What Christmas Means to Baha’is

by Preethi in Opinion on Dec 25, 2011.

Image by scottfidd (Flickr)

Do Baha’is celebrate Christmas? This question is a bit of a tricky one to answer because Christmas means different things to different people.

Based on the understanding of Christmas as a commemoration of the birth of Christ, the day is clearly of significance to Baha’is, who believe that Christ was a Manifestation of God. Baha’is do not, however, celebrate Christmas within their communities as one of the Baha’i Holy Days.

While the principle of progressive revelation means that Baha’is believe in the divine origin of the other world religions (and consequently, the significance of each of their Holy Days), the Baha’i Faith is an independent religion with its own Holy Days. Baha’is – while believing in the divine origins of all other world religions – follow the teachings of Baha’u'llah, whom we believe to be the latest in the line of Messengers sent from God with laws to address the needs of humanity in this day and age.

That being said, however, Baha’is are free to participate in the celebrations observed by their friends and family who adhere to other religions. Christmas is a tricky one because of what it has come to represent in much of Western society – the true meaning of Christmas is, unfortunately, often lost amidst the Christmas tree decorations, Santa-and-elf motifs and endless Christmas sales advertisements.However, as many Christians pause to celebrate the birth and life of Jesus, Baha’is too can stop to reflect on the significance of this day. The Writings speak beautifully about the life and station of Jesus. Baha’u'llah says:

Know thou that when the Son of Man yielded up His breath to God, the whole creation wept with a great weeping. By sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh capacity was infused into all created things. Its evidences, as witnessed in all the peoples of the earth, are now manifest before thee. The deepest wisdom which the sages have uttered, the profoundest learning which any mind hath unfolded, the arts which the ablest hands have produced, the influence exerted by the most potent of rulers, are but manifestations of the quickening power released by His transcendent, His all-pervasive, and resplendent Spirit.

We testify that when He came into the world, He shed the splendor of His glory upon all created things. Through Him the leper recovered from the leprosy of perversity and ignorance. Through Him, the unchaste and wayward were healed. Through His power, born of Almighty God, the eyes of the blind were opened, and the soul of the sinner sanctified… We bear witness that through the power of the Word of God every leper was cleansed, every sickness was healed, every human infirmity was banished. He it is Who purified the world. Blessed is the man who, with a face beaming with light, hath turned towards Him.

This passage is close to my heart because I was raised as a Christian and was first taught to know and worship God through the teachings of Jesus. I often find it hard to focus on the spiritual aspects of Christmas because of the heavy cultural significance it has acquired.

But these words of Baha’u'llah remind us of the real significance of the life of Jesus. The Christmas story is an exciting story in the religious history of the world. The birth of Jesus marked the fulfillment of Jewish prophecies about a new Manifestation of God. It marked the beginning of a very special childhood made distinct because of the innate wisdom that all Manifestations have, even as children. It heralded the life of yet another Manifestation of God who would suffer great tribulations and suffering to bring humanity towards God.

The life and ministry of Jesus transformed the lives of individuals – both in His lifetime and for centuries after – as well as humanity as a whole. His love and sacrifice infused the world with a new spirit. Blessed, indeed, are those who recognize the immense gift of His divine teachings.

A very blessed Christmas to all our Christian friends!

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Dec 25 2011
at 11:10am

KM says

The ACTUAL ANSWER: NO!

98: HOLY DAYS OF OTHER RELIGIONS
“As regards the celebration of the Christian Holiday by the believers; it is surely preferableand even highly advisable that the friends should in their relation to each other discontinueobserving such holidays as Christmas and New Years, and to have their festival gatherings of this nature instead during the Intercalary Days and Naw-Rúz….”

Directives From the Guardian
page 38

FF Dec 26 2011 at 5:17am

Thanks for answering this, with a referring to baha’i writings.
Preethi Dec 27 2011 at 12:23am

Hi KM, thanks for sharing this quote!

