Everyone seems to be very big on Christmas here but because of the diverse cultures they tend to say 'Happy Holidays' instead of 'Happy Christmas'. They have a Santa Claus parade each year that runs through downtown Vancouver and takes hours to complete. You can also visit Santa Claus on the top of Grouse Mountain - you can get a sleigh ride in lots of real snow and see real reindeers - they are looked after very well and you can go to a talk by one of their keepers who will tell you what they eat, how they look after them and their various habits.
Josh is in his school choir and it is their Christmas Concert tomorrow night - he has done very little work for the last week while they hone their performance skills. The arts are seen as something very important here and they have not been pushed out of the curriculum yet as they have in the UK to make way for the National Curriculum. Local Theatres rent out costumes and props to schools and churches so they can put on as professional a performance as possible - all with lighting and full orchestras!
Last night I went to the Broadway Pentecostal Church where one of the 'must see' events in Vancouver takes place. It is called the 'Singing Christmas Tree'. I was expecting a little amateur church production - where the kids argue about who holds the baby Jesus. But it was such a lavish production, if it had been staged in the West End you would have paid fifty quid each to go see it I bet!
The centrepiece of the stage is the Christmas Tree, built in semi circles of branches, with about 10 levels. The choir climbs up to the top gradually while the pastor sings the first song. It holds around 100 people and lights up in different colours, very professionally done. At one point there was so much happening on stage you needed about 20 pairs of eyes to catch it all.
The church itself holds around 2000 people - just huge. There were evaluation forms in the pews in front of us - with questions like 'Are you here today to: 1) Renew your faith in the lord, 2) See what the inside of the church looks like and now feel more interested in finding the lord,' etc. It was phenomenally well organised, like a multi million dollar business, they didn't miss a trick - even down to handing out free bibles as you left.
It did make me think about how people need to be passionate about things in life. I can't see me ever changing my feelings about God, I am a militant agnostic - I don't know and you don't either.... But it has made me realise what a big part in my life politics played and now I am not as active I miss those passionate feelings I used to get in discussions with friends - and enemies too!
I guess that's what a lot of people get from the church - a huge sense of community and something to be passionate about. To be passionate about something is important in life. Now, where did I put my crocheting....