canon event

The word canon has travelled a long way.  The starting point is the Ancient Greek word kanon which meant ‘a  straight rod’, and then a rule or standard.  In the Early Christian Church a canon was an ecclesiastical law.  It also referred to the set of books included in the Bible because they were approved by the Church as being inspired by God.  The canon of English literature was the set of books regarded as significant in the development of English literature.

Then suddenly we take a swerve to online fandom where the canon is the set of events in the storyline of a movie, game, etc., which the fans all recognise and agree to be significant.  From there the term canon event has generalised to be a significant, character-forming event in our own real-world lives.  The community of fans decide what is canon and non-canon in the online world but you must decide what is canon in your own life.