Advent

"Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in, he said: "Hail, favoured one! The Lord is with you!" But she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the House of Jacob forever, and His Kingdom will have no end." And Mary said to the angel: "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" And the angel answered and said to her: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your cousin Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God." And Mary said: "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done according to your word." And the angel departed from her."

(Luke 1: 26-38)

A Morning at the Folk Museum

We took our students to a folk museum. They gazed at the various models of Three Kingdoms and Silla dynasty clothes but the highlight for them (and us) was the pottery-making. Here are the pictures. Enjoy.

A Christmas Conundrum

Recently, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights called off its boycott of Wal-Mart after a disappointed customer, who complained that "Happy Holidays" was used to replace the greeting, "Merry Christmas", received a rather heated e-mail by an employee over the origins of Christmas. Ireing them (and justly so, in my opinion), the civil rights group called off the boycott after the superstore giant issued an apology. The media was quick to wrap the matter up by saying the argument was about saying "Merry Christmas", when, in fact, it was the rather belligerent e-mail from an employee who apparently doesn't know the true origins of Christmas.
Christmas, as noted by Clement of Alexandria, was first celebrated in Egypt in 200 A.D. in what Egyptian theologians at the time thought was the ninth month (believed to be the month of Jesus' birth). Clement also noted that the Basilidians celebrated the Epiphany and the Nativity of Christ in early January. In Rome, the early Church and civil calenders marked Natalis Invicti, the birth of Christ. But Christmas was not considered a major feast in the Church until the Middles Ages; Easter was. The word Christmas, Cristes Maesse (Mass of Christ in Old English), wasn't used until 1038.
The winter festivals of Jul, celebrated by the Scandinavians on the first day of winter, and Juvenalia, a Roman festival for children and the birth of the god, Mithra, were celebrated in December. As more people became Christians, these festivals were phased out. Symbols of these festivals remained only as circumstantial vestiges, like burning of the Yule log (a load of wood was given to a family when a child was born) or mistletoe (symbolising the crown of thorns used on Christ during His Crucifixion).

This brief history lesson aside, I think certain issues are largely forgotten. First, that Christmas is NOT a pagan holiday, or an offshoot thereof, nor is it a generic holiday. It is a specific holiday, very much the same way Saint Patrick's Day or the Fourth of July are (can you imagine if those holidays were changed to Irish Day or North America Day?). It is also a holiday that is celebrated, in form or another, by an enormous amount of people. They have every right to celebrate it in its entirety and without compromises, which, in reality, are nothing more than attempts to phase the importance and origins of the holiday (but not the holiday itself as it is too profitable. Not that I'm accusing Wal-Mart of doing anything for profit). And before I am inundated by posts and e-mails saying that all of this is in the spirit of tolerance and blahblahblah, when has a holiday that is not Christmas been forbidden? Simply because more people celebrate a certain holiday (and, in this case, Christmas) than others does not mean that the other holidays are outlawed, forbidden or deliberately forgotten. And when does tolerance, especially in countries claiming cultural pluralism, mean phasing out holidays or any other important observances because of what some claim is intolerance? Celebrate Christmas or don't. One has the freedom to do that in countries like the United States. I think the new catchphrase for tolerance should be: "Suck it up or get out".
More to come as Christmas develops.

