I was brought up to practice my own religion of Islam, as well as to respect what others believe, regardless of how different their beliefs are from mine. I grew up in Malaysia, a multi-ethnic country with Malays, Chinese, Indians, Iban, Kadazan, Dayak and many other ethnic groups.
That is why it comes naturally for me to wish my friends “Selamat Hari Raya” for Eid celebrations (for Muslims), “Gong Xi Fa Cai” for Chinese New Year (for Buddhists), “Selamat Hari Deepavali,” for Divali (for Hindus) or “Merry Christmas” (for Christians). As a kid, I used to count the days until the next religious celebration because the celebration would bring with it a school holiday and the day would be very festive, with holiday songs in the media as well as among the public.
Of course, after coming to Turkey, I was no longer able to witness such celebrations since 99 percent of the population here is Muslim. Naturally, as far as religious holidays go, only the two Eids (Ramazan Bayramı and Kurban Bayramı) are officially celebrated. Turks celebrate other days, too, such as Independence Day. But what interests me most among the days Turks celebrate is New Year’s Eve.
I don’t understand how Turks can fuse the Christmas celebration with the new year. From what I have seen, those in the general population put up a Christmas tree and decorate the tree just like Christians do when they celebrate Christmas. People buy mistletoe and exchange gifts with each other. And more interestingly, they cook Turkey for dinner as is usually done for the American Thanksgiving.
I truly wonder why this occurs. What are the roots of such practices? Why is there such a mix of traditions? What connection does Christmas have with New Year’s celebrations, particularly since the general population is Muslim. Is it because of the famous song
“We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year”
that the celebrations are combined?
Like I said, I am not against any other religion, but the practice of mixing a Christian celebration with the New Year’s celebration is a serious flaw since I personally believe that a religious celebration should be celebrated as it is and should not be confused and mixed with other celebrations.
Which makes me wonder, do Turks in general realize such confusion? Or is this a deliberate act of mixing the two into one? True, celebration of the coming of a new year is no big deal. One is free to celebrate it in any way one wishes. It is, after all, a personal choice. It may be somewhat natural for Christians to celebrate the new year with their Christmas decorations still up in their homes since the real Christmas celebration was only a few days earlier. However, for people from other religions to mix Christmas with New Year’s celebrations, I think, in general, is odd.
The year 2007 is coming to an end. The question is, how far are we from where we were last year? Have we achieved our aims for this year? Or will we have to continue work on this year’s aims next year? I think you will agree that this is a suitable time for us to do some self reflection and to analyze our achievements and failures this year.
Like almost everyone else, I will be spending my New Year’s celebration with my family. As with every year, we will all get together and have a big family dinner. This year, Halil’s aunt has offered to cook us pehli, a Turkish food. I can’t wait. No, we do not have a Christmas tree; yes, we do give out small gifts to the children in the family. But that is as far as our New Year’s celebration goes.
To me, it is a time to celebrate each other, how we have been able to still stay together as a close-knit family all year long. It is a time to celebrate each other, with hope that the coming year will bring a multitude of happy moments. Of course, 2007 will always be a year none of us will forget in my family. The pain of losing someone so dear is still very fresh. May 2008 bring more hope and sunshine to us all.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
31.12.2007
SIMAH ZAİM İSTANBUL
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