[For Janaki Murali, a Hindu author and former journalist living in Bangalore , Christmas is loved as much as Diwali.]
By Harriet Sherwood and Rachel
Obordo
 |
In
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It’s impossible to escape. From
early November, shops blare out Christmas music and hang baubles in their
windows. It’s hard to spot a television or radio ad that doesn’t have a
Christmas theme. People dressed as Santa shake buckets on street corners; public
transport shuts down for 36 hours.
Christmas - the pre-eminent
festival in the Christian calendar - is thrust in people’s faces of for a good
two months of every year. But what about those of other faiths and of no faith?
In the UK , 8%
of the population follow religions other than Christianity according to the 2011
census. And a study this year by the National Centre for Social Research found
that almost half have no religion.
We asked non-Christian readers in
the UK and
around the world to share their perspectives on Christmas. Here are some of the
responses.
Hindus
For Janaki Murali, a Hindu author
and former journalist living in Bangalore ,
Christmas is loved as much as Diwali.
“I started celebrating Christmas
when my children were younger, mainly to teach them that all faiths were equal.
We would look for a Christmas tree, decorate it and get secret gifts for the
children. I also used to bake a Christmas cake. Today I have figurines of Jesus
and Mary I picked up in Bethlehem
in my Puja room along with a rosary that rests with my Tulsi prayer beads. My
children are all grown up now, but I know I taught them an important lesson
that they will carry with them forever. Perhaps they will add more faiths to
their experience.
“Both Christmas and Diwali are
popular ‘festivals’ with many people drawn to them due to their rich tradition
and culture. My Christian friends mark Christmas with midnight mass at church and the nativity scene in their
homes. It’s the same with Diwali. Many people celebrate the four day festival
of lights with fire crackers and lights in their homes, but the Hindus do the
worship side of the festival - Lakshmi Puja. I think that celebrations from all
faiths should be secularised. We should open them up for everyone to
participate.”
Akash, a London
lawyer, enjoys Christmas but wishes there was less commercialisation. “Christmas
for me is about celebration, thanks, reflection and, of course, presents!! I
always celebrate with the family. Usually with a tree, presents, turkey, stuffing,
yorkshire puds and almost always chipolatas wrapped in bacon! Despite being
Hindu and being raised in a Hindu family, we always celebrated Christmas as if
we were the most devout Christians! I have even been to Midnight Mass (which
was awesome!). Two years ago we went to a carol service on Christmas Eve which
was wonderful. Christmas is not about religion, in our family, it is about
family getting together, celebrating the end of the year and expressing thanks
for all that we have.”
Jews
Stephen, a 70-year-old professor
from Valley Forge , Pennsylvania Pennsylvania .
It’s hard to get a reservation in the local Chinese restaurants on that day.
“My wife Ruth is from London
and is Jewish. We moved from London
to Valley Forge in Pennsylvania
in 1987. When Christmas came that year, I suggested that we honour the Jewish
tradition of eating Chinese food on Christmas Eve. I’m from New
York so I was very much used to this aspect of Jewish
culture. Ruth, being from London , thought
I was crazy. When she phoned the best of the local suburban Chinese restaurants
to book a table she was told that we were lucky to get the last reservation
available for Christmas Eve. When we arrived at the restaurant, Ruth was
surprised to find it completely full. I think up to that point she thought I
was engaging in some sort of elaborate joke.”
But why Chinese food? There’s a
simple explanation - Chinese restaurants are usually the only ones open on
Christmas.
As another reader explained: “Any
type of restaurant typically run by individuals from non-Christian countries
would do as long as there is a critical mass of Jewish or other non-Christian
groups nearby to patronise it. My family has branched out to Indian because
there is a nice Indian restaurant in the neighbourhood that takes reservations
so we don’t have to stand on line for hours waiting for a table.
“There is also a strong tradition
of Jewish groups or individuals volunteering on that day so Christian workers
can have the day off, like serving a meal at a shelter. Personally, I always
work on Christmas Eve so my Christian co-workers can take the day off.”
K Levy on the other hand simply
enjoys the holiday spirit. Living in Israel ,
she used to take her children to the Christian quarter of Haifa
to look at the Christmas trees and street decorations. “In one way we were
lucky, because the mild weather meant we could wander around and really enjoy
the atmosphere. On the other hand, it never seemed quite right without snow!”
Pagans
Joanne, a druid pagan from
Morecambe sees Christmas as a time for family, to have some breathing space
from everyday life, spend time with those close to her and to make them
wonderful food.
“Alban Arthan (which means ‘Light of Winter’) or
Yule is the Druidic mid-winter festival. It falls only a few days before
Christmas and is usually celebrated with a meal and gift-giving. On Christmas
Day itself we do the whole Christmas dinner thing, open presents and of course
watch Doctor Who. This weekend however I joined fellow druids in Glastonbury
for the Order of Bards Ovates and Druids(OBOD) winter gathering, to take some
time to reflect on the year and look forward to the next.”
Fifty-one-year-old potter
Virginia Owl from Gettysburg , Pennsylvania
Archaeologist and Nordic pagan R
D Savage from West Lindsey focuses on the dark pole of the year. “We all light
fires to give ourselves courage in the dark, and feast and exchange gifts to affirm
and cement the loving and joyous bonds that make us human in the face of the
night.”
