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Muslim Religious Holiday
Muslim Religious Holiday Question: Is it appropriate that statutory holidays like Easter and Christmas celebrate events in the Christian calendar? ABDUL RASHID is a member of the Ottawa Muslim community, the Christian-Muslim Dialogue and the Capital Region Interfaith Council. I have some difficulty in interpreting the question. Are you asking whether it is appropriate to list Easter and Christmas “in the Christian calendar”? Or, are you asking whether it is appropriate to celebrate these holidays. In either case, the answer would be an unqualified affirmative. Of course, it is appropriate to list and celebrate these holidays.
Firstly, the largest majority of Canadians belong to the Christian faith. They have every right to list, proclaim and celebrate their religious holidays. Secondly, most religious holidays have an important secondary function. They are generally occasions when family members and friends get together to celebrate them. What can be more positive in the society when so many people worship together, sit down together, share a meal together and talk together?
Thirdly, there is another positive aspect of these religious celebrations. It is not uncommon for friends and neighbours, who belong to a different faith, to join them on such occasions. When this happens, we are then actually celebrating God’s multi-colour, multi-faith, multi-cultural, multi-lingual creation.
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