Who is celebrating Xmas?

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #30 - December 24, 2009, 09:51 PM

and next week I will predict the lottery numbers

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #31 - December 24, 2009, 09:55 PM

Sure I celebrate Christmas/Sir Isaac Newton's Day; presents (never ever lavish! - more of a symbolic nature instead), Christmas dinner, Christmas tree an all! I see it as a positive tradition that is worth keeping (and Western economy would probably collapse without it).

Therefore Merry Christmas to you all!

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #32 - December 24, 2009, 09:58 PM

Quote from: billy on December 24, 2009, 09:42 PM
Omar, do you mind me asking (you don't have to answer because I understand people want their privacy), did you grow up in the north of England?

Why do you ask? Were you born in the north?
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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #33 - December 24, 2009, 10:03 PM

As a kid I used to love Christmas. We used to buy the TV Guides week in advance and mark out all the films and cartoons we were going to watch. It was a shared cultural experience...the Christmas telly watching I mean :-)

Now it is nothing like that anymore...

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #34 - December 24, 2009, 10:12 PM

We always do the traditional family Christmas thing. Its nice, but its a pain in the ass having to spend 24 hours in the company of my brother.

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #35 - December 24, 2009, 10:18 PM

That's the Irish for you. Incest and buttsex.

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #36 - December 24, 2009, 10:20 PM

Quote from: Omaar Khayaam on December 24, 2009, 09:58 PM
Why do you ask? Were you born in the north?

No, just wondering, when you said that you grew up in a predominantly Pakistani city, I was thinking where could that be? I guess the north most fitted that description is all. I grew up in London and the south east, although I've lived in the midlands the last few years

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #37 - December 24, 2009, 10:23 PM

Quote from: osmanthus on December 24, 2009, 10:18 PM
That's the Irish for you. Incest and buttsex.

Now I need to vomit.

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #38 - December 24, 2009, 10:33 PM

Sorry.

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #39 - December 25, 2009, 05:31 AM

Quote from: Rubaiyat on December 24, 2009, 10:03 PM
As a kid I used to love Christmas. We used to buy the TV Guides week in advance and mark out all the films and cartoons we were going to watch. It was a shared cultural experience...the Christmas telly watching I mean :-)

Now it is nothing like that anymore...

Us too! Warm memories ..

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #40 - December 25, 2009, 05:38 AM

Quote from: Omaar Khayaam on December 24, 2009, 06:54 PM
Sorry for pissing on everyones bonfire, but certainly when I was muslim I never felt as though I was missing out on anything. Why would I? Whether as a child or adult, we had two eids to celebrate so had a huge gathering of family and friends coming around making merry and dishing out presents.

I guess when you live in a city that is predominantly Pakistani and has a large muslim population, you tend not to give a shite about celebrating christmas. Truth be told, when I was a hardcore sunni muslim, I thought that those muslims who wanted to celebrate christmas and felt as though they were missing out, had a huge inferiority complex. I used to feel insulted at work when colleagues used to ask and assume that my kids were missing out on something if they didn't celebrate christmas. Like I said coming from a huge muslim family, it was never an issue. Even now my kids have expressed no desire to celebrate it because of the two eids.

As an atheist, I see eid and christmas as harmless human celebrations. But I still celebrate both eids because I just see it as part and parcel of the predominant culture I grew up with. I still don't feel the need to celebrate christmas, for those who do celebrate it as atheist ex-muslims, I don't begrudge you it. I will ask however if there are any of you who forfeit eid and instead adopted christmas why?

Yeah, same experience with us. Eid is a big deal for Bengalis and I have great and fun memories from it. I will always celebrate eid, muslim or not. I sort of felt the same way about Muslims who wanted to celebrate christmas, we all felt they were just desperate to be "white". I like the holiday season myself and I enjoy Christmas, Eid and even Diwali. Also bengalis also do the Bengali new year.

