OTTAWA -- By my count, I've received eight prime ministerial Christmas cards over the years as the Free Press's parliamentary reporter.
But this year is the first time I've actually received a Christmas card from 24 Sussex Dr. that dared include the word Christmas.
When I opened up the card featuring a smiling shot of the Harper family, I found the signatures of Stephen, Laureen, Rachel and Ben. But I also found two simple words in both official languages that Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin couldn't bring themselves to utter: "Merry Christmas."
The best the two Catholic prime ministers who came before Harper could do in their cards was to bow before the politically correct altar as they extended "Season's Greetings'' to Canadians on their mailing list.
Maybe the evangelical Harper is more comfortable wearing his faith on his sleeve. (His card's message also includes a "Happy Hanukkah" greeting along with the secular standby of "Season's Greetings.") Perhaps he's just brave enough to call a spade a spade, or in this case, a Christmas card a Christmas card.
Here, in a capital where there's still none of the white stuff that Bing Crosby used to dream of, where a university professor was forced to remove Merry Christmas wishes tagged onto an exam and where Christmas trees aren't necessarily welcome in provincial courthouses, Harper's card stands out for its anti-Scrooge stance.
In Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean's card that landed in my mailbox, the only message is a call to "Let us share our joys and our sorrows as we build hope.'' Huh?
Federal Health Minister Tony Clement personally signed my card and scores extra points for including a pawprint from his dog Roxy. But as for any mention of Christmas, well, I'll have to make do with his wishes for "every happiness this holiday season and throughout the coming year.''
Liberal MP Ken Dryden's card opens to a message of "a happy holiday season from our family to yours.''
Closer to home, Winnipeg North Centre MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis has a great black-and-white shot of Christmas lights on Portage Avenue from the 1960s, but no mention of the C-word inside.
In fact, of the pile of cards on my desk, only Immigration Minister Monte Solberg shared the same spirit as Harper. He personally added a handwritten note to "Have a Great Christmas'' to his more generic greeting of "Best wishes for the holiday season.''
A year ago at this time, there was little peace and goodwill to all politicians, as we were in the midst of a mud-slinging federal election. And a big part of the Liberal attack on Harper was warning voters that by voting Tory, they risked electing a prime minister with a hidden agenda.
I'm not sure if putting "Christmas" on Christmas cards is part of that hidden agenda, but if so, amen to that.
You may recall earlier this year how Harper raised eyebrows when he began signing off his speeches with the tag line, "God bless Canada." An Ipsos-Reid poll found the controversy over the religious signature line was much ado about nothing, since 65 per cent of Canadians said he should keep on using it.
In a similar vein, I'm thinking that most Canadians -- including Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists -- won't take offence from a prime minister who wishes them a Merry Christmas at Christmas. After all, Canada is still a country that has God in both our national anthem and in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. A leader who can actually bring himself to sign a card mentioning the day celebrating the birth of God's son shouldn't be too much of a problem.
If there's an irony here, it's that Liberals want Canadians to see Harper as a Grinch whose heart is two sizes too small to be prime minister. But I'm willing to bet that voters out there in Whoville might actually appreciate the fact it was Harper who did his part to help save Christmas this year by making it part of his Christmas cards.
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