Christmas Vs Eid
In the building with the blue windows and the diamond shaped roof tops, children dressed in red and green with rosy cheeks, were gaily singing:
“Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way!
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one more hoppin’ slay!
Hey! ...
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!”
In the building across the street, with the pink windows and the mosque behind it, families were visiting each other in their newly bought clothes and shining shoes, wishing each other:
“Eid Mubarak, Dear Brother, Dear Sister
May Allah’s blessings be bestowed upon you and your family! ”
The year 2008 is host to Christmas and Eid al Adha during the same month, only a few days apart. One would notice that
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True, Jesus’ (As) birth is a belief amongst Muslims, but so is the sacrificial symbol of the Adha a belief amongst the Christians and other religions in the world. Why can’t all cultures adopt the Islamic tradition of gifting children with new clothes and taking them out to restaurants and amusement parks? The government does not encourage Eid as much as it allows public places to be enveloped in Christmas decorations. In France, the Arab communities hold visitations and share in Islamic customs within their brotherhood, whilst around them Christmas carols are sung and the city is embellished in tinsel and goblins, awaiting the arrival of “Santa Claus”, or in their terms “Pere Noel.” In Dubai, much like Abu Dhabi, hotels and restaurants have special Christmas luncheons. Shops and Malls give away special offers during the ‘Festive Season’. There is yet to be established an Eid theme blanketing the cities where Islam is the religion of base, like that of Christmas. What is even more upsetting is that Christmas is in itself less religious and more commercial than it was 500 years ago. Christmas has a face, a figure one can imagine when thinking of the Holiday: a jolly man, with a red suit and a white beard. He did not always look like this. “Santa Claus” acquired his red suit and the big belly through a Coca Cola advertisement in 1931. His image changed, distorted almost, into what we know now as “Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!”
There are several Symbols associated with Christmas, Santa Claus, Snow or cold weather, Wreaths, garland , wrapping paper and a Christmas tree. Society does not look at Halloween costumes or a hot sunny day and think of Christmas, although when I noticed that some retailers have Halloween, thanksgiving and Christmas décor out, it does not seem to mesh well. But retailers are showing society these symbols getting them thinking about what’s coming soon.
It can be argued that Christmas as a holiday is far removed from the way it was first envisioned. That said, there are certain element that many people share or celebrate making it an arguably complex holiday. As the preeminent children’s author of his generation, Geisel serving heavily on the minds of his young readers helped shape what Christmas means for many people with his narrative How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. Though at the surface the work is a simple morality tale that promotes unity over consumerism, it has subtle nuances that make the work interesting on several
Everybody looked very cheerful and benevolent. It felt like one big family gathering. We entered the synagogue and there were plush chairs and carpet embellished with nature like colors and leaf designs. The roof was high, there was a lot of light, gold accents, a stained glass window, wooden beams that were exposed, as well as a wooden bureau, which housed the Torah. There were also candles and podium/table from which the rabbi spoke.
Christians commonly celebrate the New Year January 1st, according to the Julian calendar; For orthodox Christians whom follow the Gregorian calendar New Year is marked on January 14th or sometime around that date. (Christian Observances and Rituals) Orthodox or not the New Year is a day celebrated most Christians, many attending mass. Another commonly celebrated day is, “Epiphany Sunday, commonly known as Three Kings’ Day in the United States, is on January 6. It celebrates the three wise men’s visit to baby Jesus and also remembers his baptism, according to the Christian Bible’s events. The United States (US) Virgin Islands observe the day as a public holiday.” (Epiphany in the United States) On this day children, bake cookies and cakes in honor of the Three Wise Men. This day is exactly twelve days after Christmas, another Christian
With the wreaths and Yule logs that come standard with this holiday comes a caring from deep in the hearts of people unbeknownst to them at any other time of the year. At the sight of the Christmas decor and the flames roaring at the hearth, a warmth envelops the heart, one with which no flame, however hot, could compete. We see in our gift-wrap and our greeting cards and our holiday stockings an entirely new persona occupying this world we live in, reprieving us from the daily heartaches we all know as familiar.
