Christmas spirit transcends faith

[suchandra]

Good point , Christmas spirit transcends faith of many Hindus, transcending especially the limited understanding that a departed Vaishnava cannot initiate anymore, is an important lesson for many Hindus.

 

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25 Dec 2008, 0158 hrs IST, Arkadev Ghoshal, TNN

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Nagpur/Christmas_spirit_transcends_faith/articleshow/3888561.cms

 

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</td></tr></tbody></table>NAGPUR: Few things that can bring a smile on a person’s face as quickly as a gift. Even lesser if the gift is a surprise. Probably for this reason, coupled with the benevolent figure of Saint Nicholas, alias Santa, the quintessentially Christian festival of Christmas now transcends religious boundaries and is accepted as a universal one.

 

Incidentally, Christmas is by no means the only universally accepted religious holiday. According to the Bible, God worked for six days to create the world and rested on the seventh. This is Sunday, the day everybody looks forward to.

 

Christmas though, unlike Sunday, is more than just a day off for people who follow other religions. “I have two children who are overjoyed just at the sight of a Santa Claus! They associate this festival with gifts and a lot of warmth. They are as jubilant while celebrating Christmas as Diwali and my whole family is infected by their exuberance,” says Sudhir Madavi, a government servant who otherwise considers himself a staunch Hindu.

 

Youngsters are no less enthusiastic. “Christmas provides a nice opportunity to give a gift to a loved one. Also, the fact that the New Year is only a week away makes for a wonderful opportunity to spend time with people you may not have met the year round,” explains Ramesh Sontakke, a college student out to buy a few Christmas cards.

 

Others, like Manisha Dhotre, also a student, are cake aficionados. They derive great pleasure in biting into the baked breads filled with nuts and plum. “Christmas has become as much a part of our celebrations as any other festival. I am invited each year by a few Christian friends to their house and we break bread together and wallow in the warmth and laughter that engulfs their house,” she says.