As this article states, and as this quote from The Guardian refers to, the Baha’i community as a collective do not celebrate Christmas – “the friends… in their relation to each other”. However, there is nothing, as I understand it, preventing us from joining in the celebrations of our Christian friends or any other religious celebrations of friends from other religions in a spirit of love and unity. Especially since we believe that all religions come from the same God. As Baha’u'llah said, “Consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship”.
- FF Dec 27 2011 at 4:04am
  
  Hi Preethi,
  
  Any holiday and/or celebration is good.
  
  I wish Fridays, was also part of weekend too, as it is a Muslim holidays, and we all could only work 4 days a week !
  
  KM, point was that, bahai’s don’t celebrate xmas, how ever I like the festive season …

Dec 25 2011
at 12:28pm

Bonnie Fields says

Please add a comma on the fourth line down after the word “Baha’is” to avoid a reading that those of the Baha’is who happen to believe in Christ, as opposed to the others….
A super contribution to aid us at this holiday time!

Preethi Dec 27 2011 at 12:25am

Thanks so much Bonnie! I’ve added that very important comma now. That was definitely an “eats shoots & leaves” moment – changes the whole meaning quite drastically.

Dec 25 2011
at 3:02pm

Robert says

“Later, on Christmas day, He visited Lord Lamington. In the evening He went to a Salvation Army hostel, where some five hundred of society’s wrecks were gathered. He spoke to them, and donated twenty guineas to the hostel to provide them with a good meal and another night, as His guests. He also inspected the sleeping accommodation of the hostel, and a children’s home as well. When He reached Cadogan Gardens that night, it was apparent that the sight of the condition of the unfortunate had distressed Him. A good many of His talks, in His drawing-room during the Christmas week, were concerned with the Birth and the Advent of Christ and the significance of baptism. One day He walked for an hour or so in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Afterwards He went to a Christmas party for the impoverished. Wherever He came across children He showed them such kindness and consideration that some of them thought He was Father Christmas, and sang a song in His praise. At His London home, that day, He related an incident of days long past in ‘Akká:

‘I encountered a number of the poor who were very hungry, and they came to me a-begging. I pointed out a grocer’s shop to them that was well-provisioned, and told them to help themselves and eat all they could; I would be responsible. As soon as they heard me say that, those hungry ill-starred people made a rush and looted the shop. The shopkeeper was screaming that he was being robbed, but no one took any notice of him. They were eating even the uncooked rice, and took provisions away with them.’ Later, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá compensated the grocer.”

(H.M. Balyuzi, Abdu’l-Baha – The Centre of the Covenant, p. 351)

Preethi Dec 27 2011 at 12:27am

Robert, that was such a beautiful story. Thanks so much for sharing that with us!

Dec 26 2011
at 5:09am

Jonathan says

The absence of traditions hinders the observance of the Baha’i holy days. There are no special foods, no special decorations, no stories, no legends, nothing to warm the heart and provide memories. When I sit down with family at Christmas, I know the foods, I remember past Christmas and past celebrations.

My children watch Elmo’s Happy Holidays, the children tell Elmo what their favourite holiday is and why it’s important. I would feel sorry for my children if they only had Baha’i holy days. There is nothing to tell one holy day from another. The readings are long, far too long, even for adults. There are no special memories, no foods to associate, just some generic potluck with predictable contents. They are boring. Baha’i central figures have become stone statues and all traces of their humanity removed from them. Birth of Baha’u'llah celebrations always have passages from Baha’u'llah detailing how much He suffered. Why? Why can’t we just celebrate? Why can’t we remember the good thing on good days and the bad things on bad days?

Christmas has got it right, it has the bittersweetness of life honed to perfection. Thank God for Christmas. It helps me to keep Faith. There are beautiful songs, short readings and the carols. It has family, life and love. And yes, it has food!

Preethi Dec 27 2011 at 12:35am

Hi Jonathan, thanks for sharing your thoughts!

My family is Christian and so I still try and spend Christmas with them. I generally have a really good time but I find that the holiday has become largely about family traditions and family time. And there’s nothing wrong with that, in itself – it’s great to have a day associated with family!

However, this Christmas, I did find myself longing for there to be a bit more reflection and tranquility amongst the hustle and bustle of the festivities and dinner preparations. And I found myself actually looking for passages about Jesus to read. It was the passages about his life, his ministry and his suffering that I found actually made me feel the most connected to Jesus. So I found myself really appreciating the fact that we tend to read passages about the Central Figures on Baha’i Holy Days.

