How Canada's rejected flags reflect the nation's religious life
The maple leaf flag turns 50 this weekend, so the Star visited Library and Archives Canada to take a look at the thousands of also-rans. Today we consider religion.
A Manitoba man incorporated religion without using any of the traditional symbols. "The hand on our flag will also be shown as reaching out in the Heavenly blue, the Home of Our Loving God, Giving Thankful Worship and asking for Help and Guidance." (Library and Archives Canada)
By: Katie Daubs GTA, Published on Wed Feb 11 2015
In the early 1960s, Canadians were captivated by “the flag issue” — how best to represent the country with a new flag. Canadians by the thousands sent Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson their symbolic suggestions – beavers, maple leafs, and a fair supply of biblical images.
In Canada’s most recent census in 2011, 23.8 per cent of Canadians identified as having no religious affiliation. Back in 1961, only 0.5 per cent of Canadians ticked that box. It’s no surprise then, to see a great deal of religious symbolism – nearly all of it Christian – in the submissions.
Here are eight flag submissions that didn't make it, but are notable for their use of religion:
This Nova Scotia entrant listed all of the symbolism below the flag, including the image of Jesus.
Jesus “depicts the tribute, our nation ought to pay to ‘Our GOD,’ the creator of this universe and MANKIND.” On the back of the page, this person wrote: “When Christ returns to this earth, it will be HE who reigns!”
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/02/11/what-canadas-rejected-flags-tell-us-about-religion.html
The rest are at the link.
= new reply since forum marked as read
My maternal grandmother emigrated from Ireland to Halifax, Nova Scotia with the Dublin Fusiliers (her dad was a drummer in the regiment's band). Sunday mass was near universal among Catholics then. Yet, somehow she managed to meet my grandfather, a seaman on an American supply ship moored in the harbor. On a Sunday, the story goes. Seems there was a rowboat involved...
It was apparently all good, though. My grandfather was a good Irish Catholic, easy on the eye and, obviously, a United States citizen. The rest is history.
