After I described our Christmas celebration in yesterday’s and day before yesterday’s diary entries, some people were surprised that we actually celebrate Christmas. When this question came up, I answered lightly that we take every reason we can to celebrate. And of course it is true, look at what we have celebrated in the last year: New Year, Holi, Easter, Janmashtami which is Krishna’s birthday, Radhashtami which is Radha’s birthday, Diwali, Advent, Christmas and of course we will celebrate New Year’s Eve. You could as well count everybody’s birthday which we celebrated and each full moon day because we had a full moon meditation each time.
Of course there is more to it than just presents and good food. When I say ‘a reason to celebrate’ I mean to have one more occasion on which everybody is happy, everybody is together and we do something that lets us all feel the love among each other. So if someone close to me suggests to celebrate a certain occasion which he or she loves to celebrate in a certain way, I will be happy to join because a happy atmosphere, joy and laughter unites people.
As I don’t believe in any religion, I actually have the choice: I can either decide not to celebrate any religious occasion or to celebrate every occasion. I believe that all religions are one. For me there is only one God that unites them all and that is love. If someone comes and tells me that their God personifies love, their God or their God’s son has a message of love to spread among people, as I heard of Jesus Christ, and everybody would like to celebrate the birth of this man of love, why should I not join this celebration? We are celebrating love. While we were exchanging gifts and later when we were sitting at the fire, I felt emotional several times, simply because of this love that everybody has for each other.
So why not celebrate love, without the limit and boundary if you belong to a certain tradition or not?
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I personally don’t care very much for holidays, though I observe some of them minimally. I think instead that all days should be approached with a spirit of joy and celebration. And the rituals around many holidays seem arbitrary to me, and often not making sense. For instance, if one wants to celebrate the continuation of life through the Winter months, why cut down a beautiful tree and bring it inside a house to die? As for Christmas, just greeting friends, a nice meal together and maybe some special classical holiday music for a day or two is enough for me.
Deniz! I tend to agree withyou, though I do love an excuse for a party. 😀
Good choice swami ji! Celebrate away!
Hi Deniz,We didn’t write that but our tree consisted of five small trees, all still in their pots where they will grow until they are big enough to come into the garden 🙂
And someday we will have to go to the tree to celebrate instead of bringing it to us…
Swami Ji mentioned that in earlier times this was like this and that even now in Hinduism they started cutting trees for rituals in their homes, just because it is more comfortable than going to the tree.
Love
Ramona and Swami, What I terrific idea to celebrate with potted trees that will then be planted to grow wonderfully in the coming years. So good to hear that you appreciated my point about this even before I told you!
It is true, why not? we are all welcome in this celebration 🙂
WAW! Swami it seems like you have a better understanding of the reason to celebrate Christmas than most Christians do today 🙂
Thank you Paulin for your inspiration for writing this blog. Love
I do like very much what you wrote, there is only one good just be seen in different ways by the people. Love should unite them all.
Love
Armin
What a great idea! I am trying to imagine my friends and neighbors celebrating Christmas by going into the woods and standing under or next to an evergreen. That would be amazing for many reasons.
So many lights but can’t outshine Diwali.Can you post a link to photos?
It is interesting that many holidays were started by pagan traditions (celebrating the earth, the seasons, and the cosmos). Christmas was originally a pagan holiday, honoring the winter solstice. Christians later adopted Christmas, claiming that it celebrated Jesus’ birth, even though it’s not on the day of his birth. Holi, as well, was a holiday that celebrated the harvesting of crops and the welcoming of spring. Hinduism then adopted the holiday and wrote a story about it for religious texts.
Though some people celebrate holidays for religious purposes, many people will continue to honor the earth, our families, and love, which will outlast the religious purposes for holidays.