Christmas for non Christains

Dear Friend, 

With the percentage of Christians in America hovering around 75%, it can be easy for Christians to forget that there are many Americans who subscribe to other faiths. Bombarded by images of Christmas everywhere from the local streets and shops to TV to school concerts and plays, non-Christians can feel alienated at Christmas time. It can be especially challenging for the children as they see their Christian friends receiving gifts at this time of year and wonder why they are not receiving them as well.

Some Muslim parents handle this by explaining to their children that they aren't receiving gifts when all their classmates are because Muslims celebrate two holidays at other times of the year when they exchange gifts. While Jesus is a major figure in Islam, Muslim-Americans tend not to celebrate the birth of Christ, celebrating instead the birth of the prophet Mohammed. Most Muslims view Christmas as a day off, a time to spend with family and friends. Or they, like other non-Christians, may choose to work on Christmas to give their Christian colleagues the day off.

Hindu-American parents, like parents of other faiths, are concerned that their children loose their faith during the December deluge of the Christian’s holiday. "Many Hindu children living in the USA already feel embarrassed or confused by their religion to some degree, and they have trouble reconciling the cultural differences they see between their family life and their social life. By encouraging Christmas celebrations we might be inadvertently encouraging our children to leave behind their Hindu heritage more than we think," writes Vidya Manohar in his article Much Ado About Christmas: Ways you can reduce the influence of Yuletide and appropriately enjoy the holidays with your family.

Mr. Manohar suggests ways for Hindus to spend the holiday that don't involve celebrating Christmas, including visiting temples in India or one's home town (such as the Shiva Vishnu Temple in Cleveland), spending quality time with the children, or volunteering for a charity. "Talk to [your children] about Hinduism, explain how it differs from Christianity and point out that Jews and Muslims do not celebrate Christmas either. Perform a grand puja at home. Celebrate the Pancha Ganapati festival."  This festival, a time of sharing gifts and renewing ties of family and friendship, is celebrated from the 21st through the 25th of December and focuses on Ganesh, the Hindu god of abundance.

While Hanukkah usually falls in December and is an occasion for celebrating the richness of the Jewish tradition, on Christmas day it is common for Jewish families and friends to go to a Chinese restaurant and to see a movie. In New York City, many Chinese restaurants say Christmas is their busiest day of the year. "The key is that Chinese and Jews are the two largest non-Christian immigrant groups to the United States. Neither of them follow the Christian calendar, and as result, Chinese restaurants are open when Jews want to eat: Christmas, and Sundays," says Jennifer Lee in her article Things to Do if You Don't Do Christmas.

This year Cleveland's own Maltz Museum will be hosting "Chinese Food & A Movie Day” on Friday, December 25 from 1-4 pm. The event is free with Museum admission and includes family-friendly films, games, a scavenger hunt and, of course "those traditional Jewish delicacies - egg rolls and fortune cookies!"

Whatever you celebrate and whenever you celebrate it, InterAct Cleveland wishes you a very Happy Holiday! As a non-Christian, what do you do? Christians, what is your take on this? Share your thoughts with us at The Interreligious Exchange Spot!

 

P.S. Hope to see you at our next dialogue "Women in Religion and Society" Presented by an all female panel on January 26, 2010 at 7 pm at the Shiva Vishnu Temple.