Supply: Wikipedia
Mississauga, Ont.’s Metropolis Council has declared December Christian Heritage Month and urges Premier Doug Ford to do the identical for the remainder of the province.
Metropolis Councilors unanimously handed a movement forwarded by Metropolis Councilor Brad Butt, Thursday to “recognize” the month of December as “Christian Heritage Month” As a part of the movement, a duplicate of the decision was despatched to Ford and all of Mississauga’s MPPs to comply with swimsuit.
“Christianity is among the diverse faiths followed by Mississauga residents and one of the most followed religions in Canada and Mississauga,” the movement reads. “Christians have made valuable contributions to the cultural, social, religious, and humanitarian fabric of our City and have played an important role in shaping our diverse community.”
It says December is already among the many holiest months for Christians, “commencing with the observance of Advent and culminating in the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, Christmas.”
The movement mentioned the month is marked by a number of celebrations within the Christian calendar and celebrations that varied Christian teams in Mississauga maintain open to the general public.
“Recognizing the month of December, which is a significant month in the Christian calendar, as ‘Christian Heritage Month’ provides an opportunity for all residents to celebrate the history, traditions, and teachings of the Christian faith, promoting understanding and appreciation of the diverse religious and cultural heritage of our City,” the movement mentioned.
Butt, the town councillor who put ahead the movement, instructed True North in an interview that he thought it was about time so as to add Christian heritage to the town’s in depth listing of acknowledged cultural and non secular celebrations.
“We did in Mississauga because we believe it’s important to recognize the Christian faith as being one that is important to many,” he mentioned. “The people who live in our city, and equally as important to people who live in the province of Ontario and throughout Canada as well.”
He mentioned Mississauga is considered one of Canada’s most various cities, with a big inhabitants of individuals from varied denominations who follow the Christian religion.
Based on 2021 census knowledge, almost half, 355,735, of the town’s 712,825 residents recognized as Christian.
“I recognized through speaking to a number of different people in Mississauga and beyond, that this was one of the religious groups that we had not previously recognized in our city,” Butt mentioned. “I thought it was time that we bring something forward to recognize December as Christian Heritage Month in the city of Mississauga.”
He mentioned there are “dozens and dozens” of celebrations and flag raisings on the civic centre to acknowledge many various religion and cultural teams that decision Mississauga their house.
“We light our clock tower different colours on a regular basis to recognize many different things that we should be celebrating as a municipality, depending on the day or the month,” he mentioned. “We do a very good job in Mississauga, celebrating and embracing diversity. The motion passed unanimously. The mayor and all members of the council believe it’s appropriate that we also recognize Christian Heritage Month.”
Butt mentioned he’s asking each the federal and provincial governments to now step as much as the plate and do the identical for Canadian Christians.
He mentioned many different municipalities in Ontario, together with Brampton, Mississauga’s northern neighbour, have already declared December Christian Heritage Month.
“There’s lots of good precedent for this. The provincial legislature has probably declared more heritage months than any legislature in the entire country,” he mentioned.
He famous that the federal and provincial governments have already declared November Hindu Heritage Month and Lebanese Heritage Month.
A have a look at the in depth listing of varied heritage and culture-related celebrations acknowledged by the Ontario authorities’s Ministry of Citizenship and Multiculturalism reveals that the Ontario authorities acknowledges no celebrations for December, whereas 23 varied months are devoted to heritage celebrations all through the opposite eleven months.
“I think that’s great. Let’s celebrate that. Let’s have those months declared,” Butt mentioned. “So certainly, I would encourage my colleagues in the provincial and federal governments to follow the lead of the city of Mississauga and give very serious consideration to declaring the month of December as Christian Heritage Month provincially and federally.”
Ontario’s Ministry of Citizenship and Multiculturalism responded to True North’s request to remark however didn’t present an announcement, whereas Ford didn’t reply earlier than the deadline supplied.
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