Brown Girl Magazine
  • Home
  • Trending
    • In the News
    • Feminism
    • Politics
  • Entertainment
    • Bollywood
    • East-Meets-West
    • Filmy Buzz
    • Music
    • Cinema
    • BG Poetry
    • Good Reads
  • Culture
    • Social Activism
    • Breaking Taboos
    • Colonial Effects
    • Humanities
    • Identity
    • Indo-Caribbean
    • Tradition
  • Lifestyle
    • Beauty Buzz
    • Fashion
    • Foodie
    • Career
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    • Women’s Health
    • Clean Eats
    • Fitness 101
  • Relationships
    • Dating
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Marriage
    • Sexuality
  • Community
    • BG Youth
    • Black Lives Matter
    • USA
    • United Kingdom
    • Canada
    • South Asia
    • Spotlight
  • Brown Boy
  • Listen
shop
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Trending
    • In the News
    • Feminism
    • Politics
  • Entertainment
    • Bollywood
    • East-Meets-West
    • Filmy Buzz
    • Music
    • Cinema
    • BG Poetry
    • Good Reads
  • Culture
    • Social Activism
    • Breaking Taboos
    • Colonial Effects
    • Humanities
    • Identity
    • Indo-Caribbean
    • Tradition
  • Lifestyle
    • Beauty Buzz
    • Fashion
    • Foodie
    • Career
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    • Women’s Health
    • Clean Eats
    • Fitness 101
  • Relationships
    • Dating
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Marriage
    • Sexuality
  • Community
    • BG Youth
    • Black Lives Matter
    • USA
    • United Kingdom
    • Canada
    • South Asia
    • Spotlight
  • Brown Boy
  • Listen
shop
No Result
View All Result
Brown Girl Magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home Culture

I’m Hindu But I Still Love Christmas

Brown Girl Magazine by Brown Girl Magazine
August 12, 2022
in Culture
0 0
0
I’m Hindu But I Still Love Christmas
0
SHARES
1
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

by Subrina Singh

My family has always celebrated Christmas in a very grandiose fashion. Our carefully planned decorated Christmas goes up every year during the first week of November and we celebrate the holiday season with family gatherings, gift exchanges and of course a variety of delicious foods. Most of my most precious memories have been made on Christmas and it was only in second grade that I questioned why a Hindu family even celebrates Christmas to begin with.

[Read Related: Embracing Second-Generation Cultural Identities in the Holiday Season]

We celebrated the primary Hindu holidays, Diwali and Holi, but never as lavishly as we celebrated Christmas. Each family member, including my parents, gave me the same explanation: Colonialism. They said, in both Guyana and Trinidad (pre-independence) Christianity was encouraged, especially during holidays such as Easter and Christmas. It all made sense, it had become a tradition. I had accepted and embraced Christmas as my own holiday since childhood and as an adult, although I am not Christian I am still completely obsessed with Christmas. For me, it’s not about the gifts. I know for most people that can be the main attraction of the holiday, but for me, it’s about the spirit, the magic and love.

Growing up, I believed in Santa. It was exciting to receive gifts and special surprises from Saint Nick but moreover, I loved the magical aspect of the whole process, the elves, letters to the North Pole and flying reindeer. Call it whimsical, but it’s nice to have something to believe in. Watching Christmas movies only enhanced the idea of Santa Clause. The entire season becomes magical, people find beauty in simplicity, like lights. There is no other time in the year that adults are so captivated by trees and bows.

[Read Related: 9 Hollywood (and Bollywood) Movies You Should Watch this Christmas]

The Christmas spirit is like no other. Especially in today’s society, it’s rare to feel genuine happiness from people. We live in a depressing world where each day we turn on the news and something terrible is happening. Indeed, terrible events don’t subside on Christmas but generosity increases. People around the world begin to care more about others, make donations and care about those in need. Needless to say, this is the type of humanity that should exist year round but at least we have one season a year that provides a sense of hope in humanity.

Christmas is also one of the most romantic times of the year. Maybe, it’s from all the Hallmark Christmas movies I’ve watched over the years, but I truly believe that everything about Christmas promotes love–even if it’s platonic love it truly brings people together. The entire holiday season is about spending time with people you care about.

