Hamilton MP getting flack for not saying ‘Merry Christmas’

Published December 4, 2019 at 4:29 am

A Liberal Member of Parliament from Hamilton is getting criticized for a simple, friendly greeting he sent out that’s being interpreted as being part of that (some would say) imaginary struggle kno

A Liberal Member of Parliament from Hamilton is getting criticized for a simple, friendly greeting he sent out that’s being interpreted as being part of that (some would say) imaginary struggle known as the ‘War on Christmas’.

Bob Bratina, a former mayor, recently tweeted this out for the constituents of his Hamilton East-Stoney Creek riding.

Naturally, this tweet didn’t go over well with scores of people who pointed out how he neglected to mention the significant holiday that falls on this month. Veteran political strategist Warren Kinsella, who was a key advisor of former Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien, had four simple words: Kinsella sounded a bit cryptic in his reply, but the point was rather clear. Others, however, were more to the point:

While many comments were critical of Bratina’s omission, there were some who came to his defence, pointing out the MP actually sent Christmas greetings the year before.


This could be an unpopular opinion but let’s just get this out there: there IS no so-called ‘War on Christmas’.

Even those who do not ascribe to the Christian faith, as Christmas signifies the birth of Jesus Christ, just treat December 25th as another day on the calendar. I have never seen people of other faiths or those who don’t celebrate Christmas actively try to prevent anyone from putting up a tree, singing Christmas carols or anything else of that nature.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a swath of political correctness that comes by around this time of year. We’ve seen for the past few years members of the Trudeau government getting flack for political correctness, not to mention (rightly or wrongly) applying a double standard when it comes to, for example, recognizing Muslim milestones to Judeo-Christian milestones.

It’s not so much as an all out “war”, but it’s an awkward hole that many politicians, not just Bratina, have fallen into time and time again. 

Let’s hope he remembers to send out a Christmas greeting as the date gets closer. 

Cover photo courtesy of Bob Bratina’s Facebook page

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