Remembrance Day

Canada At War

Canada has had a long history of conflict, within the country and abroad, beginning with the conflict between the native peoples and European settlers (starting with the Vikings c.1000, continuing with the conflict between French settlers and the Iroquois, up until the appalling treatment by westward advancing settlers and the government of Canada) to current peace-keeping missions conducted by an under-funded and under-appreciated shell of an army.
The first conflict between native peoples and European settlers began with the Viking explorers in eastern Canada c.1000. French settlers fought with the Iroquois until a treaty was signed in 1701. Relations with the native peoples and new Canadians have run hot and cold. Nevertheless, the native peoples supported the new Canadians, most notably in the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), the War of 1812 (1812-1814) and both World War I and World War II, which saw the outstanding but barely remembered bravery of Tommy Prince (it should also be noted that, despite treaties exempting native peoples from fighting, the number of volunteers was greater than the rest of the Canadian population).
One of the most formidable battles between the British and French in Upper and Lower Canada (what are now the provinces of Ontario and Quebec) was on the Plains of Abraham in 1759 where Generals Wolfe and Montcalm were mortally wounded. The British gained the upperhand and appropriated the French colonies.
Canada's struggle with the Americans did not begin with the War of 1812 but rather, during 1763-1776, when the Americans, intent on overthrowing the British, tried to overtake Quebec. Though the Americans captured Montreal, they were repulsed at Quebec City and finally withdrew in 1776. Loyalists from the American Revolutionary War spilled into Canada and eventually settled there. There were a series of disputes prior to the War of 1812, a two year war which saw the Americans repulsed once more.
Some 40,000 to 60,000 Canadians participated in the American Civil War, some voluntarily joining the conflict and some deceived.
Canadians, as subjects to the Crown, were pressed into service during the Boer War (1899-1902) and the First World War (1914-1918). Canadians proudly went to war for a distant monarch unaware that the face of warfare had changed. No longer a gentleman's game, Canadians (fodder, like the Australians and British were) were crippled by mustard gas and machine gun fire. The capture (victory) of Vimy Ridge seems pyrrhic given the casualities- 3,598 killed and 7,000 wounded. Nevertheless, Canada earned a reputation as a fighting force worth noting.
It wasn't until September 10, 1939, that Canada did what it had not done before- declared war on its own. Canada sent 1.5 million personnel overseas. Canadians saw disastrous action in Hong Kong (which fell to the Japanese in December 1941) and the infamous raid on Dieppe (Molotov threatened to make peace with the Nazis if a second front wasn't opened and the result was the mess in Dieppe, which saw 807 men die on the first day; more would die in captivity). But Canadian forces bounced back with victories in Italy, northwest Europe and on D-Day, making the furthest inroads in a single day. Canadians also participated as pilots and communications specialists in the struggle against Japan.
The Korean War (1950-53)- Canada's forgotten war- saw the deaths of 516 men who died defending ground that would end up in the hands of the North Koreans. The Canadian navy supported the assault on Incheon (not far from where I live) and the Canadian Regiment launched an attack on the village of Chail-li. The war eventually became uglier, especially with the Chinese supporting the North Koreans. Patrols and securing prisoners became the lot toward the end of the war in 1953.
Contrary to popular belief, Canada did play a part in the Vietnam War, though the role was largely noncombative. Relief was sent to South Vietnam and Canadian negotiators assisted the Americans. There were, however, Canadian volunteers in the conflict, an estimated 10,000 volunteers. After the war, these volunteers recieved little help or support, either from the government or their compatriots.
The military today is largely under-funded and forgotten, despite the bravery and formidable service of Canadian sharpshooters in Afghanistan. It is also subject to the whims of politicians who treat conflict like gentlemens' games, which explains the under-funding of the army and the shocking lack of support for defensive measures, such as was seen in Rwanda when the failure to provide logistical support to then General Romeo Dallaire cost a number of Tutsi lives (Dallaire is portrayed, rather loosely, by Nick Nolte in the superb film, Hotel Rwanda).
This post is, by no means, meant to glorify war but to note how war shaped Canada and how Canadians should not forget that they were there, too.

(Huge thanks to the following informative websites and essays: The Canadian War Museum, The Korean War, "Aboriginal Participation in Canadian Military Service: Historic and Contemporary Contexts" by John Moses, Canadians in the American Civil War and wikipedia.com)

