MISSISSAUGA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — Mississauga has raised the Christian Heritage Month banner over the city to mark its second celebration of Christian Heritage Month.

On December 3, Mississauga residents gathered at their town hall for the annual flag raising ceremony to mark the beginning of Christian Heritage Month, which celebrates Christian traditions during the month of December.

“Today the #Christian flag went up at Mississauga City Hall,” Mississauga City Councillor Dipika Damerla posted on Facebook, along with a video of the flag raising.

The event included an address from local pro-life politician Ghada Melek as well as Christmas carols. Participants were also led in prayer before hearing Gospel readings, including St. Matthew’s account of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Present at the event was Mayor Carolyn Parrish, councillors, pastors, and Christians from Mississauga.

“Today, we raised the Christian Flag at Mississauga Celebration Square in recognition of Christian Heritage Month,” city councillor Sue McFadden wrote on X. “For many, December is meaningful as it aligns with the Advent season and Christmas, honouring the history, traditions, and Christian communities in our diverse city.”

This is the second year that Mississauga has recognized Christian Heritage Month after the movement took off last year. In 2024, over 40 Canadian cities, towns, and villages recognized December as Christian Heritage Month.

Additionally, the province of Saskatchewan is the first province so far to make the proclamation. Major places in Ontario that have signed on include Ajax, Durham, Sudbury, Mississauga, Ottawa, and Niagara Falls. Alberta municipalities Red Deer and Okotoks have also signed on, as have Saskatchewan’s Regina and Saskatoon. In British Columbia, Whistler and Prince George have also signed on to the initiative.

The nation’s largest city, Toronto, also agreed to recognize Christian Heritage Month, despite many politicians arguing against the motion.

Historically, Canada is a Christian nation. European settlers who came to Canada from France and then later from modern-day United Kingdom were overwhelming Christian. Among those who came were missionaries who tried to spread their faith to the local Indigenous populations.

Canada has observed Christmas since 1641, well before its official founding, according to some historical records.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, Conservative Party MPs have urged all Canadians to support a petition that calls on the federal government to proclaim December as “Christian Heritage Month.”

In 2023, Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu introduced a Private Member’s Bill C-369 that would designate December as “Christian Heritage Month,” saying this is only the “fair and right” thing to do.

The bill reads that “In the negotiations that brought about Confederation, Canada was originally named ‘Dominion of Canada,’ a name reportedly inspired by the passage in the Bible (King James Version) at Psalm 72:8, which says, ‘He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.’”

The bill states that December in Canada marks “significant events and celebrations in the Christian calendar, from the beginning of Advent to the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ; And whereas, according to Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census of Population, Christianity is the largest religion in Canada, with over half of Canadians identifying as Christian.”