View From the Legislature

There has been a lot of talk about Christmas being cancelled this year. Of course, that is not possible. Christmas is a gift that cannot be taken away. But for those of us who have grown up with the traditions of Christmas in our Canadian culture, it is going to feel like a very different Christmas.

Not since the 1918 pandemic has there been a Christmas that feels quite like this. Of course the world has not been without trouble between then and now. Christmas has come during world wars, great depressions, and fear of terrorism. Around the world generations have experienced Christmas in famine and illness. As hard as this Christmas feels, it is certainly not the most challenging that humanity has ever faced.

And yet, it is difficult. With household visits being restricted throughout the vast majority of the country, so many of the things that we value most about this time of the year, family, traditions, being together, are lost. And for those that already were isolated or suffering emotionally during this time of the year, this will be an especially hard Christmas.

Of course, it will be especially difficult for those families who have lost loved ones this year, whether from COVID19 or any other cause, as they experience Christmas without those they have loved dearly. We especially remember each of you who are suffering the loss of a loved one this year.

In addition to personal loss, this year has caused the loss of things we consider traditions. After seeing retail outlets limited in how they can sell their goods, concerts cancelled, gatherings postponed, and visits curtailed, it would be both easy and natural to wonder, just what remains of Christmas. But of course, we know that what remains is Christmas itself. We have always known and often said that Christmas is not about the gifts and the food and the traditions. All those things make it more special, but it is not the reason for the season. Christmas, while it has become many things, is still, at its heart about the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem so many years ago. It is about a world that was looking for hope, then as it is now. About the birth of a child that was long anticipated, but that almost nobody saw coming.

Christmas has always been about hope. And for us today, it may feel that much of that hope is lost. And yet it is as real and as available as it ever was. And it is as needed as perhaps at anytime in our lifetime. So what remains of Christmas in this year of pandemic? The most important part, Christmas itself.

I know, because I have heard from so many, that this will be a very difficult Christmas. My family is experiencing that disappointment as well. There are few words that anyone could conjure that would make it much easier or less disappointing. But there is something that is special about every Christmas, even this one. Together with my wife Kim and son Malachi, our prayer is that especially this year, the hope and the miracle that is Christmas will find a way to break through the hurt and grief that has come in 2020. And that this hope will bring peace and contentment, in these days, and in all days. We wish you a blessed Christmas.