Opinion | The moment my kids shattered my Christmas illusion

Dec. 4, 2022, 11:00 AM UTCThe start of December brings back memories of all the years I went above and beyond to celebrate Christmas as if it were the key to feeling like I truly belonged in America. It also reminds me of the moment when my kids thankfully shattered that illusion.

It would be the first time that my fascination with Christmas really took root. Throughout the decades, I’d cling to winter wonderlands I saw on television and the feeling of my first Christmas at my Catholic school. But what I discovered was no amount of Christmas sparkle could make this feeling disappear.

During those teen years, our home was a far cry from the harmonious family I yearned for. My mother and I were in an almost constant state of battle. She thought the ideal Iranian woman should be modest, proper and slender. But I was none of those things. Instead, I was bold, loud, rambunctious and always ready to fight for what I thought was unjust in my world. These qualities felt wrong in my house but right in my American life.

Then a few years ago, as we were playing Monopoly — another tradition I’d insisted upon because I played it as a teen and thought of it as quintessentially American — my preteen boys stopped the game. They both said that they were sick of these forced family traditions. They told me that every year I would promise not to micromanage the holiday, including our game night, but I still did it, and it wasn’t fun for them anymore. After their declaration, they darted off to their rooms.

THINK This is misleading….if you don’t want to celebrate Christmas please don’t force your beliefs on to me and my family…just don’t celebrate it and it taking money for the programs which celebrate it.

THINK Christianity = Biggest Lie Ever Told

THINK She’s right. Just because she celebrates Christmas doesn’t mean she’s going to be not treated like just another immigrant and despised by other Americans.

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