There is nothing sweeter than eggnog around this time of the year, when Christmas lights adorn the patios and trees, and hang from lamp posts that line the streets, when snowflakes fall lazily from an overcast sky, when airports hum with passengers eager to fly back home to join their families, when gifts wrapped in boxes small and big make their way under the Christmas tree, when my personal favourite tune plays on the radio: “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”
Jesus Christ was born around 4 BC in Bethlehem. The Nativity Scene is recreated by ardent Christians every year. It’s an affirmation of their faith. “And she gave birth to a son, her first-born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the living space.” The Gospels do not indulge in historical details. None are needed by believers. “For some of our most important beliefs, we have no evidence at all, except that people we love and trust hold these beliefs. Considering how little we know, the confidence we have in our beliefs is preposterous – and it is also essential.” (2002 Nobel Laureate Daniel Kashneman)
Thirty years ago, I was invited by an American friend of mine to a Christmas dinner in Galveston, Texas, at her parents’ house. A non-Christian, it was my first Christmas dinner. I still remember the festive décor, the joining of hands to pray, the quiet conversation, the clinking of silverware, everything but food. I guess I was a nervous Nellie. Later that evening, my friend and I went out to watch Home Alone, now a quintessential holiday movie. This year, as always, I will throw a Christmas party for a staff of eight. BBQ meat was served with squash casserole and sweet potato souffle.
The secularisation and commercialisation of religious holidays paves way for Christmas to be celebrated across the globe despite an increase in the number of agnostics and atheists. For many, it’s more than faith or remembering the birth of Jesus Christ. It’s about taking a vacation. It’s about making a donation to your favourite charity. It’s about families getting together and exchanging gifts. It’s about watching Tom Hanks’ Polar Express with your kids or the Nutcracker at a theatre in your town. It’s about playing board games and listening to classics like Dean Martin’s “Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” or Bing Crosby’s “I’ll be Home for Christmas”.
Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, is also celebrated in December. If serendipity is what makes us a Christian or a Muslim or a Jew or a Hindu, reason dictates that we respect each other’s faith equally so much so that we keep our laws and our education absolutely secular while allowing people to freely visit the church or the mosque or the synagogue or the temple or any other place of worship. To quote Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, “You are free: you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed – that has nothing to do with the business of the State.”
Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! And a very Happy New Year!
Published in The Express Tribune, December 21st, 2022.
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