Jingle Bells, Bat-Man smells, Robin laid an egg…
Wait, wait, wait. That’s not how it goes.
Let’s start over again, shall we?
All kidding aside, the staff of the Barrhead Leader would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas, and a successful New Year. Being mindful of all of the unique backgrounds, customs and heritages that make up our community however, we would also like to extend these sentiments in phrasing perhaps a little bit more familiar.
In Dutch, Vrolijk Kerstfeest, and in German, Fröhliche Weihnachten.
Ou es francais s’il vous préférez? Joyeux Noël.
In Spanish, it’s Feliz Navidad. For our Muslim friends and neighbours, a fond Aid Mabrouk.
Not everybody celebrates Christmas, we get that, but a little holiday cheer hasn’t hurt anyone just yet. There are so many other things going on that we could dwell on instead, both provincially and nationally.
Yet it is important to pay attention to cultural differences and try to honour them.
Barrhead is a welcoming and generous community, one that takes pride in its accomplishments and comes together in times of crisis or tragedy, no one can deny that. For evidence, you need only look as far as the Schmidt’s barn. The community pulled together and saved it, raising a childhood memory and an important rodeo mainstay of the area from the ruins and ash and built an entirely new one in its place in record time.
Need more proof? Refer to the front-page articles of the Dec. 1 and Dec. 15 editions of the newspaper – stories about members of this community banding together to provide housing and support for strangers living half-a-world away. Those are the kinds of things, if the timing of them were different, that people would be talking about if they were referring to Christmas miracles.
While the United States battles both loudly and publicly in Congress about immigration, our own leader Justin Trudeau, the oft-mocked ‘PM Selfie’ welcomed the first plane filled with Syrian refugees at the terminal when they landed in our country, handing out jackets and other winter clothing personally, alongside Ontario’s Premier Kathleen Wynne.
This, while our province broils with emotion over Bill 6.
Apparently neither Justin nor Kathleen received the Grinch’s memo. Rachel Notley couldn’t have either. As we all know, she is far, far too busy.
Maybe Brian Jean got theirs instead.
The way the world is these days, it can be easy to lose your faith in people but don’t let the Grinch steal your Christmas.
Give him a present instead and break bread with a neighbour or lend a helping hand.
‘Tis the season and all that jazz.
Once again, we here at the Leader would like to extend our sincerest holiday wishes to you and yours.
Merry Christmas Barrhead.
