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It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right? Christmas has come. The Christmas trees, filled stockings, mistletoe and bright lights are spectacular. What’s not to like?
So how come Muhammad down the street is not soaking up the holiday joy? I don’t see his house decorated with lights, or a tree in his house.
Trust me, your Muslim neighbor isn’t a grinch. He or she just doesn’t celebrate Christmas, and here’s why.
As we know, Christmas is a religious affair celebrating the birth of Christ, whom Christians believe to be the son of God, and a part of God Himself. Unlike our Christian brethren, Muslims don’t ascribe to this belief. Muslims believe, as the Qur’an states, that “The Majesty of our Lord is exalted. He has taken neither wife nor son unto Himself.”
Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Medical mistletoe
December 18, 2020
In our recent survey of harms at Christmas, Robin Ferner and I did not discuss the harms that might arise from having seasonal plants in the vicinity, other than Christmas trees.
In a PubMed search for plants connected to Christmas I find that mistletoe is the most often discussed. For example, “holly” yields 1775 hits (excluding the many authors called Holly and addresses such as Holly Springs, North Carolina).”Ivy” garners 1288 hits, again omitting authors’ names and institutions such as Ivy Hospital, Mohali, Punjab. “Mistletoe” yields 1603 hits, beaten by “holly”, but restricting the search to titles, mistletoe wins handsomely: 819 hits versus 533 for “ivy” and only 96 for “holly”. Perhaps it’s because mistletoe is a parasite.