That having been said, though, I definitely do agree that we need to think about how to make Holy Days more interesting and relevant for children! Check out this fantastic article by Corinne: http://bahaiblog.net/site/2011/09/09/5-easy-ways-to-involve-children-in-community-activities/

She talks about how to involve children in community activities and makes specific reference to Holy Days.
JB Dec 27 2011 at 4:14am

Jonathan,

Wow it was a great comment from you. Specially about the boring holidays with long reading from writings and same as last year.

I am Persian Baha’i and exactly think the same.

Well done for saying it.

I really want change change on the same old boring baha’i gatherings !

Dec 26 2011
at 9:43am

Yasmine says

Wow! Great post! Thanks very much for this! I hear so many Bahai’s that are scared about celebrating because of what others may think! Everyone needs to read this!

Preethi Dec 27 2011 at 12:39am

Thanks for the kind words, Yasmine! I’m glad you enjoyed this.

I think it can be a tricky one – on one hand, it is important that people understand that the Baha’i Faith is an independent religion rather than an amalgamation of all religions (which is distinct to the concept of progressive revelation, and often confused) and on the other hand, it is important that we still “consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship” based on our belief in unity and in the oneness of religion!

Dec 27 2011
at 6:03pm

Jennifer says

@ jonathon
I think you are right Bahai Holy days are “boring” to kids. When we left the birth of Baha’u'allah celebration in our community my 4 year old remarked “well that wasn’t a very fun birthday party!”.
I took it to heart.
We need, we MUsT work to make our Holy Days fun and meaningful for our children.
I urge you to work with your community and ind ways to make AyyamiHa as magical as Christmas.
start your own family traditions too.
In our home we give gifts, make cookies, we’ve even done a gingerbread temple before!
We also always plan some type of service project so that it doesn’t just become a celebration I the material.
be creative. reach out to other families in your area I bet they feel the same way.
good luck!!

Jan 01 2012
at 4:27am

Tyrone says

why do we Bahais love to complain about mostly anything that is done as a community? why can’t we just own it and make the change we want. if we think the way we celebrate our holidays are boring then make it fun by doing something about it. may be that’s why the holidays seam to be boring and predictable. too many people just sit and complain about it. i can see how hard it can be to let go of the material things like Christmas trees, lights, gifts and food….etc. don’t for get that we are trying to move forward and build a NEW WORLD ORDER so just wake up and do something about it!

Jan 03 2012
at 10:25am

Sonia says

I love what Tyrone said. Let’s focus on the joy of being a Baha’i in these early days of the Faith

I’m mainstream Australian and have always celebrated Christmas each year as my mother’s family aren’t Baha’i and it’s the only time of year they all see each other (and of course culturally quite important). But my parents and siblings never exchanged gifts with each other, we only did that at Naw Ruz. We gave gifts to my cousins etc and they gave presents to us in their tradition and it always seemed to work well. But if my grandmother and co were Baha’i, we definitely wouldn’t celebrate it at all, and I expect that when I have my own family I will stop celebrating Christmas.

I think it’s really important to read the reading KP quoted by the Guardian though. In general, Baha’is really shouldn’t be celebrating Christmas. The Baha’i Faith is NOT a mixture of all the different religions. And if we’re going to celebrate the Christian holy days, are we also going to celebrate Eid, Hannukah etc as well? If you love the idea of family getting together, exchanging presents, sharing bon-bons, gorging themselves on roast potatoes and dozing off in the afternoon to recover before eating more fruit salad & cream/Christmas cake…….. (and the list goes on!), then what’s stopping us from doing just this on March 21st or during Ayyam-i-Ha? The Baha’i Faith, as I understand it, is all about celebrating cultural diversity, so why not pride yourself in your cultural heritage while celebrating a Baha’i Holy Day at the same time?

As far as celebrating Christmas goes, I might not celebrate it on December 25th in the future but there’s no way I’m missing out on my roast lunch and all the joy that comes with it!

Jan 19 2012
at 7:14am

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