Winter Time Flu Season

Okay, so most of you are probably wondering, “where’s my New Years card from Zain? What, he doesn’t celebrate that anymore either?” Wrong. See, every year, I type a bunch of letters out and send them to people around the planet. In Japan, it’s a little tricky. One: stamps are $1.10 each; two: I don’t have a printer so I have take care of that at the office. To top it all off, as of this week, I’ve come down with the flu- doc said ‘type A’ so I guess that’s a doosey. I’ve had to put my Hiroshima plans off a week and haven’t been much use to anybody except the gas and electricity guys, who, because houses are built without insulation here, are making a grip off of me this month. I have to keep the heat on all the time if I plan to stay warm- between fever outbreaks, that is. On a windy day, it’s like sleeping in a barn- the draft literally rattles the doors. My flat is less than ten years old to boot. Anyway, don’t give up on me! I will manage to get them to you! Until then, have a Happy New Year!

So this is Christmas...

The snow has arrived! I love this time of year. So many childhood memories of snowmen, Christmas decorations, baked goodies, and family time are brought back with the coming of the season. There is no other collective memory that I can recall from my childhood that are more special than these. It was the one time of year when the whole family came together to celebrate, exchange Christmas cheer, and renew our bond.

The scents of the freshly cut evergreens, steaming hot cocoa, and Mom’s homemade fudge, right out of the oven, still permeate my senses so much so that if I closed my eyes and opened them again, I wouldn’t be surprised to awake and find myself there, listening to Grandpa’s stories, and nibbling on sugar cookies and candy canes. To this day, I delight in watching A Charlie Brown Christmas, Fat Albert’s Christmas Special, and Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

So, why is it that I no longer celebrate Christmas? With all the joy that it brought, why wouldn’t I wish to continue the tradition with my own family? Principle. It’s not that I regret all those wonderful years of family time intended to honor the birth of Jesus, peace be upon him, (as is often assumed by people who misunderstand my faith). On the contrary, it’s the opposite.

Other than in namesake, Christmas, i.e., Mass of Christ, has nothing whatsoever to do with the teachings of Jesus. I can appreciate those who say “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” and to “keep Christ in Christmas.” Despite their good intentions, however, Christ never was the reason for the season. He didn’t teach us to cut down and decorate trees, eat ham, hang mistletoe, or exchange gifts in honor of his birth. Not unlike those before him, his teachings taught us to submit to the Will of God and to practice all that that encompasses, i.e., charity, honesty, patience, and consistency, to name a few.

In the beginning of my journey in Islam, I celebrated the Virgin Birth and had thought it important to remember the teachings of Jesus on Christmas, in hopes of salvaging some measure of spiritual significance. I had no problem celebrating the birth of a prophet of God, for as Muslims, we celebrate the birth of Muhammad, peace be upon him, every day. The Qur’an teaches us not to place the importance of one prophet over another so there wasn’t any apparent contradiction my actions.

Unfortunately, my upbringing did not prioritize Jesus as the focal point of Christmas, despite being raised in a Christian home. We were not Catholic, so we didn’t attend Midnight Mass. Like most families, we had our Christmas Eve traditions; ours consisted of eating cookies with milk, and opening one gift of choice. The next morning, we would wake up to find the gifts that “Santa” had left us. Mom and Dad would get up, make breakfast, and later we would open the beautifully wrapped gifts that had been gathering under the tree. Except for “knowing” that Jesus was born on Christmas Day, there was no correlation drawn. The Bible wasn’t taken out and read, we didn’t attend a religious service or anything of the sort.

The fact that this was common practice within most families, who celebrated Christmas, concerned me. I imagined a day when people would know nothing of Christ, in whose name they were celebrating. That day is upon us. In Japan, Christmas celebrations are abundant, yet less than one half of one percent of the population is Christian. Similar to Christmas in America, it is simply an excuse to go shopping and indulge in sweets, or worse, it has become a national date night.

Ironically, Christmas has become a day when sincere Christians are trying to keep Christ in the celebration, while most others have forgotten all about the event that supposedly corresponds to his birth and in many cases entirely discount any religious significance to December 25^th. As it happens, the latter are closer to the truth than most Christians would care to admit. In fact, a large list of pagan deities were given birthday celebrations on or around this day, including, Mithras, Horus, Dionysus, Hercules, and a host of others.

Scholars have found that the Virgin Birth actually took place in autumn or possibly spring, not the end of December. Historically, sheepherders kept their flocks indoors during the winter months, whereas the New Testament describes Jesus’ birth as having taken place when the flocks were being tended in the fields. Christmas became the day designated to celebrate the Virgin Birth in 350 CE under the leadership of Pope Julius I, an attempt to streamline the Roman public into Christianity. The ancient festival of Saturnalia, commemorating the birth of Saturn, god of the harvest was essentially coopted by the church which gradually replaced the names of pagan practices with holy ones. In practice, however, the celebration changed very little. The excess of feasting, drunkenness and debauchery continued to mark the days of the solstice to the extent that the Puritans actually banned the public celebration for twenty two years; in England, the church fathers instituted a day of fasting.

