Merry Christmas 2023!

Read­ers, whether you’re cel­e­brat­ing the Feast of the Nativ­i­ty of the Lord today or just spend­ing some time with your fam­i­ly, please accept our wish­es for a very Mer­ry Christ­mas. Take an oppor­tu­ni­ty to rest, relax, reflect, and have fun — after all, that’s what hol­i­days are for! We hope you have a safe con­clu­sion to 2023.

Christmas message from B.C. Premier David Eby

The office of British Colum­bia Pre­mier David Eby shared the fol­low­ing mes­sage cel­e­brat­ing the hol­i­day of the Feast of the Nativity:

Christ­mas is a trea­sured time for fam­i­lies in B.C. and around the world, includ­ing mine. It’s a time to con­nect with fam­i­ly, friends and neigh­bours. A time to enjoy fun tra­di­tions like going to com­mu­ni­ty cel­e­bra­tions, dec­o­rat­ing the tree and exchang­ing presents.

And a time to give back to our communities.

Tonight, my fam­i­ly and I will put out home­made cook­ies for San­ta and a car­rot for Rudolph, and eager­ly await the mag­ic of Christ­mas morning.

Tomor­row, Chris­tians will cel­e­brate the birth of Jesus Christ, while peo­ple of var­i­ous faiths and back­grounds will cel­e­brate the uni­ver­sal mes­sage of Christ­mas: peace, love, joy and hope.

It has been a chal­leng­ing year for many peo­ple in B.C. and around the world. This hol­i­day sea­son, I have been remind­ed that when times are tough, British Columbians step up to sup­port each other.

Kids and adults alike have donat­ed to toy dri­ves, Christ­mas ham­pers and food banks. Busi­ness­es and com­mu­ni­ty orga­ni­za­tions have put on free fes­tive events that are open to all.

Groups of friends and co-work­ers have spon­sored and served meals at com­mu­ni­ty kitchens. School choirs have sung Christ­mas car­ols at care homes. And many fam­i­lies are open­ing their homes to peo­ple who would have oth­er­wise been alone on Christmas.

These acts of kind­ness, gen­eros­i­ty and togeth­er­ness are, for me, what Christ­mas and British Colum­bia are all about.

From my fam­i­ly to yours, mer­ry Christ­mas and hap­py new year!

Christmas 2023 reads

• Hol­i­days at the White House: See how each room has been dec­o­rat­ed in accor­dance with this year’s theme — Mag­ic, Won­der, and Joy
• Pope Laments ‘Appalling’ Loss of Life in War in Gaza (New York Times): In his annu­al “Urbi et Orbi” address, Fran­cis called for the release of Israeli hostages while also urg­ing an end to the mil­i­tary cam­paign in Gaza.
• The WW1 Christ­mas Truce: ‘The war, for that moment, came to a stand­still’ (BBC): In 1914, in a poignant moment of shared human­i­ty, British and Ger­man troops entered into a spon­ta­neous cease­fire over the Christ­mas period.
• How Christ­mas changes when kids become teens (The Wash­ing­ton Post): Few things cap­ture the mag­ic of the hol­i­day sea­son like the eyes of a child. And then, they become teenagers.
• Time to get real on the bul­let train: Cal­i­for­nia is build­ing it, so let’s make it work (The Los Ange­les Times): Pres­i­dent Biden deliv­ered a Christ­mas gift for Cal­i­for­nia: Bil­lions of dol­lars to help build high-speed rail.
• West­ern Wash­ing­ton will see king tides this week, and maybe some flood­ing (The Seat­tle Times): Along the Pacif­ic Coast, extra high tides are expect­ed Mon­day through Wednes­day. The inte­ri­or waters will like­ly see tidal flood­ing Tues­day through Thurs­day, accord­ing to the Nation­al Weath­er Service.
• Whose “It’s a Won­der­ful Life” Is It Any­way? (The Nation): How everybody’s favorite Christ­mas movie about the per­ils of monop­oly cap­i­tal­ism became a vic­tim of monop­oly capitalism.

Peace be with you!