I like Santa too!and I do attend holiday parties..I will not mind if my kid wanted to see Santa or santa movies but I will not be decorating a tree in the house.. decoration will only be done for eid and inshaAllah I will try to make it very clear to the kids that we are all different, celebrate different holidays, nothing wrong with it.. just like not everyone will decorate their house for eid, we don't have to do it for christmas..simple!
honestly I love the holiday season purely because of color and joy everywhere.. it reminds me of eid time in Pakistan :-)
ps: my husband and I went to watch Tangled and found it cute but the cutest part was kids laughing out loud at the horse.. i think kids really enjoyed Max.. what was your niece's favorite character?
^ That horse was hilarious! My niece is such a girly girl…she was all about the Princess this and the Princess that…lol. She wants hair as long as the Princess and ohmigosh khala did you see her hair was glowing…etc etc etc.
I guess I am not at ease with kids asking Santa for gifts and weirdly enough…I didnt think she even knew about it until she was actually shaking his hand and asking him for toys and candy. Where did she get that? She goes to an Islamic school for preschool.
I was talking to another friend of mine and she took her kids to decorate a friend’s Christmas tree. Some people just ripped her apart on facebook for contributing to this while some cheered her for teaching her children about Christmas.
I dont know if I am okay with kids visiting Santa. Is it bad for them to believe in fictitious characters bringing people presents every year except for them?
Furthermore, is it our responsibility to become Christmas-friendly so people can become Eid-friendly?
I remember I got in trouble when I was in grade 1 because I told all the other kids that Santa didn't exist and made them cry. lol!
I think there are elements of Christmas that are nice to get involved in, but I would tell my kids up front that Santa doesn't exist, but then still let them see Santa at the mall and stuff..cuz kids will be kids and they want to take part in the fun too. Even though your niece goes to an Islamic school, living here you are immersed in the culture. She must certainly have got it from TV or something.
I've been told my cousins, esp my oldest cousin was always a little too interested in Santa, believing he was real and all that stuff. Anyways, family in UK pretty much always celebreates Christmas. It's a waste of holidays not to celebrate. Too many reasons why one should and not enough for why one shouldn't.
Based on some responses I would add this disclaimer to the Original post:
The question is for those who are Muslim and who have respect and love for their religion and who do not hate others for their religion . How do they balance the love for their religion and the lack of hate for others based on what they follow as a religion.
SO and I do attend Christmas events...especially if they're work related. When I have kids, I would not have a problem with them attending Christmas parties or visiting Santa. However, there will not be a Christmas tree in our house and I will teach them from day 1 that Santa is a fictional character.
Growing up, my siblings and I were allowed to participate and take part in other religious ceremonies. I don't think that makes me any "less" of a Muslim that someone who chooses to keep themselves isolated from such experiences. Being exposed to those celebrations didn't change any of my own religious beliefs. I've been invited and have attended quite a few celebrations for Christian and Hindu friends. It has increased my understanding and tolerance of other cultures/religious. Living in the U.S., its essential that children become comfortable with other cultures/religions.
When my daughters were little they did express a desire to stand in line to see Santa a couple of years. Now, they don't care. At that age, they don't really understand a whole lot and connecting Santa with religion makes no sense to them. As they grow older, how they're raised will determine how well they accomodate and tolerate other customs and traditions. Now that my kids are older, they only ask for presents at Eid. They do wish their friends Happy Holidays but that's about it.
Regarding work parties, well these days most parties are holiday parties to make it more welcoming for all people...and they hardly do anything religious there so why the hesitation?
I see how some people say that participating in festivities that aren't Islamic is non-Islamic...but I'm not really sure about that. Maybe someone can educate us on that.
^ The reason they have holiday parties because of the Christmas season, so yeah the hesitation is quite legitimate. Plus, if you go to such parties, the whole theme is christmasy from the food to the decoration or throwing speeches. I used to go to holiday parties but after finding out it's not right for a Muslim to participate in it, I never bothered again.
Based on some responses I would add this disclaimer to the Original post:
The question is for those who are Muslim and who have respect and love for their religion and who do not hate others for their religion . How do they balance the love for their religion and the lack of hate for others based on what they follow as a religion.
