As Muslims, we revere Jesus, who is mentioned more in the Quran than Mohammed or Moses or Solomon or David or Joseph or other prophets. So, in my family, we have always participated in Christmas celebrations. Growing up as a child in Germany in early 60's, I learned about the Germans celebration of Christmas. There was Advent, the four weeks before Christmas, when we lit a candle in wreath every week. A few years later, I was in the Deutsche Botschaftschule- German Embassy School- in Ankara Turkey. I continued to learn about this holiday and enjoy the festivities. I sang German Christmas songs in the school choir and we made all kinds of arts and crafts for the holiday. I remember how our teacher, Herr Ohlerich would come and listen to our voice with his ear close to our mouths; if we were off-key, he would twist our noses really hard!
When we moved to New York in the late 60's, I began to love the American holiday music, the holiday lights, the fun parties leading up to Christmas, the shopping madness, the post Christmas holiday sales. This of course led up to the New Year’s celebrations which always required a big party. When my husband and I were younger, we would have big holiday parties in our apartment. I remember one of my friends discovering the TV in the bathtub and laughing about it- we had to make space for 70 people in a 1-bedroom flat. Later on these parties were in our basement or our friends…
