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Cars, buildings and storefronts light up at dusk on Yonge Street, making a messy cluster, which nonetheless has a "big city" attraction to it. Despite this being the main stretch in Toronto, there is minimal Christmas decoration. And what is up is an odd combination of somber purples and blues, rather than the traditional greens, reds and golds. Even the decorative pieces are strange. I think they're meant to represent crystals (of ice?). Why not real stars, candles, ornaments, mistletoe - and the list goes on? Even the retail stores are empty of decoration, except for a few. This makes for a rather glum walk down this street during the most festive season of the year.
In a previous post, I opine that the reason retail stores are devoid of decorations is that their owners are just not interested to do so. One reason for this is that they could be members of the non-Christian, non-white, multicultural community - Chinese, Muslims, non-Anglicans, etc., who do not celebrate Christmas.
I think that Christmas is slowly being pushed aside in Toronto, and presumably throughout Canada, diminishing its festive nature, and reducing the traditional celebrations surrounding it such as decorations in public places. Of course, there are places which still emphasize Christmas, but they are few and far between. The department stores are such places [1, 2], but perhaps their reason is as much economic, in order to attract shoppers, as maintaining some semblance of tradition.
There is always a surge in "Holiday" spirit around this time of year, but it is rarely called a Christmas spirit. The sign directly above the Acrtic Tree in the busy Dundas Square it is not "Christmas Wish" but "Holiday Wish." Even the beloved Christmas tree gets short-changed in this square, where a pile of round objects, presumably mounds of snow, replace giant fir - unsuccessfully, in my assessment.
Multicultural Toronto (and Canada, I presume) is doing away with this tradition, and replacing it with generic terms and objects.