As for my friend, she has stopped including me in her Christmas parties. I suppose she realized that I am a Muslim who doesn’t celebrate Christmas.
Source/Credit: Germentown Islam Examiner
By Shahina Bashir | December 25, 2014
Some years back I was invited to a friend’s Christmas party. She went all out with decking the halls, putting up a beautifully decorated Christmas tree with lots of intricately wrapped presents under it, music, and of course lots of food. The guests who attended brought in their own additions to the growing collection of dishes laid out on an elaborately decorated dining table. And yes, they also came with gifts to put under the tree.
So, you might be thinking, what’s unusual about a Christmas party? Isn’t that what Christians do to celebrate the much anticipated holiday of the year? Well, of course it is not unusual, but it is when the party is thrown by Muslims for Muslims. I was unaware that the gathering was not just simply a get together for friends who had a day off but that it was indeed to celebrate the Christmas holiday. They all were in agreement that there was nothing religious about it but only that they are partaking in a cultural tradition.
But is Christmas a cultural tradition or a religious observation? I am sure all Christians will agree that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior. It is true that all over the world more and more non-Christians are adopting this holiday as their own. I was quite surprised to learn that many Muslims in Bangladesh are actually putting up Christmas trees (even if fake ones) in their houses and exchanging gifts with each other.
So, what is about the Christmas tradition which attracts people who are not Christians? Yes, decorating a tree, receiving gifts and greeting cards, and putting up lights all sound fun. In fact, who can deny that seeing the neighborhoods glitter with colored lights, truly brings a feeling of warmth in one’s heart. But it is disheartening to see that many Muslims who live in the western countries are leaving their own religious heritage and traditions behind. One main reason is that the two Muslim holidays, Eid-ul-Fitr, and Eid-ul-Adha are not national holidays in the non-Muslim countries. As the Eids are based on the lunar calendar they don’t fall on the same day every year. Often they actually fall on weekdays and as a result many Muslims do not take off from work and their children do not stay home from school. Thus, they are deprived of partaking in their own celebrations and get lured into adopting non-Muslim holidays, such as, Christmas.
I hear about how Muslim children feel left out during the Christmas time as their friends give them the details of the presents they got the day they come back from the break. Children are of course, children and they will feel the twinge of jealousy when they hear about the latest gadgets and toys their friends acquired. They are then bound to come home to their parents and ask, “How come we don’t celebrate Christmas?” Instead of getting all flabbergasted the parent should take this as an excellent teaching opportunity. This would be a great moment to highlight one’s Muslim identity and talk about how there are many religions in the world and each has its own rituals and celebrations. There is a plethora of material on world religions available on websites including interesting photos. A parent can spend time with the child discussing the differences but also the similarities. Most of all, the Muslim parent should tell her child that Jesus Christ (peace be on him) is a prophet of God who is mentioned in Islam’s Holy Book, the Qur’an. She should narrate the story of his birth as told in chapter 19 titled “Maryam”. The comparative religious study is a great way to teach children that despite our differences we are all bonded together because of humanity.
My dear fellow Muslims, please don’t steal Christmas from your Christian friends. Let them have their tradition and you own yours. Be proud of your Muslim identity. Celebrate Eids. Decorate your houses with lights. Shower your children with gifts and buy them new clothes. Bake cookies with your little ones. Most importantly, take the day off and go to the mosque for Prayers. Your children will appreciate it. Oh, and as for my friend, she has stopped including me in her Christmas parties. I suppose she realized that I am a Muslim who doesn’t celebrate Christmas.
Read original post here: Counterpoint: Muslims need to celebrate Eid and not Christmas | Shahina Bashir
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