Nawaz Yasin Islam on the two facets of happiness this Christmas
Christmas is best enjoyed when it isn’t centred on decorations, gifts, or festivities, but when love is at its core. Love is the essence of Christmas. Christmas should mean taking quality time with your family and friends. It’s about cherishing and celebrating the love you share.”
– Jesus Christ
KONG THEI won’t be buying any Christmas gifts for herself this year.
The 31-year-old housemaid from Nongthymmai has to focus on meeting the bare necessities of her four-year-old son who just started going to school and being a single mother without any financial assistance from any quarter, Kong Thei has to calculate every penny that leaves her purse.
“It’s hard to make ends meet but I try to save some money so that I can keep that little smile on my son’s face forever. I don’t want to make him feel that he is not as lucky as the others,” she said, adding that the sparkling smile of her son was the one gift that she treasured the most.
Christmas for Kong Thei does not bring about that surge of excitement that literally propels the people who are in a position to throw some notes in the air!
Sandra Sawian (named changed on request) is going bonkers with the big day approaching. The 20-year-old resident of Lumparing is going all out to ensure that this Christmas goes down in her books as the biggest event of the year.
“Well, I have ordered the cakes, bought the nicest dress possible and I am yet to complete decorating the 6-foot Christmas tree at home,” she exclaimed while informing that maybe she could indulge in a few more extras here and there.
The two extremities of celebrations within the same hometown presents a platform which can bring about a lot of unanswered questions while at the same time open our eyes in the directions less seen.
Is the current trend of celebrations during Christmas really about celebrating the joy and happiness associated with the birth of Jesus Christ or does the excitement merely revolve around the hype of a commercialized and overtly emphasized Santa?
The Christmas of the past was once a beautiful celebration of the birth of Christ. Families would come together to enjoy the holidays in a peaceful, loving environment but with every passing year, the ‘sub-standard’ families shy away from celebrating in the open with a fear of being looked down upon.
Christmas brings with it, kindness and sympathy which are as non-existent as a real Santa in the face of this earth. There is no harm sparing a thought to answer some of the basic and yet very pertinent questions:
1. Is business and money the prime reason for Christmas festivities to last for over a month?
2. Does the lengthening of the holiday season proportionately spread out the joy and tradition associated with Christmas?
3. Are we turning into mere artefacts of pomp and gaiety forgetting the humble message?
4. Is Christmas all about adorning oneself with the best of clothes and scents rather than filling someone else’s life with a sense of fulfilment ad an aura of joy?
The onset of this season is evident from the carefree spurge into shopping that entails spending thousands after thousands to be in the devoted race called ‘celebrations’.
The Lord arranged for his son, Christ to be born in abject poverty, primarily because he came to give hope to the hopeless and bring cheer to the poor. It is acceptable that we cannot enact the grief and poverty struck scene by walking around in tattered clothes but we can surely spare a thought for the helpless and destitute.
Christmas comes in different forms for both the families. “Christmas to me is about spending some quality family time and also giving back,” said Sawian who has plans to cut a certain portion of her expenditure for the needy. The simple question on how she likes to celebrate this festival comes with the expected reply of, “Food, cakes and music… not to forget the decorations.”
Kong Thei on the other hand answers with a similar cheer even though her preparations and manner of observing Christmas does not comprise half of what Sawian’s family does. “A simple meal is all that I can afford and yes I do save up to buy some woollen garments but even if I could afford, I don’t think that i would ever spend so much on the glamour of this festival and will buy clothes only if needed.”
The debate on values and traditions that are synonymous to Christmas is also pretty interesting. “Sometimes people do get over their head…with all the attention revolving around what dress to what design! The basics of ‘giving’ and ‘forgiving’ is lost in many occasions,” said Sawian whose views seem to be seconded by Kong Thei.
The tricky question for the ‘haves’ was whether spending exceeded needs. No matter how hard one tries to conceal, it is evident that a large amount of spending could possibly be reduced. “Yes, I can’t deny that be it food or decoration, we do buy in bulk which many a times go waste but these are certain things that you can’t actually measure can you?,” questions Sawian who has a tinge of guilt feeling overcoming her towards the end of her answer.
Kong Thei on the other hand feels that the festival could have been much simpler. “With every passing year, I see that in the houses that I have worked, the people make it a point to spend more than what they did the previous year…never made sense to me but it might mean a lot to them.” She also conveyed the fact that going to Church was the other challenge that a lot of people in her situation faced.
“You should see the stylish people these days at any service. At times they look down upon us but then I tell myself, we are children of the same God and in his eyes, we are always one. I try to ignore most of the happenings around me,” said Kong Thei.
We should not live in the misconception that the doors to the house of God remain open only to the clean, polished and refined worshippers and not for the dirt covered children of a lesser God. Everyone is same in his eyes and it is up to us as to how we can make this joyous occasion worth being remembered, not just for us but for everyone.
May this Christmas bring us closer to the spirit of human understanding, closer to genuine peace and reconciliation, closer to a recognition and acceptance of our common humanity. No greater birthday present could we offer Him.