1) Young Muslims - The Message

and Mary (Peace be upon her.), the humble servants of Allah whoabstained from the world and submitted entirely to their lord.Christmas has actually incorporated into itself all the paganfestivals; Greek, Roman, Druid, German, Scandinavian, etc., andgiven them new meaning. The wild revels of the Bacchanalia, theSaturnalia, and the Twelve Nights survive in a milder form in themerriment that marks the season of Christmas today.“Christmas gifts themselves remind us of the presents that wereexchanged in Rome during Saturnalia. In Rome, it might be added,the presents usually took the form of wax tapers (candles) and dolls– the latter being in turn a survival of human sacrifices once offeredto Saturn. It is a queer thought that in our Christmas presents weare preserving in another form, one of the most savage customs ofour barbarian ancestors! The shouts of ‘Bona Saturnalia’, which theRoman people exchanged among themselves, are the precursors of‘Merry Christmas!’ The decorations and illuminations of ourChristians churches recall the temples of Saturn, radiant withburning taper and resplendent with garlands.SANTA CLAUSToday, when Christmas is mentioned, most people immediatelythink of Santa Claus. The image of Jesus, the son of Mary ((Peace beupon them) is secondary and sometimes lost in the merriment andmaterialism. The prices in the market go up and we find that peopleare spending thousands in order to buy gifts for their friends andneighbors. Most Christians fall into debt that can last for the greaterpart of the next year. The problem that comes during the Christmasseason for Muslims and non-Christians is that there are a number ofcontradictory symbols. Some of these symbols reveal an animisticreligious base but others appear to be monotheistic. At the top ofall of them is Santa Claus. One might then ask ‘What do paganfestivals have to do with the innocent, loveable Santa Claus?’“Actually, in every one of these festivals, the leading figure was anold man with a large, white beard. In the Bacchanalia, the chief godYoung Muslims, What they should know about Islam Page - 222