A True Canadian Christmas Celebration
Sophia takes the stage.
I have observed this up here in Canada. However, it seems to be dying down, as I have seen more references to Christmas in public places than in previous years.
Adam and Sophia are both performing at a CHRISTMAS concert in their public school. It is billed as a Christmas concert - not winter, December, Santa or snow concert. I attended with expectations of the typical offerings of odes to Santa Claus and heart warming thoughts of family, gifts and decorations. I was pleasantly surprised by what actually transpired.
The school my children attend accommodates "special needs" children. These are children requiring extra care and attention due to some sort of disability. Adam has been in a class with a girl with Down's Syndrome for 3 of his 4 years there. There are also some children with autism. One dark haired pretty girl in Grade 2 appears to have a more severe form of autism - she requires both a care worker and a guide dog who stay by her side throughout the day. This girl (whose name I do not know) had drawn some pictures and written some words associated with Christmas, and with some help she spoke the words out. A slide show was designed to show case her work. She speaks with some difficulty, causing me at first to wonder if she was deaf. Her teacher later corrected me.
So, from the start a tone was set - this was going to be an inclusive event. No one would be left out. And no one was. A creative theme of Santa traveling around the world show-cased a global type of holiday. We heard Merry Christmas in a variety of languages. Musical offerings covered Kwannza, Hanukkah and Christmas. I even heard my first Australian Christmas song where Santa's sled is led by kangaroos instead of reindeer! (I am writing this after only seeing Sophia's performance - Adam's is tonight - so his might be different).
So, in a creative way, a variety of cultures and faiths were included. And the real Christmas miracle is that Christians were not excluded! Silent Night was sung and references were made to the baby born in Bethlehem.
As a member of that increasingly marginalized tribe called "Christian", I was very pleased with the whole performance. As someone also influenced by the Canadian core values of tolerance and pluralism, I was also pleased.
So, kudos to the school and especially the music director. She managed to pull of the delicate act of balancing out the original message of Christmas with other faiths and our more contemporary expressions.
Merry Christmas!
Happy Hannukkah!
Happy Kwanzaa!
And for the majority of you who have chosen the secular over the sacred this season, please enjoy your loved ones and give a little extra to those in need!
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