Merry Christmas to all our Christian brothers and sisters and to a few confused Jewish, Jain and Buddhist ones in inter-faith families. Also apologies to any Catholics who are employed by grinchy Muslim restaurant owners this festive day.
Sakina spied her son's facebook status : I hate it when I wake up on Christmas morning and run down the stairs all excited- then remember that I'm Muslim" and it got her thinking. She had grown up singing carols, had been in the choir so still remembered the words to greats such as "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" She had performed a solo for "In the bleak mid winter". She had even played the Virgin Mary in the third grade Nativity play . While practicing for the annual Christmas concert, her mother had warned her to stay silent at anything resembling shirrk (assigning partners to God) so she would not dare to even MIME the lyrics to Unto Us a Son is Born. However, Sakina always wondered if it was Islamically permissible to say the word 'savior' or the 'Lord Jesus'. It remained a mystery throughout her formative years.
That year, Christmas week had co-incided with the beginning of the Islamic month of Rabi Al Awwal during which many Muslims traditionally sang hymns of praise on the Prophet Mohammed. Maybe that's why they had always made Sakina feel teary-eyed. Was there something about these hymns, whichever prophet one was prasing, that evoked hope, promise and her dreamy little Brit-Asian childhood? But lately Christmas had been diluted and anaesthecized. The only songs played during the festive season these days were ones about jingle bells rocking, nasally congested reindeer or requests to 'Let it Snow' . Who had taken the religion out of holidays? How had Easter become Spring Break? Christmas and Hannukah- the 'holidays?' Sakina made no apology for pining for devotional songs of praise. Also, who in their right mind CELEBRATED winter in the Midwest?
Sakina spied her son's facebook status : I hate it when I wake up on Christmas morning and run down the stairs all excited- then remember that I'm Muslim" and it got her thinking. She had grown up singing carols, had been in the choir so still remembered the words to greats such as "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" She had performed a solo for "In the bleak mid winter". She had even played the Virgin Mary in the third grade Nativity play . While practicing for the annual Christmas concert, her mother had warned her to stay silent at anything resembling shirrk (assigning partners to God) so she would not dare to even MIME the lyrics to Unto Us a Son is Born. However, Sakina always wondered if it was Islamically permissible to say the word 'savior' or the 'Lord Jesus'. It remained a mystery throughout her formative years.
That year, Christmas week had co-incided with the beginning of the Islamic month of Rabi Al Awwal during which many Muslims traditionally sang hymns of praise on the Prophet Mohammed. Maybe that's why they had always made Sakina feel teary-eyed. Was there something about these hymns, whichever prophet one was prasing, that evoked hope, promise and her dreamy little Brit-Asian childhood? But lately Christmas had been diluted and anaesthecized. The only songs played during the festive season these days were ones about jingle bells rocking, nasally congested reindeer or requests to 'Let it Snow' . Who had taken the religion out of holidays? How had Easter become Spring Break? Christmas and Hannukah- the 'holidays?' Sakina made no apology for pining for devotional songs of praise. Also, who in their right mind CELEBRATED winter in the Midwest?
3 comments:
There was an insertion of humanitarianism in the form of the saccharine rock-carol-ballad effort of the 80s- let's provide food for starving east Africans, etc.
No, it's not about celebrating winter - it's about laughing in the face of winter,
Those beautiful hymns and carols: "Away in a Manger", and "Once in Royal David's City" .... Ah, thinking of the days that are no more...
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