omg....and the gif files...hehehehe...they just make the whole thing even more funny/odd. precious. 'scuse me whilst i i fall off my chair.

and correction - the christmas connection is for christians. but still....oh, man...jewish have Hanukkah around the same time as christians xmas.

Thanks, PK, I didn't know Christ-mas was Christ-ian. </teasing>

It's called 'bad analogy' if you must ;)

That is so funny! If they weren't so expensive I would totally buy one. I love the ornaments!

I had a question for all you mutineers: how many of you non-Christians celebrate Christmas? My deeply religious Hindu family has had a Christmas tree, put up lights, decorated the house, and exchanged gifts since I was a baby. And a lot of our Hindu family friends do the same (we're from Jersey). My Christian, Jewish, and Muslim friends all think that is very strange. A Christian friend commented that it is weird that we do the commercial aspects of Christmas, but clearly my family isn't really celebrating the birth of Jesus. Any one else do this?

My family in the Middle East will celebrate Eid with their Muslim friends and cook food for iftar. Personally I think it says something for Hindu tolerance. Either that or Desis just like to celebrate?

wow .. talk about assimilation!

My Christian, Jewish, and Muslim friends all think that is very strange.

i mean this in the kindest way, but i think your friends are the strange ones. EVERY friend of mine, Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Zoroastrian, Atheist (basically everyone except for Jews) celebrates Christmas. my Sikh best friend from college got more in to it than i did and it's MY fave holiday.

it's not just for Christians. the only aspect which is, is the whole "happy birthday jesus!" part of it. santa claus? never considered "Christian" by my family, no matter what Saint they try to conflate him with in other traditions...this might have something to do with the Jacobite church having all of one saint (perumala thirumeni) though, AFAIK.

my point is, the vast majority of Christmas is secular, IMO. there's a reason why my aunt wears that "Jesus is the reason for the season!" pin...

p.s. i think it's a bit weird when jewish people get tinsel'd out-- my sorority sister r. shapiro was the one who had the tree up faster than the rest of us-- they usually feel surrounded by it vs in to it.

My family in the Middle East will celebrate Eid with their Muslim friends and cook food for iftar. Personally I think it says something for Hindu tolerance.

Many Christians(my cousins & relatives included) in India celebrate Diwali, Holi, Onam etc without the religious aspect. For them its just a reason to have some fun (bursting crackers, throwing water balloons at unsuspecting strangers or indulging in a gluttonous sadhya).

I don't like it, this type of religious reappropriation and commercialization, it detracts from the true meaning of Christmas, which is to celebrate the birth of Santa Claus.

Thanks, PK, I didn't know Xmas was a Christian holiday. It's called 'bad analogy' if you must ;)

no prob. not everyone does know it if you're not used to it. it made me smile though, and we all learn!

anna, that's a great way to look at it!

My (Hindu) parents never celebrated Xmas until my brother and I basically whined (since all our friends got presents and we didn't) so much that they relented. But as soon as we moved out, they stopped doing it. And, AFAIK, no one in my entire extended family celebrates Xmas except for those married to non-Indians (which includes me :) ).

That being said, when I was with an ex who was muslim, me, her, and her jewish roommate would celebrate Xmas together... :) Definitely a cultural melting pot!

SG, my Hindu family celebrates Christmas with all the trimmings as well! My mom loves celebrating different holidays, Diwali, Vishu, Easter, Christmas....we even have a menorah and will make latkes on the first night of Hanukkah (I guess we're some of the original HinJews) ;-) And most of our family friends did the same thing, so I don't find it strange in the least.

Many secular Jews most certainly celebrate American Christmas; and those who observe Channukah with a "gift exchange" are merely imitating the consumer frenzy that is American Christmas. However, some people of all faiths resist the materialistic madness:

http://www.xmasresistance.org/

I agree, the true spirit of the season is long gone. But, I love that tree!!!

I guess it's up to the invididual/household to decide. I consciously choose not to celebrate xmas because I have studied the bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ, and members of my family are affiliated with various churches, despite my being Hindu. If the only reason to celebrate xmas is for the tree-presents-santa trinity, then I think it is just pandering for loot. So out of respect for other faiths, I don't want to join up on holidays just so I can get more loot, without having actual belief in the faith. As a kid, our teachers always talked about different holidays, as I grew up in a diverse area, but it didn't mean I wanted my parents to adopt them in our home.