Freedom is Not Free

My second trip to the War Memorial in Seoul was as sobering as the first visit. The museum does an impressive task of presenting how war shaped a country slightly larger than New Brunswick. On either side of the entrance are the halls of the dead. To the right is the hall for the Korean dead- thousands of names of men who died for a homeland separated long before they could taste freedom from the then-tyrannical Japanese (the North Korean and Chinese losses run into the millions, victims all of lies from fat, horrible dictators who ordered men in waves against better-armed enemies). On the left side is the hall for the Allied dead. Five hundred and sixteen Canadians were killed in the Korean War. The war dead list for the Americans is so great that it is divided by state (just over 33,000).
Upon entering the museum, one is surrounded by busts of famous warriors of current conflicts (the Korean War and the Vietnam War). Most of these men were killed and awarded posthumously for their service. Further in are the exhibits of warcraft prior to the twentieth century, most notably Admiral Yi Sun Shin's Geobukson- turtle ship- an innovative sea craft that kept Korean soldiers in and the Japanese invaders out. This historical figure is almost mythical in proportion. Even the youngest kindergarten student knows him. The man's boldness and innovation saved a country- for a time. The visitor to the museum is treated to an impressive exhibit with moving models and sinking ships (reminds me of the sea battle in Ben-Hur).
The Korean War exhibits prove to be the most sobering. Carefully crafted and organised, one sees the photographs of war, models of sea and air battles, documents detailing everything from war reports to instructions from Moscow on how best to proceed, mess tins, tubes of toothpaste, uniforms- any relic from the war is preserved. One exhibit leads the visitor through a neighbourhood in Seoul. Seoul now is a sprawling morass of concrete, high-rises, signage and well-off professionals with the latest model of cell phones. Seoul then was a little better than a Third-World country ravaged by war and years of colonial rule. One can only imagine the abject poverty- the huts of straw and plywood, gruel-like rice burnt at the bottom of a dolsot pot (a stone pot still used today), children hungrily accepting a Hershey's bar from an American soldier, classrooms of tarpaulin and straw because the school building either does not exist or was shelled to the ground. It's hard to imagine Seoul ever being like that. You could not convince the current generation of such poverty or conflict because it has never been known. Not two hours from Seoul is one of the most dangerous places on Earth- the DMZ- a border of landmines, firefights and distrust. Yet beyond the demarcation line is the wealth and success of South Korea, something that could not have been possible had it not been for the sacrifice of others.
So what price should be paid for the luxury of eating when one wants or believing or voting how one pleases or the warmth and security of a home? What price would one ask for the thousands of South Korean dead or the Canadians or the vast number of American dead (and, it should be added, the financial and continued help)?
The dead would not ask for a price but should be entitled to do so should we forget.

The Mating Call of a Loser

Is there anything more pathetic than a washed-up and obviously corrupt politican? Look no further than Jean Chretien whose public whipping concluded with the first of Justice John Gomery's reports on the Adscam scandal, which cost the (largely apathetic) Canadian taxpayer $325 million. Instead of retreating in shame and contacting his lawyers, he did what he always did- lashed out in his usual ignorant and belligerent way.

Here's a gem:

"I'm not to take the blame for something that's not true."

It IS true. Your friends rolled on you. There was a paper trail. A big one. And you remember Sheila Fraser, right? The auditor who uncovered this mess in the first place?

Another bit of ignorance.

"It's a bit surprising that all the witnesses that could have said a nice thing about my administration, they weren't invited (to testify)," Chretien told reporters. "

Oh sure! They should have done that!

It's surprising that someone who trained as a lawyer could be that stupid and even more surprising that he's being such a twit about this. There is a saying in Australia: "Dead but won't lie down." That's Chretien, or his fool mouth, anyway.

Words from Justice Gomery:

"Since Mr. Chretien chose to run the program from his own office, and to have his own exempt staff take charge of its direction, he is accountable for the defective manner in which the sponsorship program and initiatives were implemented."

Accountability is something Chretien will not cede to, nor will the Canadian public allow. I don't care what trouble I get for saying this- I'll say it anyway. The second this crap hit the fan, where was the outrage? Where is it now? I've seen people go thermal at teenaged workers at Tim Horton's and the Bulk Barn for the loss of a precious sixty cents but when a thoroughly corrupt, arrogant and ignorant government steals money from them, the best one can hope for is a few angry letters in the National Post. That's not enough, and that's why people like Chretien (and Martin- don't think anyone has forgotten about you) can get away with their duplicitous crap.

Canadians, stand up for your country because the congenital idiots of Canadian politics (past and present) sure won't.