I am a Buddhist so I could be forgiven for growing up
thinking that Christmas was a festival; made up, as I said, of greeting cards, Christmas
trees, carols and such. It didn’t take
long, however, for me to understand that there was a lot more to Christmas than
the glitter. After factoring out frill, myth and appropriation, there’s still
so much of value in the story of Jesus Christ and not just for those who see
him as ‘Son of God’, ‘Saviour’ etc. At
least, that’s my impression, from my reading of the Bible and understanding of relevant
ecclesiastical matters. This is perhaps
why Christmas appears to me as a monumental fiction.
No, I am not opposed to the celebration, the cheer and
festive spirit, not at Christmas nor on any other day. That’s a right and it is healthy too.
Down-in-the-mouth is not exactly my cup of tea.
I worry, though, whether this is all it is for the vast majority of
Christians. I have no way of knowing of
course about what Christians do in the in-betweens, befores and afters of
‘Christmassing’. I see a lot of crass
commercialization, spectacle and bucks exchanging hands. Maybe what is not seen outweighs several time
what is seen. Maybe not.
I can only speak of how I, a Buddhist, understand Christmas
or rather what I do on Christmas. This
morning I got a Christmas greeting. From a Buddhist. Jinadasa Liyanaratne’s email message was as
follows: ‘This is to wish you and all members of your family a merry
Christmas and a very happy and bright New Year.
Although I am a Buddhist (or because I am a Buddhist!) I have great
respect for Jesus Christ and his message of love. It is rather a pity that Christians pay more
attention to the Réveillon (Christmas supper)
than to the spiritual aspect of the occasion.’
As I said, I
don’t know what the average Christian does before and after Christmas
supper. I had never heard the word ‘Réveillon’ before either. As I
always do when encountering the unfamiliar, I ‘looked up’. ‘Réveillon’ means ‘awakening’ in French and refers to an elaborate meal
taken after attending midnight mass on Christmas Eve. Apparently, in the past, it marked the end of
the four-week ‘Advent’ fast. I never
thought, until today, that ‘fast’ was even remotely associated with
‘Christmas’.
‘Fast’ is
made of a certain kind of denial and is usually associated with a determination
to devote time to reflection on the fundamental tenets of one’s religious
convictions. It is a time to reflect on
frailties, on error to self, other and (if one so believes) to god. It is a determination to devote time to
meditate on the eternal verities, obtain a sense of proportion on worldly and
spiritual things. It is a time to be
penitent; not just ask for forgiveness (from those who are believed to possess
the authority to judge and confer forgiveness) but to grieve, to sigh (if one
went to the relevant Hebrew word) and commit oneself to changing ways, call it
‘to see God’ if you will.
One does not
have to be a theist to do all these things, or at least to obtain from
Christmas that something that makes one a better Buddhist or Muslim, for
example. We all have things to grieve
over. We all have done and said things we ought to feel ashamed about. We all have reasons to reflect. We can all be
better than who we are right now. Jesus
Christ’s life was one of generosity. It was one of humility. He sighed.
This
Christmas I will reflect on Jesus Christ, the beautiful man that he was and the
remarkable life he led. I believe
feasting would interrupt or disturb my meditation. I shall fast.
*First published in the 'Daily News' on December 25, 2010
Malinda Seneviratne is a journalist who can be reached at
msenevira@gmail.com
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