By Estelle Mahnuma, Fraulein M. Chaudhury, Suchitra, M. Shahi Gulshan 2, Dhaka
14 October 2004, 18:00 PM
. PHOTO: Syed Zakir Hossain
We love nature and the seasons. We celebrate the seasons naturally. In March, the strong winds blow the seeds into the ground and the rain helps the plants to blossom. Only the tiny buds can be seen and these have a unique beauty. These tiny buds will blossom into hundreds of flowers in the summer in May. The spring winds, the summer flowers and the warmth of the sun continues in the life of the seasons. "No candied hearts in February, no first of spring, no Easter eggs, no Eid, no Christmas, in fact it's just another ordinary day." Like Stevie Wonder, we celebrate another ordinary day, which is every day. Stephen Roney wrote an interesting article in the Toronto Star, "Christmas is an orgiastic celebration of materialism". There are too many holiday celebrations and it is difficult to keep up with them and all of them are about shopping and commercialism. These holiday months cause stress, and depression. There is a Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). There are people who get depressed because of dark winter days. I think the holiday expenses and stress cause more depression. We love the seasons and the changes and we don't get depressed. In fact, in December, the last month of the year, there is also a way to have a very natural Christmas. We all leave the overcrowded shopping centres, the rush and the madness and get away from the holiday December blues. We just go on a vacation to a remote area. When we were children, we were supposed to join religious celebrations, be a glutton, buy clothes and go shopping. Christmas, Eid, or whatever you call it, is nothing but a time to gain baksheesh, charity and go shopping. A few years ago we read about this Scrooge Club in which the writer wrote that he doesn't spend any money for Christmas and thank goodness for Scrooge. We would like to say something about fasting. There is fasting in different religions. Islam is a tolerant religion. But some people come up and ask "Are you fasting?" and they are not supposed to ask this question. It is no one's business as to what belief system a person follows. Fasting is a way of abstinence. In Islam, sick and elderly people are not supposed to fast. Islam makes provisions.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.