Christmas has many traditional practices and activities which make the season so special to all, children and adults alike. Carols, hot drinks, family, the Christmas tree, driving to Bredenbury to admire the lights and decorations, concerts, the Santa Claus parade and presents are just a few of the traditions we cherish as we celebrate the arrival of a very special season.
We mustn't forget bells. Church bells and sleigh bells are also an important part of the season as evidenced by one of the long popular Christmas carol, Jingle Bells. What child doesn't delight in the sound of sleigh bells signaling the arrival of St. Nick himself?
Sleigh bells have also been rung by the Salvation Army for over 100 years during the annual Christmas hustle and bustle to remind us to pause and take the time to help those less fortunate than us by donating some spare change in order to provide a little Christmas cheer to youngsters and families who might otherwise face a bleak festive season. The annual bell ringing during the Christmas kettle campaign has survived the Great Depression, two world wars, economic booms and busts, the end of communism and the advent of the computer age, reports Canada's National Post.
The Grinch seems to have appeared in some Toronto malls this year, where the ringing of the traditional bells by Salvation Army volunteers has been banned by mall administration because it purportedly annoys mall employees and patrons. Well, we can simply write that off as Toronto, the centre of the universe don't you know, going its own contrary way again, right?
Not so fast! How many local folks have heard the sound of sleigh bells in Yorkton shopping shrines this year? If you answered none, you would be correct. It seems volunteers working the Salvation Army Christmas Kettle campaign have been instructed not to ring their bells this year because the sound might annoy staff and some customers. How patently absurd! Those who would be annoyed by the bells will certainly find something else to annoy them in the absence of those bells.
It seems the Christmas spirit and public outcry has melted the Grinch like hearts of Toronto mall management causing them to reverse their earlier stand. The bells are ringing again in Toronto's malls. The Grinch's heart in Yorkton, however, has not 'grown three sizes today'. The bells remain silent in our large local commercial arenas.
To them and their Grinch-like spirit we say, "Bah! Humbug!" May you find a lump of coal in your Christmas stocking this year!