Absolutely.
My questions are to help me understand how to address these things (because they will come up) to a Muslim child in a way where they understand their religion but also respect others'.
When my daughters were little they did express a desire to stand in line to see Santa a couple of years. Now, they don't care. At that age, they don't really understand a whole lot and connecting Santa with religion makes no sense to them. As they grow older, how they're raised will determine how well they accomodate and tolerate other customs and traditions. Now that my kids are older, they only ask for presents at Eid. They do wish their friends Happy Holidays but that's about it.
Regarding work parties, well these days most parties are holiday parties to make it more welcoming for all people...and they hardly do anything religious there so why the hesitation?
I see how some people say that participating in festivities that aren't Islamic is non-Islamic...but I'm not really sure about that. Maybe someone can educate us on that.
Thats true. Nothing religious happens at these corporate parties so I guess there shouldnt be hesitation. Ive attended almost all functions thrown by the companies Ive worked for in the past save one.
^ The reason they have holiday parties because of the Christmas season, so yeah the hesitation is quite legitimate. Plus, if you go to such parties, the whole theme is christmasy from the food to the decoration or throwing speeches. I used to go to holiday parties but after finding out it's not right for a Muslim to participate in it, I never bothered again.
Is it not right to attend though? Its not like you're attending Mass or anything, right?
And BTW, Christmas is not a Christian festival per se. It is a pagan festival, celebrating the Sun God. Just a example of how conqueror religions assimilate festivals from other religions to make it easier for the people to convert.
And these days, Christmas is not religious at all, it's all commercial. I see it as a yearly economic stimulus.
I like to celebrate Christmass for the real reasons. Christmass starts with Christ so they say.
I point out to my workmates that Nabi Issah Alaysalaam is our prophet as well as thiers… and how corporate marketing has made Christmass into a joke. Consider saint Nicholas for example, that jolly fat fellow in the red Santa outfit is a complete hoax Siant Nicholoas actually wore green robes when he gave out gifts to children and poor folk. But Coca Cola needed a Red jolly fat Santa legend.
Christmas in the UK is a time to celebrate the coming of Jesus (Nabi Issah alysalaam) and to mark the occasion I keep a low key celebration and instead gather round my friends and talk over a fire and share good and bad news and stories.
Besides it was a Christmas season when England itself was forged in the dark ages but that is a story for another time.
When i was a kid my mum used to take me and my sister to see santa! we also used to give xmas cards to our friends and close neighbours.
I dont have any kids, but i think i would encourage them to give cards if i did, i dont see there being anything wrong with this, i dont see it as meaning that by giving cards,my kids wouldnt be muslim any longer.
i also think that if you live in a non muslim country where festivals such as xmas are inevitable and you and your family will be exposed to it, as tolerant and peaceful muslims, theres nothing wrong in wishing someone a merry xmas or sending them a card, its a way to integrate into the society of the country you live in and to be seen as tolerant and respectful of the culture of said country. to me,this is completely islamic.
i think itd also be a nice idea if on eid your kids were to take in sweets for their classmates at school as a way of making others aware of our own religious festivals and hopefully encouraging respect for our own ways too.
We dont take them out to specially to see/meet Santa but if we come across one (while shopping for hot deals) and kids want to shake hands, we dont have any problem with it.
We have told our kids on how to respect other's religious celebrations and how to be happy for others on the same time making sure NOT TO adopt that religiously. My wife has put a lot of time in this. Specially with my son who ask every possible question you want him NOT to ask in front of others. He now understand that these are other religions celebrations and he can be happy for them and enjoy it with them just like he is going to fair.
One strategy that my wife has used (and has worked for us) is not to make it a routine. So for example if kids went out with their friends for candies on Halloween last year, they will not go out this year just a reminder that we dont celebrate it. So my wife just schedule some alternate activity on very day (such as get together of cousins or movie etc)
I LOVED Tangled.. and I love all the Christmas decorations all over! Every year they hold competitions which resort has the prettiest tree.. I love hopping around looking at them!
My niece is such a girly girl…she was all about the Princess this and the Princess that…lol. She wants hair as long as the Princess and ohmigosh khala did you see her hair was glowing…etc etc etc.