If I ever have a family I'll make sure they enjoy Eid, Christmas and Diwali - they're all part of my culture as far as I'm concerned.

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #41 - December 25, 2009, 06:00 AM

Quote from: BerberElla on December 24, 2009, 06:28 PM
More like non muslims, and of course with Islam, you can't imitate the kuffar in anyway, don't take their ways as your own, hence no xmas.

Sucks man.

Well I understand your upbringing was pretty repressive, but not all Muslim families are really fundamentalist. Luckily for us and lots of Bengalis, Islam was a cultural thing, not ideological. So we had no problems imitating the kuffar, since those ideas were unknown to my parents.

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #42 - December 25, 2009, 06:54 AM

Quote from: Kafirist on December 24, 2009, 06:17 PM
I don't get why musulmans get all wound up over christmas, not like it has anything to do with jebus anyways. It's a fucking seasonal celebration, shit humans have been doing for ages.

That's precisely why they get wound up. It's not Jebus's birthday etc., it's Christian appropriation of the winter festivals that were celebrated for centuries by pagans and THAT is what bothers them. I have to laugh my arse off when Christians are all "Jesus is the reason for the season" and all that "Christ back in Christmas." No, axial tilt is the reason for the season.

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #43 - December 25, 2009, 07:03 AM

I celebrate it in the terms of enjoying the holidays and all the fun it comes with,

But the whole lighting up the house and trees, no I don't do that
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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #44 - December 25, 2009, 07:07 AM

Quote from: Omaar Khayaam on December 24, 2009, 06:54 PM
Sorry for pissing on everyones bonfire, but certainly when I was muslim I never felt as though I was missing out on anything. Why would I? Whether as a child or adult, we had two eids to celebrate so had a huge gathering of family and friends coming around making merry and dishing out presents.

We never had gifts. The kids get a token amount of money, and the parents buy them a new outfit (unless they're super religious, in which case they don't because buying new clothes for eid is bidaa). I hated eid and so did my children. If I tried to do something fun, like decorate or make cookies or buy them presents instead of giving them money, that was not accepted. I especially hated eids in the middle east. I don't even want to talk about how fucking boring and shitty it was. The kids would be zoned out in front of cartoons because there was nothing else to do while the adults blabber all night and drink tea. I used to bring my ipod and hide it under my abaya and hijab and at least listen to fucking music. The sufis would have parties for the children but they were usually very disorganized and the kids didn't like to go to them. At least in America, the Muslims know what they're up against and they would try to do something fun with the kids, especially if the masjid had many converts. But it was usually still not even close, but I appreciate their efforts.

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when I was a hardcore sunni muslim, I thought that those muslims who wanted to celebrate christmas and felt as though they were missing out, had a huge inferiority complex.

I felt like the fact that some Muslims celebrate xmas was either (a) inferiority complex (cradle Muslims) or (b) they were just missing what they had (converts) and if they would put that effort into our eids then our eids could be fun. Like they were cheating the ummah by putting their energy into a tree and all that in their house. Which sounds stupid but at the time I felt like "If it wasn't for you, we might be able to make eid fun."

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I used to feel insulted at work when colleagues used to ask and assume that my kids were missing out on something if they didn't celebrate christmas

.

Har maybe their only knowledge of eid is like our eids were.

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Like I said coming from a huge muslim family, it was never an issue. Even now my kids have expressed no desire to celebrate it because of the two eids.

No, it sounds like your family endeavors to make it fun. Our family was a huge Muslim family and eid sucked for anyone under 50.

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #45 - December 25, 2009, 07:15 AM

Quote from: Q-Man on December 24, 2009, 07:05 PM
Eh, not really.

Can I just say this board is apparently full of scrooges?

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I never get a tree-- though I do have a Festivus pole

Did you make it or buy it, and if the latter, from where? We had our meatloaf tonight instead bc we were out last night (at fucking Chili's, and I thought of you and Bob in your pea coats or whatever) but yesterday I was airing grievances like a motherfucker.

