The Spirit of Christmas
Aaah, Christmas morning. Love Actually is running on the TV, that you listen with half your ear, as you dreamily gaze at the steady pace snow falls out your window from the comfort of your favourite couch. The heater is on but you rub your arms anyway, more for comfort and reassurance, than the warmth it brings. You snuggle further in your couch, cup the warm mug with its frothy cocoa and take a sip, smiling at the instantaneous pleasure it gives your belly and your soul. You look over at the Christmas tree you so painstakingly decorated, an odd and beautiful interaction between man and nature, flanked by the presents you bought your loved ones. In about 2 hours, they are going to be ripped apart by the curiosity of your nephew and niece. And it's going to be worth it, because it's Christmas.
This is how I imagine Christmas to be, as someone who has never seen snow and has never actually celebrated Christmas. I don't have a vivid memory of my first encounter with the concept of Christmas. I come from a Hindu family, where my parents did not celebrate Christmas because it was cited as a "Christian" holiday. I just remember always being surrounded by this holiday, in the form of the cartoons I watched, the books I read, and friends who observed this holiday. I thought my parents were being unfair. Come on! A day just for you to get presents? You could get presents on your birthday AND on Christmas? I am being deprived of getting another round of presents? This is so unfair!
Of course, as I got older, I learned about the religious connotation and that Christmas is not just about the presents. And as I got older, I've come to learn that every religion has its own version of Christmas, with something grand and big that calls for family gatherings, that stands for faith and hope, and represents love and happiness. But there is something about Christmas that has crossed over such boundaries. Maybe because it stems from the largest religion and has made its presence in every corner of the world. Or maybe because of Hollywood, that appeals to romantics like me with movies The Holiday. Or maybe because it's a default public holiday across the majority of countries. I don't know why. But be it through obligations in the office, or pure personal interest, somehow, we have all experienced some form of Christmas - a small tree in our house, partaking in Secret Santa or streaming Christmas playlists. Don't look at me like you have never sung along to Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas is You. I don't know about you but there's just something so incredibly romantic about Christmas. With the idea of snow and cozy feels and songs like Last Christmas, Christmas is just one big fairytale for me.
I don't mean to trivialise the basis of Christmas. But as I have observed Christmas traditions, and learned more about it, I don't see why I shouldn't celebrate Christmas. To me, Christmas is about family and showing your appreciation for them through presents. With all the lights and candles, Christmas is about faith, about how you can make light shine through even the bleakest of winter. Christmas is about ending the year with happiness and joy. Because to me, even through the extensive commercialisation of it all, the spirit of Christmas is about giving, faith and love; that feeling that there's something bigger than all of us. It's really not that far from the festival of lights I was raised on, Deepavali. If you ask me, with all that's going on in the world, it wouldn't hurt us to have an extra round of family gatherings, a time to commemorate faith, and a joyous atmosphere. Perhaps I should be looking into more holidays across the different faiths. Because from a matured point of view, I know that celebrating another faith's holiday or understanding their perspective doesn't mean that I have sacrificed mine. With all the religious clashes that are happening, nothing is going to bring us closer than understanding and respect.
So as a practicing Hindu, I'm going to continue to celebrate the Christmas spirit, to reinstate some positivity in my surrounding space. I'm going to continue to celebrate the spirit of sharing love and joy, because if we are not doing that, then what are we even doing in this life? And I'm going to continue to take part in the spirit of giving. Because your gift doesn't have to be wrapped in the shiniest of papers and the most colourful of bows to mean something to someone.
