This year, the number of stores hosting or publicizing the holiday has grown exponentially. At last count, I saw about a dozen. It is becoming the second most celebrated holiday in the mall after Christmas.
Below are some store signs and images that I took yesterday. There is Chinese script in all of them, and most without any translation. "Happy Year of the Pig?" I don't know.
Such alien holidays are a conduit for other gods and godheads to enter the spiritual psyche of a country. Once people accept what looks like a benign "Happy Year of the Pig," there wll be other forces to contend with as the when the "pig" is actually a spiritual force that people genuflect to.
Chinese New Year is far from a "fun" event with gold coins and wish envelopes, and dragon dances and bright paper lanterns. It is a spiritual event that has ancient roots and has sustained a culture for hundreds of years.
But aside from the invisible spirits, the population of Chinese in the Mississauga area is growing at a fast rate with immigrants coming to Canada leaving behind their overcrowded cities and falsely reported prosperity. There is no prosperity in China, only a few who have managed to get very rich.
This year, Walmart is selling New Year's foods and clothing, Roger and Bell digital stores are promoting special promotions, and various clothing stores have decorated their stores with Chinese script and displayed red garments in accordance with the red color that goes with the New Year.
The idea is not participating in a multiculturalism, but a way for China to find a way into Mississauga and into Canada, using . multiculturalism as the ploy for an entry point. So far, it has been tremendously successful.