Like everything else associated with Christmas, December 25^th is pagan in origin. Nowhere in the Bible does God tell us to celebrate the birth of Christ on a designated day, nor did the early Christians do any such thing. The day itself relates to the winter solstice and Yuletide celebrations, honoring the Germanic pagan deity Jul, whereby followers hung mistletoe and slaughtered pigs, hence the customary Christmas ham. Odin, another pagan god, was said to the great hunt for the wild boar, became associated with the Christmas character of Santa Clause. He is said to have rode upon an eight-legged horse and would fly down to people’s homes, leaving gifts inside the boots of children who would leave carrots and straw for his flying horse. The myth of Odin merged with St. Nicholas, and boots became stockings, yet the traditions remain (although children in various countries continue to put their shoes out for Santa on Christmas Eve).

Today, the gifts are usually set beneath a Christmas tree. Ironically, the concept of cutting down trees and decorating them is explicitly condemned in the book of Jeremiah 10:1-4: "For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with a hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk." Historically, there are various European traditions, influenced by the Romans who were themselves inspired by the Babylonian, which included the use of evergreens and fir trees to mark everything from fertility to birth stories of ancient gods.

Most blasphemous, perhaps, is the “Nativity of the Son,” son, referring the “son of God”−a concept that Muslims and Jews object. The Virgin Birth, as depicted in the nativity scenes displayed at Christmas time to honor Jesus, has been intertwined with the births of the sun gods of the Roman Empire and the Greek Empire before it. As the shortest day of the year had come to pass, the sun was believed to have been reborn. In actuality, “son” and sun have become one and the same. The choice to observe December 25^th had more to do with an attempt by the church fathers to coopt a pagan festival than establish a new morality; a decision that would prove difficult for the church authorities in their hope to curb pagan practices.

Of course today, people, especially Christians, are not cutting down trees to worship them. It is simply a cultural tradition, just as is gift exchanging and the other activities associated with Christmas. These traditions, however, are still of pagan origin. All three of the Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, are instructed not to do as the pagans do and to worship God alone. There is no compromising this commandment. Nor did Jesus teach his followers to engage in mass consumption in his name, in what has been coined “the Gospel of Prosperity.” Despite the wonderful Christmas memories of my childhood, I cannot, in good conscious, pass onto my own children the association between of the Virgin Birth of the Messiah with consumerism, based on pagan concepts.

Regardless of this, however, it is still a time sanctioned by the state wherein many families, including my own, are granted holiday. As I value family time, I hope to continue making use of the time allotted. Also, in some ways, to counter the inescapable materialism whirling around, I plan to use this time to focus on the teachings of the prophets. This year, my wife and I are planning to visit Hiroshima, to pay our respects to the victims of the atomic bombs. We will also reflect upon teachings of peace and goodwill, both timeless and common to all faiths.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Having made it out of my twenties, I’ve made the transition from looking forward to being another year older to simply looking forward to what the day will bring. This year I had a great surprise awaiting me. Tsuchan took me on a trip!

We packed our bags and got everything together but where we were going, I had no idea. Tsugumi hinted that we may be taking the Shinkansen, but that was it. Considering we had just been to Tokyo a few weeks before, I wasn’t really sure where our destination would be.

As we made our way to the train station at 5 am, I wondered why we were not taking the JR line which leads directly to Shin Osaka, and the Shinkansen. I’ve only taken it once so I wasn’t in a position to second guess where we were going until we arrived at… Itami! This gave me two clues: we were flying somewhere within Japan as it’s a domestic airport.

Although I relish surprises like this, I cannot help but notice things that give them away. In this case, it was when the person behind the check in counter slapped the airport code on our luggage, “FUK.” This could only mean one place: Fukuoka! I kept my discovery to myself, to avoid a confirmation and thereby hope to remain under the impression that I still was unsure of our destination. Not for long though; the announcement in the executive lounge gave it away and if that wasn’t enough, the flight announcement was.

The flight was short and sweet. I had just enough time to read the newspaper and sip some chai. It was the first time I had ever been seated on the second floor of a plane. Too bad they don’t have windshields; it’d be great to have a pilot’s view. From the time we landed to our hotel was less than thirty minutes.

When we got to the station, it was pouring buckets. We searched around and found an umbrella for 500 yen. The winds were howling through the streets but we managed to stay dry. Luckily, the hotel wasn’t much of a distance. As we approached, I commented on how nice it looked, but Tsugumi assured me that it was much too spendy for our budget. Next I knew, we had taken a right turn and were inside the lobby checking in! It was early yet, so we just left our bags and carried on.

We jumped on the 100 yen bus to the shopping district. From there, we thought about going to Nagasaki but didn’t want to sit on a bus for four hours each way- especially if the weather was going to remain as it was when we got there. Instead, we went took a self directed tour to the Dazaifu Tenmagu shrine, which included a nice hot ceramic cup of macha and a slice of soft mochi- one of my absolute favorite things to eat in Japan.

