Sunday, December 23, 2007
of secularism and Chirstmas
I’ve been meaning to pen my thoughts about this for quite sometime.
Every year, when Christmas comes around, especially when it’s nearing the week of Christmas, I find myself becoming increasingly agitated. Increasingly agitated at how secular people are making this holiday. Increasingly agitated because slowly, the meaning of Christmas is being lost in all the commercial hoopla caused by generous spenders who have decided to squander their year-end bonuses on meaningless gifts that will be given away to some needy charity by the end of January.
My agitation has never been greater then now as I sit on my porch typing this whilst my neighbours throw a Christmas party for their mainland China friends, who by the way, I bet, don’t know the significance of a Christmas tree and have never understood why people exchange Christmas presents.
The meaning behind Christmas day is a religious one. It is the day our saviour, Jesus Christ was born. His birth marks the start of a religious journey that ultimately ends in his dying for our sins. It is not a day for superficial musings and meaningless gander into who got the coolest present and who did not.
I can see why this is so, though. So many people in this country are confused with race and religion and I dare say that it is our Chinese citizens that make up the majority of this confusion. FYI, (I don’t know bout CNY) but Deepavali, Hari Raya and Christmas are all RELIGIOUS festivals. Therefore, just because I am Indian, does not mean I celebrate Deepavali. Deepavali is celebrated by Hindus and just because majority of us Indians are Hindus, does not mean that the minority who are not Hindus celebrate this religious festival. I find this very disrespectful to the religion.
Similarly, Christmas is celebrated by Christians. Therefore you don’t have to be a certain race to celebrate this, but yes, you must be a certain religion.
Because of this race-specific stereotyping of religious festivals, [Indians = Deepavali], [Malay = Hari Raya], [Chinese = CNY], you find that when Christmas comes around, no race is linked to it (except Eurasians but they are a minority) and all of a sudden it becomes a celebration free for all to enjoy and because not everyone knows why we celebrate Christmas, what we see on TV is suddenly being imitated, making this celebration superficial and meaningless.
Now don’t get me wrong. You can celebrate the holidays but for Christ’s sake, if you don’t know the significance of Christmas or the symbolisms related to how we celebrate it, don’t go putting up a Christmas tree and for heaven’s sake, don’t play Christmas carols that sing about the birth of Christ. Playing songs like “O Holy Night” and “When Christ is Born” is disrespectful and makes a mockery of my religion and of my god (I know I sound a tad fanatical). Play Jingle Bells or Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer for all I care because these songs sing about the Holiday season.
I guess all I want is for people to be less ignorant and more aware.
...till next time fellas..catch you on the flipside..=)
Every year, when Christmas comes around, especially when it’s nearing the week of Christmas, I find myself becoming increasingly agitated. Increasingly agitated at how secular people are making this holiday. Increasingly agitated because slowly, the meaning of Christmas is being lost in all the commercial hoopla caused by generous spenders who have decided to squander their year-end bonuses on meaningless gifts that will be given away to some needy charity by the end of January.
My agitation has never been greater then now as I sit on my porch typing this whilst my neighbours throw a Christmas party for their mainland China friends, who by the way, I bet, don’t know the significance of a Christmas tree and have never understood why people exchange Christmas presents.
The meaning behind Christmas day is a religious one. It is the day our saviour, Jesus Christ was born. His birth marks the start of a religious journey that ultimately ends in his dying for our sins. It is not a day for superficial musings and meaningless gander into who got the coolest present and who did not.
I can see why this is so, though. So many people in this country are confused with race and religion and I dare say that it is our Chinese citizens that make up the majority of this confusion. FYI, (I don’t know bout CNY) but Deepavali, Hari Raya and Christmas are all RELIGIOUS festivals. Therefore, just because I am Indian, does not mean I celebrate Deepavali. Deepavali is celebrated by Hindus and just because majority of us Indians are Hindus, does not mean that the minority who are not Hindus celebrate this religious festival. I find this very disrespectful to the religion.
Similarly, Christmas is celebrated by Christians. Therefore you don’t have to be a certain race to celebrate this, but yes, you must be a certain religion.
Because of this race-specific stereotyping of religious festivals, [Indians = Deepavali], [Malay = Hari Raya], [Chinese = CNY], you find that when Christmas comes around, no race is linked to it (except Eurasians but they are a minority) and all of a sudden it becomes a celebration free for all to enjoy and because not everyone knows why we celebrate Christmas, what we see on TV is suddenly being imitated, making this celebration superficial and meaningless.
Now don’t get me wrong. You can celebrate the holidays but for Christ’s sake, if you don’t know the significance of Christmas or the symbolisms related to how we celebrate it, don’t go putting up a Christmas tree and for heaven’s sake, don’t play Christmas carols that sing about the birth of Christ. Playing songs like “O Holy Night” and “When Christ is Born” is disrespectful and makes a mockery of my religion and of my god (I know I sound a tad fanatical). Play Jingle Bells or Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer for all I care because these songs sing about the Holiday season.
I guess all I want is for people to be less ignorant and more aware.
...till next time fellas..catch you on the flipside..=)
# posted by palts @ 12:27 AM 
