General Chat

I know, never start a talk about Religion or politics but never mind here goes....

Please keep this friendly and don't be rude to anyone (not that you would of course!) We have performed a Nativity at work with children from many religions taking part including Muslim and Hindu. Parents were quite happy for them to dress up and perform. So... is there anyone on the boards who follows a non Christian religion and if so, what are your views on Christmas and decorations etc? Do you take part? Exchange gifts? Decorate your house? I would be interested to know as I have seen what local families do and it does seem to vary. Thanks, Jacky :-) PS Happy Christmas to everyone!

Personally, I think much of today's Christmas has little to do with religion! Trees and Christmas cards were started by the Victorians and gift giving has been blown out of all proportion by commercialism. Christmas is an amalgam, anyway, of the old pagan festivals and the birth of Christ (which probably happened at a different time of year!). I do celebrate, but don't go OTT, and am not religious at all.

You've echoed what I reckon Sheila. It's the old pagan festival - winter festival - death of the old sun god and new year the birth of the new sun god. Far too commercialised now - I am spiritual in my own way, and I do give gifts to my nearest and dearest but the over-buying of food etc. is well OTT. Happy Xmas anyway. Sylvxx

Well said Meercat - same thinking as me. Sylvx

Interesting thread Jackie. It's good to see how other religions and faiths celebrate. Me and my children being catholics-will go to mass on christmas eve-my OH is not a catholic but he will come with us and support us. He finds it difficult to sit there and listen to the priest, and I respect his opinion.I do go to mass regular, but I'm not a strict catholic. I believe in the family unit strongly and the teachings of the gospels. So merry christmas to everyone. catherine xx

At the school I work in there are a couple of Seik families who are happy for children to join in Christmas plays and a few Jehovah's Witness families who don't. It was lovely to see one of the Seik dads watching his daughter in the carol concert at the local church and having a chat with the vicar there, thought that was really good of him to happily go to another denomination church to support his child. I personally love this time of year, especially at school. Won't be going to any church services but do watch some on tv.

I live in a VERY multicultural area, yet at my kids' school ALL the children join in with the celebrations - except the Jehovah's Witnesses. They are kept away from all the concerts, cards, parties and the rehearsals etc etc. There is a JW boy in my son's class and his mother was extremely rude to the class teacher - in front of the other parents - over this issue. The Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and other parents all come to support their children in the Xmas shows, Nativity Play and the Carol Service. All my kids' friends of whatever religion or nationality (except JWs) send cards to the rest of the class. I feel so sorry for the few who have to miss out on the fun. Maz. XX

Maybe we should re-label all religions as Fun Religion and teach our kids how to enjoy themselves whilst sharing that joy with others no matter what or who they believe in and take part in all the celebrations for each persons belief...simple. Merry Christmas to all... Nanna-Moo ;-))

I love Christmas, I was born and raised a Christian,but am now a buddhist,I still have alot of beliefs that are Christian,so Yes I do celebrate Christmas and all the other festivals. Being a Buddhist does not stop me from doing any of these things,its more a way of life than a religion and the Beauty of this way of thinking is that you can be a buddhist and have Christian,muslim,jewish beliefs and bring them into your faith too:-)) Roxanne x

Thank you all for your replies. I love the idea of children being taught about different religions just as we teach them about different clothing, food eaten etc. as routine in our day to day planning (Pre-school). I have come to the conclusion that it is not individuals or communities that object to Christmas decorations etc. but someone somewhere who feels they have to change policies etc. to make them look busy! I received Christmas cards today from children of other religions and they have all spoken of having a tree up at home. We acknowledge when they celebrate something at home and ask parents to come in bringing items and to talk to us all. Some provide very interesting snacks for the children to try. So what ever festival you are celebrating or will be celebrating, I hope you have a great time and enjoy yourselves. Jacky :-)

Firstly may I take the opportunity to very briefly explain why Jehovah's Witnesses take the stand they do regarding christmas. First and foremost most people know that the festival chosen as 'Christ's birthdate' is not accurate and based on former pagan celebrations. A deeper look into the bible's account will show this. The fact that wise men called to see baby Jesus was detremental to him as they were astrologers - which is why they followed the star to Bethlehem - sent by Herod as he felt threatened at the news that a king had been born. They weren't as friendly as they appear to be in todays nativity strories. Another main reason for JW's not celebrating Jesus' birth is that whilst he was on earth preaching the gospel, one of the things he said was that a man's death was far more important than his birth. The reason: At death he had acomplished everything he was sent by his father to do. Most witnesses will appreciate the difficulties it may present to teachers in accommodating exclusion of their children from the Christmas activities in school, it is both sad and rare to hear of a witness giving a teacher a hard time about this and to the point of being rude in front of other parents. Unfortunately, this person must have that trait as part of their personality make up and they need to rethink this disgraceful attitude. Hopefully the majority of JWs will show the complete opposite attitude and recognise how difficult it can be for teaching staff to accommodate the exclusion of their children. How can I say all this? Because I am a JW and have been through my children in primary school and needing to explain the situation almost annually to different teachers as the girls moved up the school and new staff arrived that were unaware of the whole situation. I know by may family's manner of dealing with the whole christmas issue that it is rare to display a poor attitude as the person in Maz's comments did. We used to take gifts in for the teachers before christmas activities to show our appreciation for all their hard work usually a large tin of chocs for the staff room. I send everyone my best wishes for the holiday season. We all hope that the new year brings a more peaceful time, we can only hope. Best wishes to all, Lyn x

Thank you Lyn for explaining the reasons behind exclusion from Christmas activities. I knew vaguely but you put it so well. In the same way, can you also explain about birthdays as I find it hard to exclude a child from acknowledging these especially at 2 and 3 years old they do not yet have the understanding of their religion or customs. Thank you. Seasons Greetings, Jacky :-)