Merry Christmas, Happy Yule

The First Christmas Card

In the early 19th century it was common practice to hand write seasonal messages on calling cards or in letters. In 1843, in order to save himself having to hand-write dozens of Christmas messages, Sir Henry Cole had his friend, John Calcott Horsley, design and print a batch of cards. The words printed on the card were 'A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year' much the same is still found in cards today.

As Habermas points out in his seminal work on the Public Sphere, the post office and communications are key to not only the development of capitalism but also the concept of public space that is public communications arising out of private communications. This post card reflects the reality making public what had been a private matter, that is letter writing. The result would then be a whole communications industry devoted to greeting cards, which then created the conditions for public holidays and the resulting mass consumer society of department stores and mass advertising.

Donalda and I are taking our dogs; Trooper and Tami, off for a jaunt in the mountains for Xmas. So I won't be blogging for several days.

We are going to Jasper. Like Banff a national park created by slave labour, after WWI, using Ukrainian Internees. I will raise a glass in their memory.

Have a great Yule all. Drink a cup o' cheer to keep away the winter cold.

Here are links to my previous articles for this season.

Fiat Lux

Bad Headline

Virgin Birth Announced

WWI Xmas Mutiny

Christmas In the Trenches

Merry Christmas Red Baron

Merry Christmas

Cat Carol

Santa's Sweat Shop

Tannebaum

Rebel Jesus

Chavez Puts Christ In Christmas

Merry Christmashkah

Keeping the 'X' in X-Mas

Chuck Jones Explains It All





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Make Family Day A National Holiday

We all need a day off in February. Heck if I had my way we would only work a four day week, period. But public holidays whether federal or provincial are great for workers. Either you get them off , get an extra vacation day or the boss has to pay you overtime. Now that's freedom of choice as the neo-con's like to call it.

Back to February. The last holiday/long weekend most Canadians get is in January. Then its the long wait till Easter for a break. Which gives us that four day week for two weeks. And productivity does not decline, instead consumption increases.

Anyways this is rather ironic. Coming as it does from the Party of Family Values.

Mr. Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre, NDP) asks if the Harper Tories will let everyday Ontarians who work for the Federal government take off Dalton McGuinty's "Family Day" Pierre Poilievre (Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board, CPC) lashes back: We in fact provide 11 holidays to our federal employees, whereas the province of Ontario only provides 10, so there is an additional day. I hope the member is not suggesting that we take one of those holidays away from our public servants, many of whom live in his own riding.

Now since Family Day, like the Harper Reform/Alliance/Conservative party, originated in Alberta, you would think they would jump at the opportunity to make it a national holiday. I mean its a values issue isn't it. Time off wage slavery to spend time with your family consuming for the good of the nation.

Especially now that Ontario has created it's own Family Day and Manitoba and Saskatchewan are planning to do so too.

Of course when it was announced after the election of the McGuinty government the media wags showed their complete ignorance of its origin in Alberta. Typical.
Except it comes from the right wing conservative mouthpiece the National Post which should know better. Family day was a originally a Conservative idea.

Family Day

Steve Murray, National Post

Published: Friday, October 12, 2007

The best part about the Liberal majority is that even if you didn't vote for them, you still get that sweet February holiday. No hard feelings! Nice.

Unfortunately though, it's still going to be called "Family Day," which sounds like a half-price day at Canada's Wonderland and is insulting to people like me who have no family. I would also argue against "Friend Day" for a similar reason.

So, let's embrace vote-buying holidays and democracy by suggesting better names for Family Day to Mr. McGuinty! Send your suggestions (and reasons for the suggestions) to smurray@nationalpost.com and I will personally deliver the list to Mr. McGuinty, laminated so it can't be easily shredded.

Now like the former Liberal government who denied Federal Workers in Alberta the day off, instead giving them the first Monday in August off, the Harpocrites are now denying Ontario (as well as Alberta) federal workers the day off.

Meet the 'new' boss same as the old boss.

A major union representing thousands of federal workers in Ottawa has been swamped by phone calls from members demanding to know why they won't be enjoying Ontario's recently announced Family Day holiday in February.

Ed Cashman, regional executive vice-president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), said calls began once re-elected Premier Dalton McGuinty confirmed his election promise of a new provincial statutory holiday.

"We're getting hundreds of phone calls in our office saying: 'hey, how come everybody else gets this and we don't'?" said Mr. Cashman.

"I can think of no better way for the government to get to work than to give the families a little more of what they value above all else - time together," the premier said at a news conference last week.

But Mr. Cashman said many families in Ottawa will not be granted this time.

"If you work for the public service, you're not going to get the day off," he said.

"Ironically, the Family Day is not going to reunite families because one member of the couple might be having the day off and the other will not."

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Halloween Election?

So much for Ontario's historic first "fixed" election date.
Premier Dalton McGuinty's government has switched the much-ballyhooed Oct. 4 provincial election to Oct. 10 because of a conflict with the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret. With the change, this year's election will fall on a Wednesday, instead of a Thursday, the traditional day for votes in Ontario. Democratic Renewal Minister Marie Bountrogianni said that's because Ontario's chief election officer, John Hollins, was concerned Oct. 11 might infringe on that week's Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. "The Jewish holiday pre-dates Dalton McGuinty's legislation. You think they would have figured this out from the beginning. This is incompetence."Hudak said, noting the holiday concern has been raised for two years.

Oh heck hold it on Halloween.

I am sure most pagans wouldn't mind, and besides it would be appropriate.

After all politicians are masters of disguising their true intentions.

And like ghosts and goblins they go door to door seeking to trick or treat.

And it is a celebration of ancestor worship and the dead, oh sorry that's the Senate.



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