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THE NEW TANNER WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2009 8 Distributed to every home in Acton and area, as well as adjoining communities. 373 Queen Street East, Unit 1 Acton, Ontario L7J 2N2 email: thenewtanner@on.aibn.com By Angela Tyler Editorial with Hartley Coles (519) 853-0051 Fax: (519) 853-0052 Every effort will be made to see advertising copy, neatly presented, is correctly printed. The publisher assumes no financial responsibility for typographical errors or omissions in advertising, but will gladly reprint without charge that part of an advertisement in which an error may occur provided a claim is made within five days of publication. All articles, advertisements and graphic artwork appearing in The New Tanner is copyrighted. Any usage, reproduction or publication of these items, in whole or in part, without the express written consent of the publisher of The New Tanner is a copyright infringement and subject to legal action. Publisher Ted Tyler Editor Emeritus Hartley Coles Editor Frances Niblock Editorial Contributors Mike OLeary Angela Tyler Rebecca Ring Advertising and Circulation Marie Shadbolt Composing Ken Baker Believe it or not, by the time The New Tanner is distributed on Wednesday, there will just one day until the Eve of Christmas and a celebration weve been anticipating for weeks Christmas Day. Although some of the media, in all its forms, try to obscure the reason why Christmas is so widely celebrated around the world, the reason for the season, as the saying says, is the birth of Jesus Christ. We are fascinated, or should we say saddened, by the efforts of those who do their best to change the meaning of Christmas, or to denigrate it in any way they can. Christmas is a time for joy, celebrating the birth of One whom Christians believe is the Son of God. Long before political correctness, Christmas was also a celebra- tion of peace on earth and goodwill to men. It spilled over from the churches into homes, the streets, the shops and schools. The joy, the sense of peace and goodwill was pervasive. It had no religious boundaries. There were no holiday trees, happy holiday greetings and few attempts to play down its real meaning. As one editorialist wrote recently, In one sense, this symbolic cleansing of Christmas is little more than an exercise in hypocrisy. Politically correct euphemisms and ribbons of turquoise and magenta instead of the traditional green and red dont really conceal the obvious rationale for closing schools, stores, banks and factories celebrating Dec. 25. And in another sense, taking Christ out of Christmas is a denial of the tolerance, diversity and inclusiveness in which Canadians take so much pride. In welcoming people from far-off lands to this country and en- couraging them to preserve their traditions and cherish their beliefs, the Christian majority in Canada has shown a profound respect for others, a generosity of spirit and a measure of tolerance thats an example for the entire world. Its hard to imagine that anyone would work to deny Christians their Christmas traditions just because they are the majority. But Canadians have shown a remarkable tolerance and respect for other cultures and religions, and also joined in celebrating their fes- tivities in a spirit of goodwill. In return we would expect a similar spirit for Christmas, not as others would like to transform it into a meaningless holiday and instead of a holy day, the original mean- ing of the word. After all, whats there to celebrate? the arrival of snow, the winter solstice or some other name such as Festus? In our attempts not to offend anyone in our now most diverse society, we could lose the real spirit of Christmas which includes goodwill and much joy to everyone of all faiths and cultures and extends beyond that to those who have none. If we ever lose it as a nation then well be dispensing with the most joyous time of the year for a mess of meaningless trivia. Fortunately, Canadians are starting to wake up and fight back at those who would destroy the foundation of our Christian cul- ture and belief. The churches of Acton are actively promoting the Keep Christ in Christmas theme with signs and billboards to let the revisionists know that Christmas, as we know it, is still very much alive. It will take more than holiday trees, happy holiday greetings and other superficial swipes at the meaning of Christmas to replace the spirit of goodwill and peace that pervades the trad- itional Christmas. In that spirit the publisher and staff at The New Tanner wish everyone A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! The real reason for Christmas This year was a big year for the Dude and me. Our sum- mer move to the country was a big change for me and look- ing back my hesitation was just plain silly. It was probably one of the best things that had hap- pened. Another big thing for us hap- pened last March. Two days after we came home from our vacation to Florida I called the Dude just as he was leaving to go to work. I need you to meet me in Rockwood at Jims Re- pair. I informed him. He was confused. He thought perhaps I had been in a car accident or something. He raced to Rockwood however, it wasnt anything bad. I had a plan. Jims Repair parking lot is almost sacred ground for us. It was where we watched the Rockwood Farmers Christmas parade on our first date and it was at this location during a parade two years later as Santa rode past on his float that he proposed to me. The Dude pulled into the parking lot to find me standing in our spot. Whats wrong? he asked me while looking at my truck to see if he could see any damage. Nothing is wrong. I started to explain. We stood there staring at each other and with tears starting to fill my eyes I told him what we had been waiting to hear for four years. Im pregnant were going to have a baby! Before I knew it, we were both teary eyed and overjoyed all at the same time. Ive had quite a few people ask why I hadnt wrote about this before now as I seem to blabber on about almost anything and everything, some- times to the Dudes dismay, but this was something at that point just for us. We had waited so long and were thrilled yet at the same time cautious until the big day arrived. We were very fortunate. I had a great pregnancy with no complications with the excep- tion of one. For some reason, I disagreed with the four due dates the doctors had given me. I always had this instinct that our little bundle would arrive on Friday, November 13. On November 12 during what we had hoped would be my last prenatal check-up, the doctor informed me that I would have to have a c-section and as soon as possible, which translated to Friday, November 13 at 10 a.m. Call it mothers instinct but I had said that would be the day all along. Do you think we could get it changed to 1 p.m. then it would be 1300 hours on the 13th? the Dude asked. I dont really think we can ask them to wait three hours, I re- plied. Sure enough they had a busy night and following numerous delays, we were finally taken in just after noon and just as the Dude wanted, our baby was delivered at 13:04 p.m. on the 13th. As the nurse told us we had a healthy daughter, my only question to her was, What time is it? Life, love and early Christmas Continued on Page 9 GINGERBREAD FUN: While some kids ate the decorations, others built and decorated a gingerbread house on Saturday at the Town Hall Centre as part of the Olympic Torch Relay celebrations. Hard at work were, from left: Shannon King holding Deacon King, Curtis King, Audrey Cullen, Mom Jennifer Cullen and Brendan Cullen. Frances Niblock photo