Atheists
Born to a Christian mother and a
Muslim father, 27-year-old student Rabea from Berlin ,
Germany
“As the daughter of a rather
hybrid-religious family, Christmas was always fun and interesting as we tried
to accommodate both sides. My entire family has religious views but were never
hardcore on insisting we actually do religious things, so Christmas doesn’t
mean to me that I am celebrating the birth of a (possibly fictitious) religious
figure but rather spending a few days with my family, eating nice food, sitting
together, exchanging presents, talking about the past year and the coming year
and just enjoying the atmosphere of warmth. Though my sister and I are atheists,
and our Christmases never included actual religious traditions, it was and
still is a time of the year that we enjoy a lot.
“We mainly celebrate on Christmas
Eve. My mother cooks dinner while the rest of the family is either in their
rooms or out for a walk. Eventually, after everyone is dressed up and showered,
we have dinner in the kitchen together (very Americanised dinner: turkey, potato
dishes, vegetables etc), drink some mulled wine and then enter the living room
where we sit down, sing a few carols (this may be the only religious aspect
since many German carols are religious-themed) and then exchange presents
before we sit together and just talk. Christmas Day is then the big celebration
with the extended family and everyone comes together at one house or flat (we
usually rotate every year) and we have lunch together, play a few games, exchange
some more small presents and then have cake and cookies in the afternoon.
“In a general wider sense I think
we should open Christmas to more traditions and people. I live in an area where
many migrants live in Berlin and
of course, many of them do not care for Christmas because they think of it as a
religious celebration. But I have talked to and encountered many (not only) Muslims
who very much enjoy Christmas lights or the Christmas market and even have a
Christmas tree in their living room.
“It’s been a long time since
Christmas has been about religion and why should it be? One can celebrate
without having to celebrate the birth of Jesus or go to church by just enjoying
everything else that comes with it. I do. That said, of course, people who
celebrate it for religious reasons should not be shamed for that either. It is
an important part of their identity. As long as no one is bringing harm to
anyone else, everyone should be free to celebrate Christmas as they wish and
whether they want to or not.”
As a rationalist and atheist, Tony
Green from Ipswich tries to avoid Christmas as much as
possible.
Samples from Tony’s special
fridge full of carefully-aged beers Photograph: Tony Green
“It’s not just the religious
mumbo-jumbo I dislike but also all the associated bullshit and worship of
materialism. So I do my best to make Christmas day as much like any other day
as is possible. Fortunately I’m a single man living alone so at least I don’t
have the pressure to conform that others might suffer. And after many years
I’ve trained my friends to realise that however well-meaning their invitations
are, I really don’t want to share in the compulsory but fake bonhomie of their
celebrations. Obviously my normal night out at the pub isn’t possible and most
radio on the day is unadulterated drivel (the totally awful rubbish people will
put up with just because a record is a ‘Christmas record’ never ceases to amaze
me) so I can’t have a completely normal day. But I do my best.
“If the weather’s ok I’ll
probably go out for a bike ride (nice quiet roads, but watch out for the ‘it’s
only a large glass of sherry’ brigade). I’ll dip into the radio selectively for
the few normal programmes worth listening to, including a few news programmes
in the hope that they actually have some real news rather than the predictable
‘Queen said X’, ‘Pope said Y’ stuff. I’ll listen to some timeshifted programmes
from previous days and do a bit of work on my computer and finish off the
evening with a few bottles of Belgian beer before retiring to bed relieved that
the most boring day of the year is past again.
“The funny thing is, the
vehemence with which so many people are keen to try and insult me for failing
to conform (so predictable with the unimaginative ‘bah humbug’) that I can’t
help being reminded of the way closet gays are often the worst homophobes - could
it be that a lot of people would secretly like to rein back on the festivities
but daren’t admit it because they’re scared of what other people will say? And
seeing someone who can ignore it all just reminds them of their own moral
cowardice?”
Buddhists
Anne Bynon from Brisbane ,
Australia
“My childhood was a bit like an
Edwardian boarding school. My family hasn’t done Christmas for years. The whole
Christmas stress, build up and celebration just goes past me. It’s something
that happens around me but I’m not part of it. We don’t have a Christmas tree, no
decorations, no cards, no presents. On Christmas Day I get together with my
parents and go out for lunch. My siblings are not in contact. My parents like
to go home around 4pm for a nap, so
the rest of the day is just like any other day at home alone. I always watch
the Doctor Who Christmas special and usually catch the Queen’s Message. I have
pillars of books to read.
“If you tell people the truth about what
you’re doing they say ‘you poor thing’. There’s an assumption that you have to
have a big Christmas and if you spend it any other way you are pitied. I don’t
feel part of the Christmas madness and tension that people get involved with
when it comes to shopping. People are so on edge and always arguing. I see it
everywhere but I don’t feel a part of it. It washes over me. We all have
choices and you don’t have to choose to celebrate. We should just give money to
charity.”
Muslims
Kamran Younas, a 37-year-old London
accountant, explained why Muslims recognise Christmas. “Many mosques will hold
lectures and gatherings to remember Jesus and to learn from his teachings. During
the Christmas days off, we will get together with families and friends, enjoy
the time off, feast and remember God. I’d like Christmas to be disassociated
from excessive shopping and materialism, and for lessons from Jesus’ life to be
brought out and applied to the problems of today’s society.”
“On Christmas day, my whole
family gets together for Christmas lunch or dinner. We don’t exchange gifts as
we do that on Eid anyway, but enjoy the day with the family,” says 30-year-old
teacher, Hamida Dewan from Surrey . “I wouldn’t want to
change anything. Christmas is a religious festival that has a lot meaning for
Christians. The way it is, is what makes it Christmas.”
Eman from Qatar ,
doesn’t celebrate Christmas either. “I like to send to my Christian friends
abroad cards or to buy the ones in the country small presents specific to
Christmas. It’s all about respect and empathy.”
