merry christmas!

it’s interesting reading everyone’s xangas and blogs around this time. the holidays seem to bring many to the extremes. some are joyous. others are bitter.

so i was thinking about what christmas means to me. is it weird that i’m not christian, but we still celebrate christmas anyway? to my family, christmas is more of a family holiday then anything. it’s the spirit, warmth, and happiness that we associate with christmas more than the birth of jesus.

so i guess that’s why when on the last day before winter break at school, when a lot of people wore these shirts that said “happy birthday jesus,” it bugged me. it didn’t bug me because i’m anti-christian, it didn’t bug me because i believe in something different. it bugged me not only because the birth of jesus isn’t what i think christmas is all about, but also because i suddenly felt foreign. like i was celebrating a holiday that i wasn’t welcome to celebrate because i’m not christian.

i guess it never really hit me how religious of a holiday christmas really is. my family never goes to church around this time, like a lot of families do. it has always just been a fun holiday when my dad comes home, brother comes home, and we just spend a lot of time with the family. of course, the presents were always a plus 🙂

i remember one time i was sitting in ap us, and this girl next to me was talking to this guy.

girl: are you christian?

guy: no, i’m buddhist.

girl: well, then you’re going to hell.

tolerance to me is something really important, so when i heard that, i was shocked. going to hell isn’t exactly something to joke about. mostly, the people i know have been pretty open about religion, but i can’t help but think about what if they really think the same way that this girl felt about this guy, about me? what if they really think that i’m going to go to hell. what kind of friends would they be?

RAVE// i got a digital camera! expect to see me go picture crazy. 🙂

RANT// i’m hungry.