Talking to kids about christmas

deenonthebrain

New Member
:salam2:

As Salaamu Alaykum...

It is that time of year again, lights, crowded malls, santa claus.
The time of year when Muslims run for the proverbial hills trying to
stick their heads in the sand while our children are drawn to the
twinkling, presents and candy. Then it comes time to face
the "Christmas Carol" when some sphere of your child's life hauls the
yule-tide right to your front door.

This has happened to us in the form of my daughter's gymnastics
class. She came to me with a small bright red card folded in half. This
time of year the color red invokes the same sense of dread as the number
1040 does during tax season. I open the card and there it is "bring
a gift to the next class for the gift grab bag!" with the usual fun,
fun, fun glitz that will brighten any young child's eyes.

So the question arises, how does a Muslim parent teach Muslim
children that these festivities are not for us and how to refrain from
participating in activites that are so unislamic but to them seems
like plain old fun?

So how do we explain to children that we should shut our eyes and
ears to something that bombards our senses for at least 1/4 of the year?
And at the same time how do we teach them to be respectful to those
around them who observe and enjoy the holidays whithout becoming
engrossed in it themselves?

:wasalam:
 

NewMuslim

Slave of Allah
:wasalam:
A very hard topic, and i'm no parent, but I am a son (a young one at that). If this were an issue, I'd prefer my parents tell me directly. You should do the same.

Tell her the Islamic stance, head Allah's Words ("Let there be no compulsion in religion") and let her decide for herself whether she wants to follow Allah or what the other people are doing.
 

Abdul Hasib

Student of Knowledge
Don't let them watch cable tv! During Christmas, a lot of cartoons are about Xmas. Let kids see nasheeds or islamic cartoons like Adam's World to get their mind off this holiday. If restraining them from broadcating cartoons are too harsh, don't let them see stuff like the grinch. st. nick, or anything with that holiday. They can watch Tom and Jerry but not stuff like Jackie Chan Adventures, or Flinstones/Jetsons, or Book of Virtues. I'm not a parent, just a young pre teen who went thru these things when I was a kid even though I was a muslim all my life.
 

BintMuhammad

New Member
Staff member
Assalamu alaikum,

I totally agree with bro Abdul Hasib. The media can brainwash and influence the kids especially without proper parental guidance. I think kids are smart and intelligent. If we explain to them the reason why we don't celebrate christmas and other occassions based on lies thoroughly, I'm sure they'd understand it. I'm no parent either, but I have little cousins who grew up in a very unislamic environment but Alhamdulillaah with their parents' guidance, they know what's wrong and what's right. One of them even quivers with disgust if she hears the word "pig" even though she doesn't know how a pig looks like LOL.
 
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