Religion & Customs

Wow, a very touchy subject. It always gets the blood pumpin. So many different ones. I’m so used to Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, etc. – you know, those based around the Christian belief. In the city, we have Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Jehovah’s Witnesses and more, the list could take up this whole page and still keep going. I grew up in a Christian house. Mom was Protestant and Dad was Catholic. That is as bad as being French and English. (oil and water) Oh wait, our family history is French and English. Go figure. I think my folks had kind of given up on the whole religious thing until I got them sucked back in. At a young age I was interested in going to church, so they tagged along.

“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in” – Michael Corleone (The Godfather)

We went to the Church of Christ. It leans more to the Protestant side, but to me it’s kind of in the middle of Catholic and Protestant, without all the Saint worshipping. J.C. is our main man. Hence, the name “Church of Christ.” I’m not so religious, more spiritual I would say. I believe in doing onto others as you want them to do onto you… and all the other Commandments.
Amen to that.
Although I grew up in a Christian household and community, I’ve always been drawn to the Jewish faith, not sure why. All my favourite movies are Jewish (Spider-men, Bat-men and Super-men). My favourite singers are Jews, also – Gene Simmons (a.k.a. Haim Witz), Bob Dylan (a.k.a. Robert Zimmerman), and the list goes on and on. I played spin the dreidel in grade two with my classmates. (For those who don’t know, this is not dirty. Get your mind out of the gutter.) You know, Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay, and when it’s dry and ready, with my dreidel I will play. Wow, it does sound sexual, or is it just me? Lookin’ back, I realize my teacher was Jewish. I knew she didn’t do X-mas, but it was years later, after I met Karen actually (and found out what a dreidel was – repressed memories I guess, ha, ha), that I put two and two together and came to the conclusion that she must be Jewish. Cool, huh? I have great detective skills.

Even when I moved out to college, one of my new best buddies, Dave or “Jewboy” as we all called him, was Jewish. (huh, that sounds prejudice) And, of course, you all know that I’m married to one. What is this magnetic power they have over me?
When I first moved to Toronto, I still went to church. One of my roommates was a Bible thumper, so I would keep him company. I actually went to a couple of different ones, but then gave it up. Sundays are for nursing your hangover. My day of rest.
In Toronto, the stores are open on Sundays. Something that’s unheard of in P.E.I. Even the liquor stores are open. And, just recently, they’ve allowed stores to be open on all holidays. This is nuts, but very convenient. So many different religions and everyone has their own holy days, so why not stay open all the time?

Of course, there is a bit of a down side to this. We try not to offend people’s cultures, so we allow knives into schools because it’s part of the religious garb. Knives, but no Christian prayers? We try to change our “Christian” traditions, so as not to cause controversy.(On a side note, most of the traditions have nothing to do with religion anymore anyway.)
It’s not a Christmas tree, it’s a holiday tree. It’s not Santa Claus, it’s the big man in the red suit. As a big guy, this offends me. (lol) To me a pine tree with decorations and lights is a Christmas tree. End of discussion. But seriously, this has gone too far. It’s crazy. We need to respect other religions and their customs, just as they need to respect ours. If you move here from elsewhere, you need to conform a wee bit, maybe learn our customs, learn to speak English, get out into the community and experience different things. We live in a country that is (or was when most of the customs were established) mostly Christian. I’m not saying give up your customs and beliefs or “Christianize” them (because who knows if that’s even right), I’m just saying tweak them to fit in your new society. Change a little, as we have changed so we can all grow together. Canada is a multicultural country and that’s what makes it so great, even though it pisses me off sometimes. This is mainly when I go to a gas stations or corner stores. Lol… And that my friends, is all I got. My rant for today. I should change it from Bigwes’ blogs to Bigwes’ weekly rants. Religion, culture, death and vacations. Yes folks, you get it all right here in one spot.