“To Those Who Celebrate It, or To

Everybody?”
by: Nathaniel Rayestu

I find it irritating when a friend posted a tweet on Twitter saying:

“Happy Ied-al-Adha to those who celebrate it”. I would prefer the
italic line dropped altogether. Why can’t we all, regardless of our
different faiths and religions, celebrate holidays together?

Of course religious holidays are meant to commemorate a sacred

event for a particular faith, but there are always universal values
involved in all of them. In Eid-al-Adha, for instance, we sacrifice
cows and goats and donate their meat to the less fortunate. Now, is
there a religion in the world that says giving to the poor is not a
noble thing to do? I would be surprised.

Despite being a Catholic, for almost all my life I have always

celebrated other religions’ holidays to the extent that is feasible.
On Eid-al-Fitr, on my family’s the dinner table there is always
ketupats, chicken opor, rendang, and other sorts Eid foods. My
day’s schedule is full of ‘silaturahims’ to friends ‘and family’s homes
to convey apologies for wrongdoings I might have made during the
year.

I say there is nothing wrong with that. It is true that I don’t fast
during Ramadhan and I don't think of Eid-al-Fitr as a victorious day
against my thirst and hunger like others. But the idea of visiting
friends and families for informal apologies, and more importantly
keeping good relationships with them, is something universal.
Regardless of your religion, it is just a nice thing to do.

On the same token, I would say the same idea can work on
Christmas also. You don't have to believe that it is the day when
some 2000 years ago Jesus Christ was born. But getting around a
Christmas tree with family members, exchanging gifts with a good
sense of love and togetherness, is priceless.

A very good example of a secular Christmas tradition is of course

the Santa Claus, who is always around during Christmas season in
almost any mall you can find, allowing you to take a picture with
him. He gives presents for kids who behave well during the year,
and his teeammate Zwarte Piet will abduct kids who are naughty
and put them inside a rug. I think parents of any religion would find
that idea as a useful tool to help behave their kids.

I believe the same goes for other holidays, and I can go on and on
and on. But I’ve made myself clear, there’s nothing wrong with
celebrating other religion’s holidays, and absorb the universal
values that come with them.

In Egypt, a predominantly Muslim country like us, Christmas is

widely celebrated though none more than as a secular holiday.
Now, a nation whose national mottto is “Unity in Diversity” like
Indonesia must do better. We ought to practice what we preach. It
is just saddening to see that some of us Indonesians still think it
wrong to even wish people of different faiths a happy holiday.

Earlier this year I attended a church service during the month of

Ramadhan, and I was informed that on the week after (August 17 th,
2010) there would be an Independence Day service. After church I
went and talked to the priest and asked him, “Father, if we can hold
a church service for Independence Day, I think we should hold one
for Lebaran. I mean, what better way can we promote religious
tolerance in this nation?”
He looked shocked at first, but after some explaining he began to
see my point. In the end, he nodded and said to me that if I had
told him about this idea of mine a little earlier the Lebaran church
service might be possible. I told him I would make sure the year
after this idea of mine can take place.

Imagine an Indonesia where people of different religions live side by

side harmoniously as in the dreams of our Founding Fathers. No
conflicts, no drama, no nonsense. The first step to tolerance is
understanding, and I believe one way to do this is to co-celebrate
each other’s holidays.

So from now on, say this: “Happy [name of holiday] everyone,

regardless of your religion. May God always bless you”.

Writer is a student at the Department of Economics,

Universitas Indonesia