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So, This is Christmas! Some words about Christmas. During this time of the year, the Newspapers throughout the world make it sure to publish various articles telling the story of Christmas for their readers to read and ponder. As one of the non practicing followers of one of the Abraham’s three religions, I always wanted to know more about these three religions from the time I learnt to read and write! The stories seemed fascinating to me all the times as all the three Holy Books tell us similar stories though interpreting them a bit differently for obvious reasons! I still read such articles to understand how these fascinating stories are being interpreted now in the first quarter of the twenty first century. This year also I did not forget to keep the routine as usual. I went through almost all the articles published in the local news papers yesterday on Christmas Holidays as I used to do during the bygone years! This year I came to know something that I never knew before reading a well written article published in a local online English language newspaper by Julian Francis, who was a recipient of ‘Friends of Liberation War Honor’ from the Government of Bangladesh. Julian Francis is another person whom we shall not forget for his services rendered to the suffering humanity during the time we fought for our liberation. He was the Coordinator of Oxfam’s relief program for the refugees from Bangladesh and has lived and worked in Bangladesh for many years. Before reading this particular article, I did not know how the Christmas tree became popular and why it is decorated almost in every Christian Dwellings or in public places or elsewhere to celebrate Christmas Holidays. Now I know as you all do! Here below you can read an extract from the article written by Julian Francis telling us about the Christmas celebration and the Christmas tree: “It was only 500 to 600 years ago that the birth of Jesus was celebrated on December 25th, and even up to the 1800s Christmas in Europe was not widely celebrated because partying and merry making was seen as unchristian. Indeed, it was only in 1870 that Christmas Day was declared a national holiday in the USA. Much earlier in the U.K., Oliver Cromwell had ‘cancelled’ Christmas and the Puritans in the American colonies also banned the celebration of Christmas in Boston and those found celebrating were fined 5 shillings. My knowledgeable great-uncle also explained how, according to him, Christmas trees became popular. He said that the ancient Egyptians felt that evergreen trees symbolized eternal life. However, in the U.K. it was Queen Victoria’s German husband who introduced the Christmas tree to Windsor Castle in 1846.” I do not endeavor to know like many others the exact date of birth of Jesus Christ! I trust that someone like Jesus Christ was needed at that time to guide the human beings to the right path, and to purify people’s souls. I shall end this effort of mine by quoting once again the concluding paragraph of Julian Francis’s article; “And in conclusion, I remember Christmas in the refugee camps in India in 1971. The Muslims and Hindus made sure that if there were a few Christians in their camps, they would celebrate Christmas with them. After all, they had all just celebrated Victory Day and were all preparing to go home to Bangladesh. Some said that a new and different life was about to begin. Can this same spirit be felt in Bangladesh in 2017? I hope so…” I am happy to assure Julian Francis that his hope will come true. The same spirit will be felt in Bangladesh in 2017 like before and onward too. Merry Christmas to everyone everywhere! Posted first on my SFF Blog page on December 26, 2016 under the handle "looklook"/. Photo Credits: #2 to #6. Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo       |
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Wishing all a Joyous New Year!
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Lisztomania, Hello, Thank you so much for reading this blog of mine and for your informative responses left here on my blog page! I feel pleased to let you know that I had the opportunity to listen to the original German version of this particular Christmas Carol based on traditional German folk song while living mostly in West Berlin and Hamburg respectively in the later half of the year 1976! Merry Christmas and Happy 2017, Lisztomania. Have a joyous New Year!
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