Opinion: Celebrating Christmas and Diwali is our holiday tradition

Transcription

1 Opinion: Celebrating Christmas and Diwali is our holiday tradition By Rudri Bhatt Patel, Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on Word Count 894 Level 1150L A Diwali celebration takes place at Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Temple in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Photo by Dorann Weber/Getty Images Propped up in the corner of our living room, you'll find the green limbs of our Christmas tree stretching out. Mini-lights shine like constellations on the branches. Christmas carols play in the background while my 9-year-old daughter and I decorate the tree. As a sweet treat, I've made hot chocolate with marshmallows. My iphone is tuned into the Christmas station, and we sing "Jingle Bells" while holding hands and dancing across the floor. In the midst of our enjoyment, I glance at the opposite corner of the room and spot the silver and copper mini-temple that greets my family every morning. It serves as a cultural lighthouse and a reminder of our roots. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 1

2 A few weeks earlier we celebrated Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. I cooked a traditional feast, and my daughter made a rangoli. It's an Indian folk art where patterns are made on the floor using colored sand. We lowered our heads and prayed. "Happy Diwali" we exclaimed, calling family and friends to share in our joy. To complete the festive experience we lit sparklers on our patio and watched the glittering display until the sparks bowed to the ground. A Celebration Of Two Cultures Why do we celebrate both the Hindu holiday of Diwali and the Christian holiday of Christmas, which sometimes land on the calendar nearly at the same time? The closeness of the two holidays cushions three important lessons I am attempting to teach my daughter: tolerance, assimilation and connection. In creating family traditions, I hope to open up discussions about Christianity and Hinduism, as well as other religions, like Judaism and Buddhism. We live in a climate today where chaos and conflict trouble the world in the name of religion. I want to show my daughter there is an alternative -- honoring other people's choices and how they think about God. By educating her about different beliefs, I believe she will be more open to embracing all people, all nationalities and all religions. Mother Shares Her Multicultural Experience I am seeking this path for her because of my own experiences. Nearly 30 years ago, my immigrant parents took this same leap with my sister and me. We sometimes struggled straddling two different identities and cultures as we got used to growing up in the United States. I remember my father would order fruitcake from a local Texas bakery and schedule it to arrive close to Christmas morning. As dawn broke on that day, while a statue of the Hindu god, Ganesh, eyed the Christmas tree from across the room, our family sipped on chai tea and we ate cake. To add to these competing ideas in the background, the radio played Bollywood songs. After breakfast, my sister and I opened presents, while my parents thumbed through the cards they received in the mail. I remember my father laughing at the tie we picked out for him and the glee my mother experienced as she tried cooking with her new blender. Like Diwali, Christmas for us was a different kind of festival of lights. At night, we drove around the neighborhood admiring the lights that transformed ordinary streets into places of magic. Huddled tight in the warmth of our car, I remember my mother kissing me on my cheek and watching my younger sister awed by every flicker, like spotting fireflies on a summer day. Some people who have preconceived notions about my cultural roots are surprised when I confess we have a Christmas tree in our living room. Yes, we also bake and lay out cookies for Santa, I say. Year after year, we send out Christmas cards celebrating the joy of the season and This article is available at 5 reading levels at 2

3 attend holiday parties. As my parents taught me, I want my daughter to understand that identifying with one religion doesn't mean she can't embrace the traditions of another faith. To that end, in years past, I've taken her to homeless shelters during the holiday season so she recognizes not everyone is fortunate to have warm food and presents on Christmas. These are encounters she wouldn't necessarily experience if we shielded her based on our fears that she might feel confused about Hinduism. Happy To Have Started A Dialogue Although my childhood memories are firmly etched in my mind, I cannot guarantee what my daughter will remember about how we celebrate the holiday season. In these tender early years it is unclear what she understands. But I am happy we have started a dialogue about other ways of honoring God, and the similarities and differences they may exhibit from our faith. As she grows older, I support her desire to explore all religions. That could mean walking into a church to witness a baptism, learning about the ceremonies of Kwanzaa, or knowing the meaning of lighting of the menorah for Hanukkah. In the meantime, fresh from enjoying our Diwali celebration, my daughter is looking forward with anticipation to the debut of her Elf on the Shelf, singing Christmas carols, and snacking on homemade holiday cookies. Through it all, the baking, the singing and anticipating Santa's appearance, I have one hope for my daughter. That she remembers, as I have, that embracing another perspective never means sacrificing her own. Rudri Bhatt Patel is writer and editor. She used to be a lawyer. She has a blog called Being Rudri and is working on an autobiography. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 3

4 Quiz 1 According to the article, the author grew up surrounded by the traditions of two different religions. Which selection BEST supports the idea outlined above? I cooked a traditional feast, and my daughter made a rangoli. It's an Indian folk art where patterns are made on the floor using colored sand. We lowered our heads and prayed. "Happy Diwali" we exclaimed, calling family and friends to share in our joy. As dawn broke on that day, while a statue of the Hindu god, Ganesh, eyed the Christmas tree from across the room, our family sipped on chai tea and we ate cake. To add to these competing ideas in the background, the radio played Bollywood songs. Huddled tight in the warmth of our car, I remember my mother kissing me on my cheek and watching my younger sister awed by every flicker, like spotting fireflies on a summer day. Although my childhood memories are firmly etched in my mind, I cannot guarantee what my daughter will remember about how we celebrate the holiday season. In these tender early years it is unclear what she understands. 2 With which statement would the author MOST LIKELY agree? Option 1: It is fun to combine Diwali and Christmas into one celebration. Option 2: It is important to teach children tolerance of other religions. Which sentence from the article supports your response? Option 1; To complete the festive experience we lit sparklers on our patio and watched the glittering display until the sparks bowed to the ground. Option 1; In creating family traditions, I hope to open up discussions about Christianity and Hinduism, as well as other religions, like Judaism and Buddhism. Option 2; I want to show my daughter there is an alternative -- honoring other people's choices and how they think about God. Option 2; We sometimes struggled straddling two different identities and cultures as we got used to growing up in the United States. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 4

5 3 Which answer choice BEST explains why the author wrote this article? to compare and contrast how Hindu holidays are celebrated with how Christian holidays are celebrated to describe her childhood and the confusion that she felt about celebrating both Diwali and Christmas to show how difficult it can be to retain Hindu traditions while also celebrating Christian traditions to explain her rationale for encouraging her daughter to celebrate both Diwali and Christmas 4 How does the author respond to people who are surprised that she has a Christmas tree? by sharing her concerns that her daugher will feel confused about Hinduism by highlighting some of the other Christmas traditions her family participates in by letting them know that religious intolerance can lead to chaos and conflict by explaining that she has a greater connection to Christmas than she does to Diwali This article is available at 5 reading levels at 5