status of the holidays and those who appreciate the extra day off, the extra cash on the pay cheque will rise up and demand it reinstated. You cannot quench the Spirit, one can try but, in the end, He is greater than the machinations of humanity and His will shall prevail. So take away the the designation of a statutory holiday, make it another set of normal days on the calendar and leave it at that. Jesus was born over two thousand years ago, gave fully of Himself without concern for monetary rewards and died for us all so that we would not know death and was resurrected as proof that death had no hold on Him. This is what we celebrate and we can do that without the stat designation.
This Sunday, Rev. Bob Hillock will bring the second message of Advent. The service will be broadcast online on our website (https://www.mainavefellowship.ca/socialplatforms), or you are more than welcome to join us in person at 10:30 AM, at 402 Main Ave. W in Sundre, AB.
Blessings,
Our Mission “To live the love of Christ”
