[Redliner]

Love Christmas, it's one of my favourite times of the year.

My immediate and extended families are all Christians so that aspect of the holiday is very important to us, and it drives me around the bend that the self-righteous anti-religion crowd seem to make it their annual mission to water Christmas down into politically-correct, one-size-fits-all pabulum. I don't consider myself to be as extreme as many people are on the religious front - I don't really care why other people do or don't celebrate Christmas, but I hope that whatever their reason, the season brings them joy. If Christmas for you means Santa Claus and Elves, awesome. We get excited over all that stuff too, it's just not our central focus for the holiday. If you're a seasonal shopper basking in the glow of commercialism and boxing week sales, more power to you. Everyone has their own take.

I don't expect the world to see things the same way I do, but it does piss me off when my kids can't sing Christmas Carols or wish their teachers Merry Christmas at school. Don't like Christmas? Fine, then don't celebrate it - but don't expect me and my family not to. We don't celebrate Ramadan or Hanukkah, but my kids are allowed to learn about those at school - and I'm glad they do. I'm of the opinion that diversity makes the world go 'round, and the more you can learn about what others believe, the better off we all will be.

In the end, Christmas for me is about a lot of the same things it is for everyone else. (except for maybe the religious elements) The decorations, the dinners, late nights and the World Juniors on TV, watching my kids get completely AMPED by the presents under the tree, hot chocolate, cookies, and way too much junk food; less time at work and more time spent with family. It seems that throughout the years, no matter what has been going on in my life, Christmas always seems to make things a little bit brighter.

I hope it does the same for all of you.