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go to the movies and eat Chinese food.

What you going to see? I'm either going to see George Clooney's new movie or Sherlock Holmes I think.

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For Muslims/ex-Muslims who were always jealous of the Christians around this time-- it's fun as a kid, but it's pretty much all downhill after you realize there's no Santa, and with the increasingly atomized and dysfunctional state of Western families, the reality often doesn't match the images of the holiday in popular culture.

Don't listen to him! Christmas is AWESOME no matter your age if you make it so!

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It's a pretty depressing and/or stressful time for a lot of people.

Well in this economy, yeah, but seeing as how Xmas "magically" coincides with the days starting to get longer minute by minute after being so dreadfully shortened, I'm sure Seasonal Affective Disorder has a lot more to do with it.

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #46 - December 25, 2009, 07:22 AM

Quote from: BlackDog on December 24, 2009, 07:33 PM
Yeah saying Merry X-mas has ALWAYS been a given. It's fucking rude not to. And I hate the "happy holidays" greeting, wtf we all know its Christmas, why try to change that?

My understanding when I was younger, and my Xtian relatives have said the same, is that "Happy Holidays" is meant as a catch all for Thanksgiving, Xmas, and New Year's, as well as Hannukah. In other words, the entire holiday season that we all talk about. People who get their undies in a bunch over "Happy Holidays" need take a fucking drink.

The whole anti-Happy Holidays thing is a false meme and it pisses me off. NO ONE had a problem with this until a few years ago when Bill O'Reilly apparently saw how much money and attention he could get out of it. Now they are selling crowns of thorns to top your tree and trees with giant wood crosses embedded in them, and I've seen people decorating with their lights shaped as a cross, which traditionally is the decoration for Easter, not Xmas (if you want to get all "Xtian tradtional" about it), all because those fartheads Glen Beck and Bill O'Reilly told them that the eeeeeeevil atheists and heathens are trying to steal THEIR appropriated Germanic pagan holiday from them and re-remove Jebus from it! Now it's like you're afraid to say "happy holidays" because some self righteous prick will pick a fight with you. I've heard from friends of people screaming at cashiers in the market and others who are saying "Seasons Greetings" and "Happy Holidays" instead of Merry ~~Mithramas~~, I mean Christmas.

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #47 - December 25, 2009, 07:34 AM

I only say "Happy Holidays" to people I know are Christians.

I say Merry Christmas otherwise, including to Musulmans.

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #48 - December 25, 2009, 07:40 AM

Quote from: BerberElla on December 24, 2009, 05:38 PM
Are you celebrating this year? do you have a tree and all the works?

I fucking LOVE Christmas! I listen to Xmas music all year long. I keep a supply of candy canes so I can have some in the summer. We have one tree this year, but I had one in my bedroom last year as well. We decorated the front with white deer and garland with white lights and white lights on the trees. Last weekend we did Festivus / Christmas with some of the relatives (who had to travel, so they're not here for Xmas), and tomorrow we will have a big dinner with my other family. I don't know if it is turkey or ham or beef, plus potatoes, salads, pastries, that sort of thing.

My children and I tracked Santa on the NORAD tracker. They got to visit with Santa a few weeks ago. The stockings are hung in front of the fireplace, stuffed with little gifts and candy. We went looking at lights tonight and I got to speak to a man whose yard is covered in lights and those inflatable decorations and people come from all over to see it, and you could see he just LOVES Xmas. LIKE ME!!!!

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Did you celebrate it before you became an ex muslim?

Not in my house. But I did go to relatives. I followed the opinion that said it is "permissible to give gifts to family during the winter holiday." If I helped them decorate their tree or anything - it was like living vicariously through them. Although I listened to xmas music on my headphones in the last few years (or, you know, I might accidentally on purpose hear it on the radio stations in the car), I did not have Xmas in my own house, because I felt so much pressure NOT to (haram, imitate kufar) and to try and make eid as wonderful as it's supposed to be. Unfortunately eid sucks giant donkey balls, so I ended up with a whole lot of nothing. I'm so glad I don't have to put up with it anymore, and my commitment to Xmas is even more fanatical than it was when I was a young, ignorant, not-practicing Muslim who loved Xmas.

