As a child, Christmas was a very interesting experience for me. My family was not Christian, but I was brought up in England at a time before the separation of Church and State. As such, we did not celebrate Christmas, and I often felt like I was on the outside, peering into windows and watching the gaiety of everyone else’s celebrations. But this is no ‘poor me’ kind of story as there was something much greater that I gained as a result.
My parents were very interesting when it came to Christian events at school. Basically, if I told them about plans my class/school were making and asked for permission to participate, they would invariably say no. However, if I didn’t specifically ask permission, then they were fine with whatever I chose to do. As such, there were years that I did not participate and years that I did.
Respect For All
When I was in junior school (age 6-11), the weeks coming up to Christmas always meant the class learned a carol that we would sing in church. The school’s carol service was about the only time that I entered a Christian church and I always found it very awesome: the stained glass windows, the smell of the wooden pews, the angelic looking kids in the choir, and the reverend in his white surplice. It was all very foreign to me, but also totally magical. One year I also took part in the nativity play!
As a non-Christian, I loved it when people wished me a Merry Christmas. I had great reverence for their religious beliefs and I definitely shared their sentiments for the season of good will to all men. My family sent Christmas cards out of respect to our Christian neighbors and also to our non-Christian friends, and we were very happy to display the profusion of cards that we received. We had no problem wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. To us, Jesus was a good man who should be remembered, revered, and (as with all people of faith) respected.
Symbology
My friends would talk about how they would be celebrating Christmas and this invariably involved the Christmas tree, piles of presents and the huge Christmas dinner. I have to say that I really envied them that. Christian celebrations were simply more fun than Sikh celebrations. With all of this though, I created my own ideas about what Christmas meant to me. The birth of Jesus Christ became symbolic of purity, hope and joy: it was very much about new beginnings. Christmas carols were all about praising and remembering something greater than our everyday mundane lives. The Christmas tree symbolized the flora of the world that would soon show signs of new growth again: the lights on the tree were just a reminder of the light within—a part of Gaia herself. And of course there were the traditional movies that would be shown throughout the Christmas holidays, all of them emphasizing the virtues of goodness, love and hope. To sum it up, I was a non-Christian (actually a pretty devout Sikh) who loved Christmas and was in awe of the symbology behind the celebrations.
Once I was older and had left home, I found myself incorporating more of the other aspects of Christmas. I had a Christmas tree at home, exchanged gifts with friends and joined them for Christmas dinner. And ever since I met Eldon, we have created our own Christmas traditions, all honoring the deep meaning behind it all.
The Value of Christmas
My story is actually a very common one, but with one difference. Around the world, just like me others too were viewing Christmas celebrations, eventually deciding they too wanted to participate in the festivities. But political correctness became an issue, so now people sing Holiday songs instead of Christmas carols; they put up Holiday Trees instead of Christmas trees. The nativity scene has almost been abolished, and the plethora of gifts is no longer a way to give thanks for a hopeful future. In short, the new Holiday season is full of consumerism and over indulgence, and as such, the magical period of reflection and awe is being lost. The season of goodwill and peace to all men is often replaced with noisy parties that leave you saying: What was that all about?
The vast majority of the world now celebrates the Holiday season but they have discarded that which gives it true value and brings with it the opportunity for growth. In their efforts to be inclusivistic and politically correct, they have taken the outer adornments of this special celebration and discarded the essence that makes it truly magical. But I refuse to do this and I hope you feel the same. Wish me Happy Hanukkah on Hanukkah, Eid Mubark on Eid, and Happy Kwanzaa on Kwanzaa, but please do not gloss over the magic of Christmas. If you see me, wish me a Merry Christmas with all the meaning behind it, and please do not be offended when I wish you Merry Christmas. It is a sentiment said with great love and hope!
Eldon and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!
Ravinder Taylor
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