When I have kids they may whine and fuss about wanting to celebrate xmas; I'll hook them up with loot at Diwali. I'll teach them about Hanukkah, Xmas, Kwanzaa, Eid, and every other holiday-- but they'll also know that Diwali is "our" holiday, traditionally. We can learn about other religions, and be appreciative and respectful. But I don't think we need to celebrate xmas in order to fit in, if the faith isn't there.

But this is just me-- my experiences drive me this way. I'm not bagging on anybody who celebrates any holiday.

One of my weirdest xmases was when I wasn't able to fly home, so me and my Jewish roommate got some dim sum and had a picnic in Golden Gate Park. Boy, we were the ONLY non-Asians (Chinese/Korean/Japanese, mostly) there! They musta been so happy to have the park entirely to themselves one day a year, without having to worry about showoff rollerskaters and tripping hippies. ;)

Seeing the om tree ads a few weeks ago, I offered to buy one for my brown muslim boyfriend since I won't be with him this xmas, but he rightfully rejected it on grounds of tackiness.

Recently saw an old "Goodness Gracious Me" episode where one bhangramuffin tries to explain to the other one that the three kings in the xmas tale are actually Punjabi, because they wear turbans, show up uninvited, and bring crap gifts that are of no use to the baby. There's also another quick sketch where Mr. "Everything Comes from India" keeps interrupting his daughter who's singing xmas carols -- all I remember is that he turns one song into "We three Singhs of Orient are..." ;)

Many secular Jews most certainly celebrate American Christmas; and those who observe Channukah with a "gift exchange" are merely imitating the consumer frenzy that is American Christmas.

i apologize if i made a misunderstaning there. what i mean what that began as a christian holiday, or at least so i was told. i dunno...i will be taking a different path, and won't be celebrating more than a community day type aspect of it when it comes for me. my mother and other relatives celebrate the holiday as it is, but my hubby's family doesn't really. we're looking forward to vaisakhi, but i congratulate anyone who is willing to celebrate multifaith holidays. when i was younger, my mum and i put up a seder, and learned a bit about jewish culture. but yeah, desi dnacer - good point - i too think it's up to the individual househoulds or people themselves to decide. the true spirit of christmas does sem to be all but gone - except here.

Recently saw an old "Goodness Gracious Me" episode where one bhangramuffin tries to explain to the other one that the three kings in the xmas tale are actually Punjabi, because they wear turbans, show up uninvited, and bring crap gifts that are of no use to the baby. There's also another quick sketch where Mr. "Everything Comes from India" keeps interrupting his daughter who's singing xmas carols -- all I remember is that he turns one song into "We three Singhs of Orient are..." ;)

is there a way to find a vid file of that? or dvd?

I'm not sure if they'll ship the DVDs over to the US, but a good place for you to start would be here.

God bless Seth Cohen. Chrismukka ---> Diwaleid.....

how many of you non-Christians celebrate Christmas?

I think our family did just so the kids wouldn't be all "how come the christian kids get presents and we don't????"

To be honest, I think people who live where there is a winter need a holiday to celebrate complete with preparations, food, parties, etc. - it gives you something to do when the days seem to be about 3 hours long.

... I think people who live where there is a winter...

Says the new Californian. We become weather-smug so quickly ;)

I agree, maisnon. Anything to get through winter. It's something to look forward to when it's damn cold - good times with friends and fam, good food, skiing/snowboarding, holidays. Plus it's an excuse to get in yer favourite snow bunny attire! tee hee. My pet peeve, though, is people who are only nice for a couple of weeks around Christmas - it's supposed to be 365 behaviour people!!!

it gives you something to do when the days seem to be about 3 hours long.

Welcome to mid-November in the UK.

It's absolutely freezing here right now, too. I can't believe it's almost 70 degrees in New York !

We celebrated Christmas too, and it may have had something to do with being buried in snow for months upon end. ;)

Actually, growing up, we had a slew of non-Christian Indian family friends in the area (the Northeast), and every one of them celebrated Christmas.

The "let's just make it through f**ing winter" reason for a holiday is totally acceptable. So then why not Festivus? It's open to all religions, includes stuffing yourself with yummy comfort foods, and you can't beat the Airing of Grievances!

