There was a time when it was possible to wish another person "Merry Christmas" without worrying about offering offence.
Back then, children in public school and their parents could look forward to the traditional Canadian Christmas concert.
In the interests of learning about living in a multicultural world, kids also learned about Diwali in the autumn and Holi in March. It was of no great consequence to anyone whether or not there were children in their class whose families celebrated those festivals.
It was also possible for teachers to tell their kids about Vaisakha, the full-moon festival in May commemorating the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha without an enraged parent entering the school waving Section 76 of the School Act.
Section 76 states: "All schools ... must be conducted on strictly secular and non-sectarian principles" and that "the highest morality must be inculcated, but no religious dogma or creed is to be taught in a school."
The purpose of Section 76, pure and simple, is and always has been to keep religious zealotry and proselytizing out of the classroom. It was never intended to convince kids that they live in the aridity of a cultural desert where systems of belief other than their own were somehow dangerous and should never be mentioned.
It was possible for a teacher to talk to a class about indigenous spirituality and the cultural practices of First Nations without worrying that he or she might be accused of tricking the kids into signing up for tribal membership.
But when a school and school district are taken to court for allowing a teacher to show children what an indigenous smudge ceremony is all about we might have "lost the plot," meaning, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, that we have "arrived at a point where we are no longer able to act normally or understand what is happening."
Kids, who, thankfully, don't take anything as seriously as their adult parents, are usually able to absorb information about the festivals of other cultures without being afraid of surreptitious indoctrination into a cultural practice not their own or that of their family.
But this is the age of instant outrage and over-the-top offence taken at anything with which we do not agree.
It is also the age of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, where the least-thoughtful among us do not hesitate to insist, loud and proud, that their view of the world is the only view.
So it is that the ancient tradition of Christmas in the western world, if celebrated in our public schools, has fallen under suspicion of being a trick intended to jam one brand of Christianity or another down the unwilling throats of non-believers or non-Christians.
True Christmas, for hundreds of years, has been a religious holiday, but it has also become a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon.
For two millennia, people around the world have been observing it with traditions and practices that are both religious and secular.
Yet while Christians celebrate Christmas Day as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, popular non-Christian customs include exchanging gifts, decorating Christmas trees, sharing meals with family and friends and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus.
So when a teacher is abused (and I choose that word carefully) by a parent for having the kids sing Jingle Bell Rock, someone has lost the plot.
Sociologists remind us that today Christmas is revolving more around retail and shopping.
This is fast becoming a money holiday, with Christmas fast losing ground to "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday" and the traditional secular "Happy Christmas" becoming "Happy Holidays" or even the execrable "Xmas."
So I guess I should be glad that when I meet my Sikh, Muslim, indigenous, even atheist friends, and greet them with a cheery "Merry Christmas" and receive "Merry Christmas to you also" in reply, it is a reminder that we live and are bringing up our kids in Canada where the tradition of Christmas, with or without religious overtones, is in our schools and is part of our Canadian culture.
So let's just let the kids have some Christmas fun in school.
