Bah Humbug!

It is now February 15th and I'm just getting back to this post. I've thought a lot about it, and my opinions remain the same.

Over the past month, I have participated in a number of conversations about inclusivity at the holidays. Stop saying "Merry Christmas". Why are there no Hanukkah decorations up in the library? Is there a Kwanzaa celebration planned? I have a number of problems with this attitude.

It seems to me that we are trying to fit everything into the season - even if it doesn't fit. I actually had a teacher approach me because he wanted to makes sure that I was included in the holiday video. There are no Baha'i holy days in December. There is the Birth of Baha'u'llah on November 12th and Ayyam-i-ha which begins on February 26th, but absolutely nothing in December or even January. Why on earth would those holidays be mentioned except as a way to prove how inclusive we are. I don't feel included under those circumstances; I feel patronized. I'm the token Baha'i, woo hoo. I don't want to be a token anything. I want to be me.

Not all groups are going to fit into the standard model. Why are we trying to make them? Why have we made Hanukkah a big deal? Why aren't there Rosh Hashanah assemblies? Why aren't we talking about the High Holidays instead of a minor holiday in the winter? I know - because we can't leave Jewish people out when we celebrate Christmas; that's racist. No it isn't.

Don't even get me started on Kwanzaa. Why are we making a big deal out of an African-American (did you get that - AMERICAN) holiday that came out of the Black Power movement? Canada's history with regard to Africans and other Black people is very different. Considering that somewhere in the neighbourhood of 80% of Black people in Canada come from Africa or the Caribbean, do they really need to reconnect to their African heritage? It seems to me that this is another attempt to fit a minority group into the majority's tradition.

Why aren't we having the real conversation? To my mind, that conversation is about changing statutory holidays so that Christian holidays aren't statutory holidays. Why should Christmas and Easter be special? Why not celebrate Canadian events instead? Take out Christmas and put in Prime Minister's Day. Take away Easter and instead use Flag Day. As long as we make Christian holidays statutory, we will never actually move towards full inclusivity.

Now, moving on to my problems with New Year's ...