Recently saw an old "Goodness Gracious Me" episode where one bhangramuffin tries to explain to the other one that the three kings in the xmas tale are actually Punjabi, because they wear turbans, show up uninvited, and bring crap gifts that are of no use to the baby. There's also another quick sketch where Mr. "Everything Comes from India" keeps interrupting his daughter who's singing xmas carols -- all I remember is that he turns one song into "We three Singhs of Orient are..." ;)

Hillarious!

Am I the only person here who celebrates Kwanzaa? It allows you to shop during the after Xmas sale specials ;)

DD you beat me to Festivus...I loved that episode.

Jai, I went to amy coworker and his partner's Diwanukkah party two years back ...menu of the day included latkes and samosas and menorahs and diyas fought for space on the mantle. great stuff.

I say a teenpatti- driedl mashup is in order.

DesiDancer, they didn't have Festivus when we were growing up. ;) My brother and I try to celebrate it once a year, arbitrarily, with a reading of grievances and some feats of strength.

Jai Singh or other UK'ers - totally off topic but how do I find out about desi events in the UK? I'm leaving this Saturday and can't find anything fun online.

Am I the only person here who celebrates Kwanzaa? It allows you to shop during the after Xmas sale specials ;)

Boxing Day!

Sonia,

A lot of things in Ingerlaanda tend to be "word of mouth", although it might help you to check this out too: Barfi Culture

They seem to have various links to UK-based desi events, along with their own discussion blog (divided according to topic) -- you can either ask people on the blog or alternatively email "Sunny" (address at the bottom of the homepage).

Here's another one I just found -- it's specifically a UK-desi networking & socialising "events" website: Kismetuk

Hope this helps ;)

Boxing Day!

Of course, the REAL boxing day keeps getting pushed forward. It may be technically the 26th, but the real clearance blowouts are after New Year's. Unless you want something really bad and don't wanna take the chance it'll be gone...

My family never really celebrated x-mas, we were always to busy delivering flowers the day before and taking inventory on the day of.(the joys of growing up with parents who were in retail). I spent all my winter breaks (1st grade - college) going to the store and helping out.

Come to think of it, we really didn’t celebrate diwali all to much either, aside from the pooja’s and some money that I was never allowed to spend anyways. haha

Ovaltine writes:

>>My family never really celebrated x-mas, we were always to busy delivering flowers ... taking inventory

I think you were celebrating xmas - just differently! Who says celebration has to be with conifer trees, decorations etc etc? Going Ka-ching on your parents' cash register was probably the best way to celebrate!

M. Nam

it detracts from the true meaning of Christmas, which is to celebrate the birth of Santa Claus.

Funny, comment #7.

My Hindu fam. also gives gifts at Christmas. And my Hindu grandma in India reflexively folds her hands in prayer when she passes a Christian church. Holy is holy, I guess, and a holiday's a holiday. And Jesus is magic.

These days, my enlightened friends and I only celebrate Kwanzaannukahmasalidan.

I love this tree.

thanks jai! if not, i can try bbc america. but i'm almost sure they would!

I can't believe it's almost 70 degrees in New York !

i can'rt believe that either. one state down, and it's in the 30's. what the??? man....(pattie walks of grumbling)

that's cool, celebrating kwanzaa too!

... I think people who live where there is a winter...

Says the new Californian. We become weather-smug so quickly ;)

I did the "lake effect snow" thing for 5 years, I've earned my weather-smugness! ;)

Thanks, PK, I didn't know Christ-mas was Christ-ian.

It's called 'bad analogy' if you must ;)

ack! you caught pattie before her coffee! ooohh.how slow i am sometimes...well, ya gave me a laugh!

Recently saw an old "Goodness Gracious Me" episode....

does anyone know which season that episode would be from??? thanks!

Thanks Jai =) I'll check it out.

You're welcome Sonia -- and make sure you bring some warm clothing (for both daytime and evening/night-time), because the temperature's recently begun plummeting and it's 0 degrees during the nights in London.

Have a great trip anyway -- and make sure you visit Southall, if you haven't been there before -- you'll find it an interesting experience ;)

Don't remind me of the cold! My poor family is coming out from sunny california and they're freaking out. My sister just bought her first pair of boots. And yes, my mom definitely has Southall on the agenda =)

Sonia, if you're flying in from tropical California then I'm afraid the climate here really is going to be a huge shock for you ! (it's getting colder every day).

South Asians are the biggest non-white ethnic group here (replace Californian Hispanics with desis and you'll get the idea), and British South Asian culture is very heavily Punjabi-dominated -- significantly more so than in the US, apparently. If you've never been here before then you may find it quite an intriguing experience in some ways.

