I recently went to the ByWard Market to learn a few people’s stories — proof, as if I needed it, that Christmas is not a one-size-fits-all occasion. A Muslim woman who declined to give her name told me that she likes to attend Christmas markets, not for the gifts but for the food. A Jewish merchant said he wishes all his customers Merry Christmas; the goodwill it spreads, he said, far outweighs the very occasional discomfort it might cause. I spoke with a 74-year-old man who to this day believes that Christmas is the most “magical” time of the year; a student who, as a youngster, benefited from the gifts of both Christmas and Hanukkah; and a Chinese-born woman whose Christmases — once completely foreign to her — have evolved into an amalgam of traditions.
