‘War on Christmas’: Movement to Cancel Holiday in Canada Seen Before in Communist Regimes

The ‘war’ is driven by a push to secularize public life by separating Christmas from the celebration of Jesus’s birth, a historian says
‘War on Christmas’: Movement to Cancel Holiday in Canada Seen Before in Communist Regimes
A Christmas tree and decorations are seen in the old historic Place Royale in Quebec City on Dec. 21, 2022. The Canadian Press/Jacques Boissinot
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The Canadian Human Rights Commission said in a 2023 report that having statutory holidays for Christian celebrations such as Christmas is “a form of discrimination ... deeply rooted in our identity as a settler colonial state.”

It’s the latest shot across the bow in what’s often called a “war on Christmas,” primarily driven by those seeking to secularize public life, says Christmas expert and historian Gerry Bowler of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.