[Read Related: 10 Mindfulness Tips for Coping with the Holiday Season]

Over the years, I have compared how I feel during the Christmas season to other holidays and I’ve come to the conclusion there is nothing quite like this season. My nephew recently asked me why people celebrated Christmas and I explained to him that Christmas celebrates the birth of a man named, Jesus, a man who taught love, peace and kindness. My religion (Hinduism) has taught me to celebrate and honor great stories or katha and pay homage to people who have done great things. So even though, I do not celebrate the Christmas in a religious form, the teachings and the story behind the holiday still feel alive, regardless of faith. After all, love, peace and kindness, are the greatest aspects of being human.


Subrina SinghSubrina Singh is a passionate young writer. After completing her degree in all things Indian at Stony Brook University, she is now pursuing her Master’s Degree at Columbia University. More recently, she has become committed to using her experience with mental illness to help better the mental-health awareness within the South Asian community. Subrina enjoys writing, reading and drinking Starbuck’s Passion Tea Lemonade while singing Bollywood hits of the Golden Era. Follow Subrina on Twitter for her reactions to Pretty Little Liars every Tuesday night!

Tags: christmashinduholidayssubrina singh

Recent Posts

  • Sun and Skincare: South Asian Beauty Influencers Share Their Summer Season Must-Haves
  • Kayan Opens up About her Music Artistry
  • Decoding Dopamine Dressing This Summer
  • In Conversation With Ashok Amritraj: Celebrating his 40-Year Legacy
  • Enduring the Fight for Freedom

Recent Comments

  1. Op-Ed: Rihanna, Savage X Fenty, and the Continued Misuse and Disrespect of Hinduism on Dark Goddesses and me: Religious Colorism in Hindu India
  2. Celebrating International Mother Language Day and Multilingualism on On Language and Home: Revisiting Jhumpa Lahiri’s ‘In Other Words’
  3. What International Mother Language Day Means to British Bangladeshis on Celebrating International Mother Language Day with Self Reflection and Reclaiming One’s Bangladeshi Identity
  4. Book Review: Understanding Public Health on Deeper Level with 'Health Care of a Thousand Slights' by Anjana Sreedhar on Pursuing Inspiration: Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Health Care, and Self-Care
  5. Book Review: ‘ZOM-FAM’ by Kama La Mackerel on Grazing Over Pages of Identities Unmilked: ‘The Cowherd’s Son’
Facebook-f Twitter Instagram Youtube Envelope

About

Founded as an online publication in 2008, Brown Girl Magazine is a multimedia company based in New York City with global reach dedicated to South Asian self-expression, cultural anchoring, and dialogue.
Through diverse, multimedia content and community building, we empower and engage those who identify as a part of the South Asian diaspora with a hyphenated identity.

Subscribe To The Spark

A curated newsletter full of dinner-table worthy topics, thought provoking stories, promo codes and the spiciest memes straight to your inbox.

Categories

  • Entertainment
  • Culture
  • Lifestyle
  • Health
  • Relationships
  • Community
  • Brown Boy

©Copyright Brown Girl Magazine Inc.

  • Company
  • About
  • Contact
  • Join
  • Advertise
  • Sponsored Content
  • Privacy Policy
  • Term of use
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Trending
    • In the News
    • Feminism
    • Politics
  • Entertainment
    • Bollywood
    • East-Meets-West
    • Filmy Buzz
    • Music
    • Cinema
    • BG Poetry
    • Good Reads
  • Culture
    • Social Activism
    • Breaking Taboos
    • Colonial Effects
    • Humanities
    • Identity
    • Indo-Caribbean
    • Tradition
  • Lifestyle
    • Beauty Buzz
    • Fashion
    • Foodie
    • Career
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    • Women’s Health
    • Clean Eats
    • Fitness 101
  • Relationships
    • Dating
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Marriage
    • Sexuality
  • Community
    • BG Youth
    • Black Lives Matter
    • USA
    • United Kingdom
    • Canada
    • South Asia
    • Spotlight
  • Brown Boy
  • Listen

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?
Go to mobile version