Religious Appropriation?

2020 has been a tough year. It’s a year where we lost our jobs, our freedom and for far too many of us, our loved ones. And as the year come’s to an end, much of the country looks forward to Christmas. The jewel of the crown of the Christian calendar. However, it is not the spirituality of this most revered occasion of the Christian tradition which lures so many, rather it’s a somewhat uncomfortable call to consumerism and an excess of everything under the guise of family, charity and what looks great on TV advertisements.

In recent times Christmas has been sabotaged by the idea that it is simply a holiday season for all. That no longer does it have a religious significance in the secular reality of contemporary Britain. It is notably seen in the countless retailers trying to showcase people of all traditions engaging in the ‘festive spirit’, which has been diluted down to simply shopping and entertainment.

As one would expect, as the retailers have courted outside of the traditional markets, we have seen many minority groups feel that they need to show their ‘Britishness’ through partaking in Christmas. A participating which again is simply drowned in consumerism and excess, with dinners no one can finish, trees that will be made and decorated by the fruits of child labour and countless unwanted presents. This brings us to an uncomfortable reality of two paradigms:

1.    Does Christianity need to let its core beliefs of Christmas go, to let the claim that it is actually a secular shopping festival prevail and widen participation?

2.    Do minorities really need to show their Britishness through their willingness to participate in the Godless Christmas that is now available in every retailer on and offline?

Neither of these scenarios work in all truth. They are unfair on Christianity and they are unrequired of Non-Christians.

Today, we have a Hindu Chancellor and Home Secretary and a flourishing Hindu community. Do we all need to participate in the current Diwali season to be able to respect the tradition and its adherents? No. Should the Hindu community have to surrender the deep religious and spiritual traditions of this festival to make it easier for wider civil society to engage? No. Similarly, Hanukkah will soon be upon us. Should the Jewish community have to abandon its deep spiritual dimension and ceremony to ease access to it? No. And should wider civil society be able to see it as simply an occasion for gift giving to engage? The answer is a resounding ‘No’ again.

Just like we now recognise cultural misappropriation, we should acknowledge religious misappropriation. Christmas is a Christian tradition. It is a central part of the faith for its mass and should be respected by us all for that. Contemporary Christianity sees Christmas as a day to commemorate the day of the great birth of Jesus Christ.

 ‘And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.’ Luke 2.7 (ESV)

If we want to shop, binge watch and overeat while we have time off, that is a different issue, but do we need to hijack Christmas to do that? If you are of another religion, bring life to your traditions and let civil society benefit from the wonderful tapestry of culture and traditions the UK is now home to. Christmas is not like Eid, Vaisakhi or any other religious festival. Christmas is like Christmas and should be. Eid should be like Eid Should be. And every religious tradition should take pride in their rituals and help others understand. Better understanding each other’s differences and traditions makes us stronger. Greater efforts to dilute our identities makes us all weaker, as, God created us different to enable the universal values of humanity to manifest.

‘Oh mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of God is the most righteous of you. Indeed, God is Knowing and Acquainted.’ (Quran, 49:13)