Every year, I find myself looking on from a window as people sing Christmas carols or take their Christmas trees home, and I always find myself wondering what it would be like to decorate the tree or get presents on Christmas morning. In fact, when I was a kid, I would resent kids who got Christmas presents, even if they were my best friends. I would be furiously jealous of them for that one day, and I would wonder why I can’t get presents. However, Christmas is now my favorite holiday, and I don’t even celebrate it.
When I was young, Linus taught me that Christmas was about celebrating the birth of Jesus, but as I grew older, this confused me, because Judaism and Islam, my religion, also have Jesus as a biblical figure, but they don’t consider him the son of God, and don’t celebrate any of their Biblical figures, including Jesus. But I quickly learned what Jesus meant in Christianity. Jesus, from my understanding, represents everything Christianity stands for. Christianity is full of kindness, honesty, and virtue. Jesus told people there was a benefit to all of this, and that you reap what you sow, and that practicing these values are the right things to do. I don’t agree with all of things that orthodox Christianity, but as a Muslim, I respect the pillars of Christianity, and I choose to interpret Christmas in my way.
For me, Christmas is not about the birth of Jesus, but appreciating your friends and family, being rewarded for your diligence, whether it be religiously-based or just what you feel is right, and looking forward to for doing these in the new year.
I also think that the biggest thing Christmas has going for it is how cheery it is. Christmas has become a very commercial holiday, with stores stocking their shelves with ornaments and toys right after Thanksgiving. Christmas commercials dominate any other religious based commercials due to the amount of Christians in the US , and products are Christmas-themed to attract customers. However, even with all of this business and frantic coupon-clipping, Christmas has a heart that beats underneath all of the cloying business plans. Christmas can be the only time that you see your relatives, and due to the extended break from school, you really get to connect with your family instead of working feverishly on your homework. Christmas themed movies are also some of the most fun movies, and watching them in class before the break or with your family gets you in the holiday mood, regardless of your religion. Christmas carols are also always very cheerful, and everyone knows the lyrics to at least one Christmas carol. In fact, Christmas songs are some of my favorite songs because you never sound bad when you sing Christmas carols, and they also get you in the holiday mood.
I still wish that I could get presents at Christmas, and I fell out of the loop whenever I hear people talking about Christmas in a religious sense. But the products of Christmas, the songs and the movies, help me feel happy nonetheless, and everyone is happy around Christmas time. The only holiday that comes close to emulating the sheer joy people is Thanksgiving, and that is just because you celebrate it with your family. In Christmas, everything involved can make you happy, no matter who you are, and that is why it is my favorite holiday.