The shrine is located away from the city and due to the weather, had attracted few visitors that day. The pathway of shops leading to the gate was com- prised of all kinds. There were some great art stores, clothing shops, and places to eat. We made our way through, sampling much of what we were offered, and then some. Basically, we were biding our time in hopes that the rain would cease as it did now and then.

When our chance came, we took it. The rains started again but I had my trusty 500 yen umbrella to shield us. When we reached the main bridge, painted red and arching over the ponds, the sun broke though. What I noticed first was the size of the enormous trees. They were beautifully twisted with centuries of beatings from the rain and wind. Others were huge green monuments, towering above any building in view.

As we made our way around to the back of the shrine, there were some smaller structures on the hillside, sur-
rounded, much to my surprise, with blazing red maples. The trees in the Kansai have all lost their flaring colors. These were among the most spectacular I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. We took a short hike through the hills along paths carpeted red maple as if each leaf had been placed with great care.

As we were making our way down the other side, the rains again began to pour. We took shelter in a nice tatami café, set alongside the ponds. By this time, we were really happy that we’d come across it when we did. It was a cozy spot. As we sipped our hot ginger amasake the sun again broke through the clouds and the rains stopped.

As we were making our way back to the shop lined street, we noticed a place named Tsugumi. It was a quaint home décor shop with many handmade items.We browsed around but didn’t buy anything- quaint and expensive. I love these shops but seldom make a purchase. There was also a Zen temple nearby. I always admire the simplicity of the gardens often surrounding them. Set among the autumn landscape, it made for a very peaceful space.

On the way back through, we ate soba at the same place we had enjoyed the macha and mochi. Unfortunately, the soba was arranged on a plate with a false bottom so what we had hoped would be a nice portion turned into a meager serving. I suppose that’s what we get for eating at the same place twice, something we normally avoid.

That evening, back at the hotel, Tsugumi had made reservations for dinner. We enjoyed a really nice meal together. It was one of those dinners that crown a perfect day. By this time, it felt as though two days had already passed. It was really relaxing. After dinner, Tsugumi gave me my birthday package: a nice black v-neck sweater. We then received a knock at the door; room service served us birthday cake and hand shaken fruit seltzers; a perfect ending to our day.

The next morning we got up and enjoyed a buffet-style breakfast. As my Auntie pointed out, breakfast is the one meal that people from different cultures often cannot agree upon. Japanese breakfasts traditionally consist of rice and miso soup. Being a westerner, I suppose, soup for breakfast is just not appetizing in the least. Fortunately for me, our hotel offered two buffets: one Japanese, one quasi-western. It doesn’t matter all that much in the end because I am usually limited to fruit and bread at breakfast buffets anyway. This one had some potatoes that were pretty tasty. Preferring vegan and vegetarian buffets is extremely difficult to satisfy, regardless of place; that is, if I unless I want a Japanese breakfast.

After we finished up our morning meal, we took a subway to Ohori Koen. At one point this place had been a rather large royal complex, now only the ruins remain and are maintained as a park. At the highest point, there was a platform from which we had a great view. I prayed Asr, then we made our way down
to a lake nearby. The sun was shining but the winds gusts had returned, making for a chilly afternoon. In the center of the lake were a few islands, connected by a series of small bridges. As we walked along the path, the winds were so strong we felt we might be lifted off our feet at any given moment. In the background, someone practiced Jingle Bells on the sax.

We had a while yet, before our flight time. I had read about “Asia’s biggest fairs wheel,” (another pamphlet just said it was the biggest in Japan- who knows?) and wanted to take a ride. It was a jaunt though but we had the timeWhen we arrived, we couldn’t believe the height up this thing; it was BIG! We rushed to the ticket counter but were shut down when we learned that it was closed due to high winds. We decided to do the next best thing: window shop! Okay, not even a close second but we did anyway.

When we finished, we made our way to a bus stop. We had a 15 min wait. About 10 minutes into it, we noticed that the wheel was turning! Yes! But would we have enough time? We decided to take a chance. The next bus came at 17:15, an extra thirty five minutes. We rushed upstairs, back to the wheel. “Two tickets, please,” we asked. “Sorry, it won’t be open until five,” we were told. “Okay, well, how long does it take to go full circle?” we asked. “Twenty minutes.” Damn!! We had probably just missed our bus to get there and take this wheel, thereby risking missing our flight, only to find out that it wasn't to open for another fifteen minutes and that the ride would take twenty; five minutes too long! We broke for the bus. As we barreled down the stairs, we could see passengers boarding 200 meters ahead. Alas! We made it. As we left the wheel in the distance, we could almost hear its deep, sinister laugh, not unlike the marshmallow man from Ghostbusters.

We arrived back at the hotel with plenty of time to make our flight. After checking in our bags, we made our way to the lounge, where we kicked back and relaxed before our departure. It was a great way to begin another year of life. I am looking forward to all it has to bring and I am truly Blessed to have such a wonderful partner in my life to share it with. Al-humdulilah. I must be doing something right. Next phase: Fatherhood- but it’s still a ways off, insha’Allah.