Christmas then, Christmas now

Dear Editor:

I would like to respond to the letter by Brian Henry (Courier, Dec. 27).

His feelings about the secularization and commercialism of Christmas and Boxing Day very much reflect the way I feel. Growing up in Winnipeg, things were very much different then. Two weeks before Christmas, the Hudsons Bay store employees had a choir which sang Christmas carols on the main staircase in the the store. This was broadcast on the local radio station and the principal of our school would play it over the PA system to all the classrooms, so for that time we would have the opportunity to sing and listen to these lovely songs for half an hour at the beginning of every day.

Families did not decorate or put up their trees until one week before Christmas. On Christmas and Boxing Day, everything was closed so there was no such thing as Boxing Day sales.

Christmas was a family day and our family would spend the day with our grandparents who lived in the same city. Our gifts were simple, we usually got one toy and items of clothing. My grandmother, being a great knitter, we usually got sweaters and socks and mitts.

The highlight of the day was the sumptuous turkey dinner that my grandmother would cook.

Boxing Day was traditionally a time for visiting friends. People would have open houses and invite their friends over. It was a stress-free day.

My memories of that time was that Christmas was a time to remember and honour Jesus Christ and it was a time of love, great joy and peace.

The idea of trying to accommodate other people’s beliefs, rather than being an inclusive activity, has become a diminishing activity to the Christian faith. My husband and I have friends of other faiths and we try to respect what they believe. I only ask that they do the same for us and allow us to celebrate Christmas in the way we choose and not trying to take the words “Christ” or “Christmas” out of our celebrations Norma Thibault Kelowna