As I am still struggling under the triple burdens of housekeeping, cat herding and helping neighbours with their corn harvest, the frequency of my blog posts is suffering, as is their length.
(Those are not our cats in the photo, we only have 6 but it feels like more)
Sue arrived in Zimbabwe on Monday after a week of similar weather to Canada’s in the UK. She telephoned to tell me of her safe arrival and then somewhat gleefully told me the temperature was 30 C. She was disappointed at the conditions and atmosphere at Jan Smuts airport (now renamed) in Johannesburg during a 4 hour wait there for her final flight to Zimbabwe.
Another sign that once successful South Africa is following Zimbabwe and other African countries down the same slippery slope of mismanagement, corruption and incompetence? The curse of practically every “independent” country on that unfortunate continent. Aided and abetted by equal measures of incompetence, lack of principles and treachery on the part of a succession of Western leaders over the last few decades.
Her first impression of Harare was that it is even more run down, decayed and chaotic than when we left the country in 2004. Shambolic was her description, to think that as Salisbury prior to 1980, it was an attractive, well run city. Incredible how much can be destroyed in a comparatively short time by a corrupt, incompetent and ruthless group of thugs.
Is Christmas becoming acceptable again?
A non-scientific, personal and completely subjective analysis of news items, radio station programming and store decorations indicates that there is less reluctance to celebrate Christmas this year than last.
Perhaps I am just listening to the right radio stations and seeing what I want to see, a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts, but I do think that there is a faint hope that common sense is returning. Perhaps the politically correct appeasers are realising that principles still count.
The majority of Christmas cards we have received are just that, not “Happy Holidays”.
I am still reading the “Pendulum”, the book by Roy Williams and Michael Drew which tracks the swing from “Me” to “We” extremes in society. For two thousand years, the pendulum has swung between the two extremes every 40 years. According to the theory, we will reach the “We” zenith in 2013, but before every turning point there are the leaders of opinion who start moving back to the other extreme ahead of the majority.
A fascinating book.
Is my observance of more celebration of Christmas an indication of this? Or is it merely wishful thinking on my part?
I have stated before, that I believe the majority of immigrants to Canada, myself included, come here because conditions and opportunities here are infinitely better than in the countries they came from, not because they wish to turn Canada into replicas of their former homelands.
Canada offers an environment with opportunities as good as any in the Western world because of its traditions, laws and customs. These include a celebration of Christmas as Christmas. Let’s not discard all that just to appease a small minority.
Change is always happening, change for an improvement, something better, is desirable. Change to appease a small minority is not.
It seems like our government is at last getting tougher on immigration, it is also a welcome sign that the federal government has confirmed the acceptance of Christmas decorations in government offices.
What do you think? Is it important to keep Christmas in Christmas?
Does Canada have a so called war on Christmas like here in the states? I agree there are overly sensitive folk who try to make problems and issues out of nothing. And others just like to stir the pot to get attention or ratings. And of course politicians of all stripes bend with the wind. However, I have never believed there was/is a REAL war on Christmas. At least I have never seen one in my world. Millions say Merry Christmas and go to church and worship as they please no matter what the politicians do or say. They have Mass and services with the Christ birth story and no one stops them. I see both religious and secular Christmas cards at stores. To 98% of people who don’t read a lot or watch the news and who lives their lives as they see fit Christmas is still here and celebrated.
Does this make sense?
Merry Christmas, Peter.
P.S. The Pendulum book sounds interesting. I shall have to find a copy and read. Thanks for the recommendation.
Thank you Roberta, it is good to hear that millions in the USA still say “Merry Christmas”. Most do here too, my gripe is with certain businesses that decorate their stores with Christmas type decorations but carefully exclude any reference to Christmas. No “Merry Christmas”, nativity scenes or any religious connection, just “Happy Holidays” or in some cases, “Seasons Greetings”. At least the latter does have a traditional ring to it. Last year I boycotted Canada’s favourite coffee drive-thru and emailed complaints to several other businesses, including my bank, for that reason.
Happy Christmas to you too.
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