Southall has a beautiful, famous and very large gurdwara (apart from the [in]famous Broadway), and there's also a nice restaurant there called Madhu's which you and your mother should try to check out -- it's regarded as being the best Indian restaurant in the country.

Anyway -- again, have a fantastic trip. Welcome to the UK ;)

Southall has a beautiful, famous and very large gurdwara...

... as well as another famous place of worship, Glassy Junction ;)

Entire sociology papers have been written about this place, which depending upon your point of view, is either a bold outpost of the Punjab diaspora, or just a joyous explosion of bad taste.

Historical Aspect ..

Christ was named after Lord Krishna (who appeared on the planet 5500 yrs ago as the 8th Incarnation of Lord Vishnu) by his family. His first name is Jesus which is for Esus ( Lord Eswara/Shiva). His family followed Sanatana Dharma like rest of the world during his time.

Even before Jesus was born 'Krishna-Mas' was celebrated. Margasira Month (comes during December) is the favorite month of Krishna (as said in BhagavadGita and other Puranic/ancient verses). In Sanskrit, Month is called 'Mas/Masa'. Hence during December it is celebrated as Krishna-Mas, which later used as 'Christ-Mas' after Jesus (as he is a self-realized soul and became mirror image of Lord Krishna).

This is also the reason why KrishnaMas/ChristMas used to be celebrated during whole month of December than just One day.

Why do people celebrate Christmas, if they are not Christian?
I do not understand. Why don't Hindu people that live out of India celebrate Diwali with much joy and presents and stuff as they do during Chirstmas? You can not believe in 2 relgions, because it does not make sense too. You have to be dumb to believe in 2 relgions. Most of the non-christian people celebrate Chirstmas, just to fit in with the majority. Why? Why, cant we be strong and be proud of our holidays?
I do not see Christains celebrating Diwali?
But watever, i guess, Indian people do what white people say. If an Indian advises another fellow Indian, that man will most likely not listen. But if a white man advises the same thing, then he will do it.

Why do people celebrate Christmas, if they are not Christian?

Time off work ;)

hindu, i find your post a bit puzzling or perhaps you've made me reflect on cultural & religious assimilation in today's ever-changing and increasingly commercialised societies.

i don't think it's dumb to believe in one or several religions, if you delve inwards and observe the underlying points for why the religion is formulated in the first place. religion is having faith/belief in higher power(s) and meant to be a form of guidance during troubling times. sure, today there is a conformation and rapid commercialization process - people have eroded the meaning behind christmas and many other holidays. but as long as there is a sense of reflection and understanding of the reason behind the holiday and its significance then maybe humanity hasn't veered completely off course.

"But watever, i guess, Indian people do what white people say. If an Indian advises another fellow Indian, that man will most likely not listen. But if a white man advises the same thing, then he will do it."

hmm....that's just open ground for confrontation, isn't it? it'd help if we could go beyond the colour of skin and dissect the truth behind it. how much have we really progressed with the turning of the millenium? i'd like to think we're beyond our colonial histories and fixations. have we regressed all that much?

Why, cant we be strong and be proud of our holidays?

Thats a usual, misplaced notion of bring 'strong'.

1. Celebrating something thats not strictly a Hindu tradition is not the same thing as being 'weak'. It just means you're more accommodating and accepting of other faiths/beliefs. Or maybe you just want to snatch an(other) opportunity to exchange presents with your friends & family. Nothing wrong with that.
Does wearing western clothes such as shirts/trousers as opposed to kurtas or whatever make you weak?

2. Deciding to celebrate only something thats followed by people from your own background does not make you 'strong'. It just makes you a narrow-minded fundamentalist nut. Extend this notion and you will end up with the roots to just about every form of bigotry. ("Lets be 'strong' and proud of our race & kick out everyone else", "Lets use our masculine 'strength' and keep all women from voting", "Lets find 'strength' in saffron flags and kill anyone who dont follow our religion" etc.)

I do not see Christains celebrating Diwali?

Thats just a juvenile attitude to take. "If they dont celebrate Diwali, we shouldnt celebrate Christmas" sounds very much like you are advocating that we blindly follow what 'they' do. (Read your own sentence a couple of lines later: "But if a white man advises the same thing, then he will do it." Whos preaching to who eh?)