Dates of Interest
Happy Christmas 4 All
Published date: 9th December 2011
When I was a child our family always liked Christmas time, even if we didn’t celebrate it the way that Christians would. Depending on what was going on, we’d sometimes have a tree or presents or a turkey dinner.
The story of Jesus, Mary and the virgin birth is very important in the Islamic tradition even if we don’t believe that Jesus was the Son of God. My parents taught me that although we did not agree with all parts of the nativity story, we should not disrespect the values and beliefs of others. We were told to show our disagreements respectfully and politely. I have been to carol services, at school or later with Christian friends. My children have also appeared in nativity plays at their school, just as I did when I was school.
Christmas is a special time in that it is an important part of our cultural calendar. The whole country rallies around this time of the year, and that creates something quite special that goes beyond (even if it is linked to) the basic Christian message of Christmas. People of all faiths can tap into the Christmas spirit of giving and sharing, being with family and thinking about others.
We decided to set up the Happy Christmas 4All campaign because we were getting tired of all the bizarre stories of ‘Christmas being banned’ or underplayed for reasons of political correctness. Often these stories are created or overblown by elements of the tabloid press.
The campaign was initiated by Phoenix, a broad coalition of people of different faiths, atheists and agnostics; people from the left and right of the political spectrum. It’s important that ordinary non-Christians stand up and make their voices heard. Christmas is something that we all have a lot of respect for. It’s not something that we’d like to see disappear from our religious and cultural landscape.
You too can join the Happy Christmas 4All group on Facebook.
Dilwar Hussain
President
