Tis the season of wrapping paper and red tape. The sound of the famous Salvation Army bells have been silenced in many Toronto area malls including the Eaton center. Another quintessential Christmas tradition ends.
From CBC online
Eaton Centre spokesman Brian O’Hoski points out the mall is an indoor environment with no overhead music or competing noises.
A few years back, he said, management asked the Salvation Army to stop ringing the bells because of noise complaints from some of the mall’s 230 tenants.
“In order to try and appease everybody and accommodate everybody, we’ve asked them not to ring the bells,” O’Hoski said.
Eaton Centre shoppers were surprised to hear that noise complaints could shut down the Salvation Army bells.
“But it makes no sense,” said Tristan Mitchell.
“It’s Christmas,” Iman Mahdi said. “It makes no sense.”
And Bonnie Vivier said the bells were never very loud — “it was just a little tinkle.”
In the next generation we will probably see a slimmed down version of the shopping mall Santa, who only eats gluten-free cookies and of course does public service announcements for PETA on the side.
If this week couldn’t get any worse here is more bad news for the Salvation Army. [click here]
