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11/24/08

I should be happy about not celebrating Christmas right...?




Assalam alaikum & peace to all

Ok so it is that time of the year again... all the hoopla about Christmas or rather Christmas shopping and rush! I HATE this time of season, not only for the total lack of religious significance of it but also for how crazy people get at this time of the year!
However I do like this time for getting together with my mom and some members of my family to celebrate being together, it never really was a religious holiday for us. (well yes and no - to long to explain - but I was always aware of the fact that the 'reason' for the holiday was more important than presents and things like that) anyway... on to my new problem this year, oh but first a bit of background information. My mom and I would always spend Dec 24th together alone - no other family and exchange gifts and have a nice meal..its almost a tradition. Last year was the first year that I was married so my hubby got included in this tradition... which was really nice. So forward now to this year. It has been a tough year for my mom and from that came her immersion into her religion (Catholicism) which is usually a good thing but she is getting slightly fanatical about it (well to me she is). She stopped eating shrimp and any other bottom feeder type fish, she keeps Saturday as a 'holy' day instead of Sunday and she has officially ...wait for this... cancelled Christmas for this year. I should be happy right? As Muslims we don't celebrate anything other than Eid, which is fine, but why am I feeling so disappointed? I feel so let down that she doesn't want to have our usual traditions. For one she wont eat scallops - this was a favourite food she loved and I would always buy for her the biggest and freshest ones for our 24th dinner - so that is out. As well no presents this year - I always get her a 'joke' card, another tradition - so that is out too. Arrrr... maybe this is a vent post only and there is nothing meaningful to accomplish here. I just feel so deflated. She won't even buy chocolates or anything for anyone - she just says - "I'm done with Christmas" good grief...people are going to think she has lost her mind. Oh well, the one good thing I can say is that she has lots of courage, (the courage that her Daughter lacks apparently) to stand up and say I'm not doing something anymore because I don't believe in it.

Is it 2009 yet?? (Hopefully New Year's is not cancelled as well)

4 comments:

بنت بيتر said...

assalamu alaykum! thanks for visiting my blog :) i love canadians ;) and ya, i'd be honoured for u to post my blog - no problem!

as for your current dilemma - hmmm, well i would feel more sad about the whole catholicism thing. but im confused - catholics are the strongest believers in the trinity, so why she not celebrating xmas? and the whole saturday thing - is that not the jewish sabbath?

anyhoo- off topic - as fer what ur feeling... i think ur sad cuz its a break in tradition and u feel left out - i strongly advise u to 1) accept ur moms wishes cuz u can imagine how ud feel if someone wer eupset/angry at u for being muslimah and 2) talk to her honestly, and tell her u respect her wishes, but please can u make a special celebration. just substitue the day with a non-holiday and make it a mom-daughter day annually or monthly or whatever u like! substitute her next fave food, things like that....

my family, specially mom was upset when i stopped celebrating bdays and mothers day, and well, every holiday but i try to make her feel special all yr so she cant say much!

may Allah bless u and make it easy for u sister.

and Im gonna follow ur blog too. Am so happy to meet u xxx

wa salam

Aalya said...

wa alaikum assalam... thanks :)

I really don't know where she is getting all these different things...but I do know that she has started to read the bible more and is getting it mostly from there - really Christians/Catholics shouldn't be following the trinity anyway...but she is still very 'Jesus' oriented... astafiruallah... I have tried to talk to her about Islam, etc but its very difficult with her and now especially. I am saddened by it but I have made Dua for her to be led and have asked Allah to use me to guide her if it is His will... Inshallah that will happen, but for now I've 'given up a bit' I am trying to be respectful of her wishes... maybe this is the first steps for us, and maybe it is a way for me to tell her one day that I am Muslim.

Thank you for your lovely words!!

Adventurous Ammena said...

Yeh sis.. u should be happy!! shes breaking tradition, now time for you to break it too!! the saturday thing is a bit weird.. wonder where shes getting all this from. You know, maybe shes been feeling left out for you being so 'into' this other religion that she wanted to try to be more religious too. Allahu alim... I will remember you all in my duaa insha'allah

Aalya said...

I don't know about the whole 'feeling left out' as I have not really talked to her about Islam that much recently (well I have she just doesn't know it!) The whole Saturday thing is basically coming from the Bible - I mean in essence when Jesus came he was following Jewish laws - so it would be natural to follow that later on - I've read up on it and somewhere around 364 CE it was 'changed' to Sunday.

I'm still a bit sad about our traditions going away (its mostly coming from the fact that before my Father died we kept these traditions and it feels like I'm losing that too now :( but Inshallah I can get over it and maybe start new traditions.

Thanks for the comments!

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