Not so long ago India was a secular country. It could also be that when I left India as the age of 16, I had led a sheltered life and having been brought up in a relatively liberal household and studied at a school where all religions and caste (yes, that’s a thing in India) children went had colored my world view. But I would like to believe not, simply relying on the fact that when I talk to people from my generation who went to different schools and lived in different cities, they too echo the same views as mine.
So back when India was secular and we all respected each others’ religion and coexisted (some what) harmoniously, we wished each other on all festivals. I have memories of wishing my friends’ “Merry Christmas” when not a single friend of mine was Christian. Similarly, wishing Eid Mubarak, Happy Diwali, and so on and so forth.
Heck, most Indians love celebrating so much, that as long as there was free food involved they will happily participate in and celebrate whatever festival you might be celebrating. As far as I can recall all festivals got equal screen-time. Not to deny that India is primarily a Hindu country and Hindus do have a million different festivals. So on that account they do end up having a lot more celebrations but being a born into a Hindu family never meant that we were not allowed to celebrate festivals of other faiths.
Only when I moved to the U.S., I learned that everyone here had collectively decided to say, “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”. I didn’t understand ‘why’ back then but having spoken to people and read a few articles on the topic since, I can now understand that some non-Christians feel alienated. Today, I understand that in America no other religious holiday gets celebrated nationally or even gets a day off. And the fact that their festivals do not get as much attention, it makes people resentful.
While I don’t practice any religion and don’t believe in any one God, I still don’t have a problem wishing Merry Christmas. Personally, I feel wishing someone about something they believe in does not affect my views or invalidate my beliefs. I guess, my old Indian habits will die hard.
Here’s wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!
Photography by Nico
Location - Shops at Wisconsin Place
Skirt - Alice + Olivia via Bloomingdale's // Same
Top - Alice + Olivia via Bloomingdale's // Similar
Tights - Falke // Similar
Shoes - Dolce Vita // Another
Earrings - Better