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #49 - December 25, 2009, 07:47 AM

Quote from: Manat on December 25, 2009, 07:40 AM
I fucking LOVE Christmas! I listen to Xmas music all year long. I keep a supply of candy canes so I can have some in the summer. We have one tree this year, but I had one in my bedroom last year as well. We decorated the front with white deer and garland with white lights and white lights on the trees. Last weekend we did Festivus / Christmas with some of the relatives (who had to travel, so they're not here for Xmas), and tomorrow we will have a big dinner with my other family. I don't know if it is turkey or ham or beef, plus potatoes, salads, pastries, that sort of thing.

My children and I tracked Santa on the NORAD tracker. They got to visit with Santa a few weeks ago. The stockings are hung in front of the fireplace, stuffed with little gifts and candy. We went looking at lights tonight and I got to speak to a man whose yard is covered in lights and those inflatable decorations and people come from all over to see it, and you could see he just LOVES Xmas. LIKE ME!!!!

Not in my house. But I did go to relatives. I followed the opinion that said it is "permissible to give gifts to family during the winter holiday." If I helped them decorate their tree or anything - it was like living vicariously through them. Although I listened to xmas music on my headphones in the last few years (or, you know, I might accidentally on purpose hear it on the radio stations in the car), I did not have Xmas in my own house, because I felt so much pressure NOT to (haram, imitate kufar) and to try and make eid as wonderful as it's supposed to be. Unfortunately eid sucks giant donkey balls, so I ended up with a whole lot of nothing. I'm so glad I don't have to put up with it anymore, and my commitment to Xmas is even more fanatical than it was when I was a young, ignorant, not-practicing Muslim who loved Xmas.

I've just had a look at what the meaning of Eid is - how the hell is it a celebration other than it being a break from the fast? Christ, it sounds as exciting as celebrating Lent (if that is humanly possible!). Is there anything in Islam that is remotely happy, joyous and celebratory where people can sit around singing, eating, drinking and off ones rocker? seems like a life of fucking misery being a Muslim.

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #50 - December 25, 2009, 08:08 AM

Quote from: kaiwai on December 25, 2009, 07:47 AM
I've just had a look at what the meaning of Eid is - how the hell is it a celebration other than it being a break from the fast? Christ, it sounds as exciting as celebrating Lent (if that is humanly possible!). Is there anything in Islam that is remotely happy, joyous and celebratory where people can sit around singing, eating, drinking and off ones rocker? seems like a life of fucking misery being a Muslim.

Well, drinking is out. Being off your rocker is bad adab. I'm sure some people have it fun - Omaar sounds like he does. Both of the big eids, for me and the children, were horrible. We used to dread eid day, especially when we lived in the mideast. It was just the kids watch TV, get $5 or so from relatives, and the grown ups just sit and ... I don't know, just talk, like they do all the time. I used to hate it when the relatives would come to my house, because you have to prepare shit loads of tea and biscuits and things and people will drink like half a cup, eat one cookie, and then you have to put it all away again, clean all those dishes, etc. But if you don't present them with a shitload of stuff, then it's like you're a bad person, you have no manners, etc. Even if NO ONE has any intention to eat the cookies or whatever. I hated that.

The maulid eid wasn't so bad, it was happier than the other two -- possibly because it is meant to celebrate the birth of Muhammad, and that's a lot happier than (a) "Yay, we can eat again!" and (b) celebrating that time that Abraham left his baby Ismael and his second wife Hajar in the middle of nowhere in the desert without even checking to see if they would have water nearby -- wow, happy times. But still even eid milad wasn't even close to the joy of Halloween, New Year's, or Xmas. I only liked eid milad because it was the only eid we had where people were allowed or encouraged to sing (not around men of course).

