Christmas in London

Christmas in London is definitely one of my favourite times of year − the atmosphere of happiness, good will and joy is truly heart-warming. As a Muslim, I do not celebrate Christmas, but I do enjoy the festive season. Watching nostalgic films on TV that emphasise the importance of family and love and making the annual trip to Oxford Street and Regent Street to see the Christmas lights have been part of my Christmas routine ever since I can remember; not for any particular religious reason, but because it gives me joy.

 

However, as a Muslim, Christmas is not merely that. I too celebrate the Virgin Mary’s birth of Jesus, just not on a particular day, and not in the way my Christian brothers and sisters do or in the way that Christmas is celebrated in popular culture. I celebrate it differently. My holy book, the Quran, has an entire chapter on Mary, in fact it’s called the Chapter of Maryam (The Arabic for Mary). In this Chapter the story of Jesus’ birth is written in perhaps more detail than in the New Testament. Although there are some differences in the details, it carries forward the same tremendous miraculous story, our Lady the Virgin Mary’s pregnancy and birth of Jesus as well as some of the miracles that Jesus performed.

 

During Christmas I am reminded of these two significant figures, Mary and Jesus, and I send peace and blessings upon them. I pray that God brings me closer to them, in this life through my character and faith and in the hereafter in heaven – I pray that through them I attain closeness to His majesty. I know that my Christian brothers and sisters pray for this too and the knowledge of that brings peace to my heart. For Christmas is a reminder for the faithful of the blessed characters who brought faith to those before us, brought those before us to God and continue to fill our hearts with faith and bring us closer to our Lord.

 

So, though it saddens me to see how commercialised Christmas has become and how to many it has lost any religious significance, it pleases me to be reminded that there are those who celebrate the blessed figures of Mary and Jesus, like myself, and celebrate it as a time to gain proximity to the Almighty God.

 

Noor Owainati