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| A Nativity scene has been created and by Dr. Natavarlal Hiralal Shah and his secretary during the Christmas season at his Second Street East office lifts the spirts of his clients. Shah has decorated for Christmas regardless of his own religion. ERIKA GLASBERG/CORNWALL STANDARD-FREEHOLDER/QMI AGENCY |
CORNWALL – For many people in Canada, "Merry Christmas" has been replaced with "happy holidays" but in the office of Dr. Natavarlal Shah, the Christmas spirit is thriving.
Shah began his practice in 1975 and he has traditionally decorated for the Christmas season ever since. Perhaps not unusual, but Dr. Shah is not a Christian.
"I belong to the Sikh faith," he explained.
"The Sikhs celebrate Christmas and the simple philosopy that the Sikhs believe is (to respect) all religions and respect all beliefs. Therefore, celebrating Christmas, which signifies the message of love, compassion, family, giving back to others (becomes) a strong part of who we are."
His office is decorated with a small Christmas tree that is placed on the middle of the table in the center of the room. A beautifully-decorated Nativity scene has been set up in the corner of the room along with a number of different items to celebrate the Christmas season.
For Dr. Shah, the decision to honor Christmas is simple.
"It's my faith, my belief and this is what I don't understand," he said. "Where I come from, India, there's lots of different religions – Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Jain, Christians, Jew – they all celebrate their own faith and we never complain anything about anybody because really, every religion has got the right (to celebrate the way they want)."
He explained that he is not worried about offending anyone by wishing them a "Merry Christmas" because the holiday has been a tradition for many years.
"I don't understand why people get offended unfortunately," Dr. Shah said. "Because it's been a tradition for years and years and to me, to stay in harmony, we have to respect each other's religions."