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #51 - December 25, 2009, 08:29 AM

Well the kids are up already since 7am anxious to open their presents.

We've always celebrated Xmas. As a child growing up in a Christian country, Trinidad, it was just the norm for everyone regardless of religion.

For us it's really all bout families coming together and kids having a great time. Whether you call it Winter Solstice or Christmas it's a great reason to celebrate - however with no alcohol.

So Happy holiday and a wonderful new year to all

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #52 - December 25, 2009, 11:49 AM

Quote from: Manat on December 25, 2009, 07:15 AM
Can I just say this board is apparently full of scrooges?

Whaddya mean? I think I've been the only person expressing Scrooge-like sentiments on this topic. Most people seem to have a fairly positive view of Xmas here.

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Did you make it or buy it, and if the latter, from where?

I got an end post for a chain link fence at Home Depot and put it in a Christmas Tree stand. They sell "Festivus poles" online too. Those are more compact and lighter than what I got, so I think I might buy one of those next year.

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but yesterday I was airing grievances like a motherfucker.

That's the Festivus spirit!

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What you going to see? I'm either going to see George Clooney's new movie or Sherlock Holmes I think.

Not sure. Nothing in terms of major movies that looks terribly appealing to me is out right now, so I'll probably just go see whatever my friends want to see. Suppose I'll find out in a few hours.

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Don't listen to him! Christmas is AWESOME no matter your age if you make it so!

Yeah, but you got kids-- that makes it easier to enjoy Christmas. So much of Christmas revolves around the kids and you get to enjoy a lot of shit vicariously through them. Try it without the kids (or any family around) one year and see if you think it's as awesome then.

I've had so many Christmases away from family, since I was a teenager, that the holiday's really lost its appeal for me. The last time we had Christmas together, which was maybe three, four years ago, and had been the first time in many years, there was a big fight and so was much more miserable than me doing my Jewish Christmas. So yeah, other than making some traditional food and hanging some lights when I feel like it, I've pretty much given up on the holiday until such time as I may have kids of my own.

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Well in this economy, yeah, but seeing as how Xmas "magically" coincides with the days starting to get longer minute by minute after being so dreadfully shortened, I'm sure Seasonal Affective Disorder has a lot more to do with it.

Well, yeah, I think that's part of it, but I don't think that's all of it. Isolation and depression that already exists can really be thrown into stark relief by the supposedly "joyous" season. My first few Christmases away from family I got really down for this reason. I still get down a little bit, but I'm cynical enough now to where it doesn't affect me much anymore. But for a lot of people it's a big issue.

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #53 - December 25, 2009, 12:04 PM

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I've had so many Christmases away from family, since I was a teenager, that the holiday's really lost its appeal for me.

This is how I feel about Eid, as a teen in a childrens home I was just so far removed from it all, that it actually means nothing to me now.

Whilst I was married Eid was with my husbands family and they are strict muslims, so Eid wasn't exactly a social thing, no music, no gifts, maybe some cash......and I think cash is about the lamest gift to give someone........no mixing of the sexes (whats a party without some flirting ey? lol). Eid sucked.

Xmas, now that I have made my own.

My mate and her kids are coming down to spend xmas week here, going to get totally drunk whilst attempting to cook and serve a massive turkey with all the trimmings (well sort of lol it should be noted that I forgot a load of stuff that is apparantly traditional because I;m not trained in this shit).

My bro got me this dress for Xmas:

Awesome or what?

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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #54 - December 25, 2009, 01:37 PM

Photo proof FTW
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Re: Who is celebrating Xmas?
Reply #55 - December 25, 2009, 03:48 PM

Yep nice dress. We used to celebrate xmas from the age of 6 to when i was 10,11. After that we stopped. Too much hassle setting up that xmas tree although i used to enjoy it, once i found out santa claus wasn't real i lost interest in the whole thing. I also find Turkey too dry.

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