Christmas can conflict with other beliefs....

It has been hard for Jewish people living in a country with a majority of Christians. Their children get caught up in the colour and glitter of Christmas, yet Jews do not accept that Jesus Christ was their Messiah. This is what Christianity teaches, but Jews have not accepted it. Therefore, Jews do not want their children celebrating what to them was an error. (You probably know that Jesus was born a Jew.) As they have Hannukah about this time of year they have dressed it up with candles, gifts and a "Hannukah Bush" which is a substitute Christmas tree. You can see from this that it is not easy for Jews or people of other non-Christian religions to be swept nto the Christian culture by the glitter of Christmas, and that they have problems that they have to work out. The attraction of Christmas to their children is of great concern to them.

It has been hard for people of African descent too. They wanted something that was particular to their heritage, and not something western, and so they have Kwanzaa at this time of year.

It is also hard for athiests to have themsleves and their children swept up into a religious celebration.

Maybe this is part of the reason that has helped the secularization of Christmas. This secularization has caused much of the fine, deep meaning to be erased and it is often a shallow, materialistic, sad time for many. It may seem fun to many of you, but it could erase your cultural heritage, just as MacDonalds, and KFC and other things can do so. You need to think about it carefully. It is a great money-making time for store owners and suppliers to make a lot of money. It is also a time when people get into heavy debt. Be careful what you do.

I think it is a pity to see something very fine and lovely turned into something so totally materialistic.

Happy Holidays! Mary, writing from Canada