Cuba’s celebrations are greatly reduced ever since Fidel Castro outlawed it in 1969. Today, it is celebrated with not as much festivity as other countries. Columbia celebrates the Christmas season much earlier than most, starting on December 7th to have “The Day of the Candles.” They also have families gather each night for nine days to perform religious prayers called novenas. In Spain, they start the winter solstice with “Hogueras,” which lets people jump over fires to symbolize that they are going to overcome sickness that winter. Mexico is well known for their Christmas ornaments and for their three holidays, Las Posadas, La Fiesta de Reyes and Las Pastorelas. Each country differs on giving gifts to children. In Spain, children receive gifts from the Three Wise Men as recalled to into the Bible. They leave their shoes outside on January 5th and the next day, Epiphany, children get candy and cakes. Mexico also has the tradition of letting children open their Christmas presents on Epiphany, however, the night before, they write a letter to the Three Wise Men asking for what they want. In Columbia, it is baby Jesus that reads the letter of what children want. They leave the letter under the tree on December 24th and open presents the day after. Sadly, for Cuba, ever since the decline of Christmas in 1969, Christmas isn’t celebrated like other countries. However, before that,
This isn’t inherently bad and I still give presents on Chanukah, but the impact of the overwhelming religions is undeniable. This is a problem not solved anywhere in the world. In Israel it is merely switched around, with Chanukah and Passover, overtaking Christmas and Easter. This is also seen with Religiously guided schools, like Christian or Jewish academies. This contradicts what the first amendment was created for, and at the same time, supports
The Day of Innocent Saints is a holiday very similar to that of April Fools Day in America. On the Day of Innocent Saints people try to trick each other into believing preposterous jokes or stories. Newspapers and TV stations also run phony broadcasts. This celebration gets its name from a biblical narrative in which Herod the Great (the Roman King of the Jews) ordered the execution of all young male children in the vicinity of Bethlehem to avoid the loss of his throne to the newborn Jesus, whose birth had been announced to him by the Magi. Roman Catholic families may also have a feast in which the youngest child picks the food to commemorate this biblical story.
How would it feel to not have off for christmas? For many Muslims who celebrate Eid al-Fitr, and Eid al-Adha, this horror has been a reality for a very long time. In the article “Celebrate the Ever-Evolving America”, Lane Filler persuades us to see how important these holidays are for kids who celebrate them, and that our culture of America embraces other cultures, and there is no reason why we should not embrace these holidays.
There is no doubt that Christmas is a religious event but nowadays Christmas becomes more commercialized, as it has been defined as a high consumption season because the gifts giving culture becomes the most important part of Christmas and the consumers want to please their children
Holidays are an important part of every culture in the world. They are times of festivity where friends and family gather together to celebrate special events at different points of the year. Oftentimes these affairs aren’t limited to a single day and each country has their own set of specific rituals that they perform to commemorate the occasion. Many holidays also have religious origins that are a mix of Christian and pagan beliefs.
The key features of the religion of Islam were hard to define in such a short paper. I find myself fascinated with the Muslim belief system and their celebratory festivals. The more I have read Muslims, the more I have come to understand that our religions have a lot in common. As a Christian, I believe there is only one God as stated in Deuteronomy 6:4-5(NIV Bible). Muslims also believe there is only one God (Qur’an 3:18). We have our celebrations of faith via communion, prayer, Good Friday, Easter, and Christmas (the birth of Christ). Muslims have Ramadan, Eid-al-Fir, Dhu Al-Hijja, Eid-al-adha, The first day of Muharram, The twelfth day of Rabi I, and Mirajun Nabi. Our Christian rituals and beliefs are only different to Muslims, by the mere name or style in which we carry out our worship services.
When I read the scholarly article an interesting perspective was introduced to me. What if I were to go to another country that wasn't christian? Would my holidays be recognized at all? Being that Christianity is the major religion in America, I support adding Eid to the school calendars, but am not going to be a huge activist on the
Christmas is the annual festival celebrating the birth of Jesus on the 25th December, at least that is what it began as initially. Since it has expanded into an international phenomenon for consumption, taking priority over our everyday practices of life (Michel De Certeau, 1980). Our time we spend divided between work and leisure in accordance to the codes and conventions of society shifts, Christmas derails these expectations. Yet surprisingly Christmas gains little attention in terms of social research, despite the fact that it can be explored diversely. The inquiry ‘What is Christmas?’ links to multiple aspects of social research. The aspects of Christmas can be subdivided into the following; religion, commercialism, gift-giving, social relationships, sensualism and mythology. This essay will analyse these fundamentals of Christmas through both psychological and sociological perspectives, as the theories among these two social sciences are best suited to the elements which make up Christmas itself.
Holidays have always been known to affect our consumer culture for many years, but how it all began eludes many people and very few studies have been completed on it. Even though some say that the subject is too broad to precisely identify how holidays, especially Christmas, directly affect our market, I have found that people’s values, expectations and rituals related to holidays can cause an excessive amount of spending among our society. Most people are unaware that over the centuries holidays have become such a profitable time of year for industries that they now starting to promote gift ideas on an average of a month and a half ahead of actual holiday dates to meet consumer demands.