The Christmas rush is on for most of us. But what about people for whom the festival may not be as important? Breda Heffernan hearsabout six different approaches
The Chinese student
Jessie Cao, from Shanghai, has been studying business and marketing at Dundalk Institute of Technology for 18 months
"I will spend this Christmas with other Chinese students in Dundalk. We will probably get together for a meal, but as Christmas isn't celebrated in our homes in China our biggest celebration will be for Chinese New Year, in January.
"Like at Christmas here, kids will buy new jeans and coats, and the whole family will come together to share a big meal for the new year. Fish is an important dish, and there are various customs to go with eating it. You don't turn it over when you are eating it, because if a fisherman turns over a fish on his boat it means his boat will end up turned over too. Also, it is our custom that you must leave a little bit of the fish behind on your plate. This means you will save money in the next year. Chinese children don't get presents like the children here, but they make paper pockets and their parents put money in them.
"The date of the Chinese new year depends on the lunar calendar and changes from year to year. Spending last Christmas in Ireland was a bit strange: it was so quiet and no shops or restaurants were open. I spent the day with other Chinese students.
"In Shanghai the shops are open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. for New Year's Day. It's one of the busiest days of the year and they make loads of money. I think it's strange that all the shops and businesses here close down on Christmas Day."
The Buddhist monk
Kelsang Donyö, from England, has been teaching at Tara Buddhist Centre in Dublin for more than two years
"This Christmas I'll be going home to my parents in Romsey, in Hampshire. I'll do all the usual things, like go to church with my parents and have Christmas dinner - without the meat. I used to be a member of the Church of England and was a choirboy from the ages of seven to 18, but I've been a Buddhist for the past eight years.
"For me the meaning of Christmas has changed, as it does for everybody when they grow up, I suppose. The Buddhist take on Christmas is that it depends entirely upon what people make of it. It's a festival or celebration, but its original meaning is confused. I don't think the real meaning of Christmas is clear any more.
"At Christmas time I encourage people to take the opportunity to cherish others, particularly family and friends. The main Buddhist practice is giving, giving both material things and love. Christmas is a great opportunity to engage in these practices. More people than usual will probably come to the Tara centre to meditate over Christmas. People find it's very nice to take a break from all the preparations, to collect their thoughts and reflect on why they are making all these preparations.
"We have many parents at the centre who will be celebrating Christmas for their kids - they'll be making them turkey and all the rest. The society they live in is one that celebrates Christmas, so they feel they have to do it for their kids. I think we overindulge in pleasure at Christmas time. From a Buddhist point of view it's very interesting to look at the kind of happiness that emerges from the ordinary pleasures of eating and drinking. It's great but not enough. It's enjoyable but doesn't satisfy us."
The Jew
Geoffrey Phillips is chairman of the Jewish Home of Ireland. There are 1,000 synagogue members in Ireland
"We do not celebrate Christmas but have Hanukkah, which begins \ and lasts for eight days. As Jews we do not celebrate the birth of Jesus but the miracle of the oil.
"When the sons of Judas Maccabaeus came to Jerusalem in 169 BC" - the city had previously been conquered by the Syrian Greeks - "they cleansed the temple and took out all the idols. When it came to lighting the holy lamps in the temple they found there was no oil to do it with. The oil had to be specially prepared and put in jars that would be sealed by the high priest, and the jars were made in such a way that they would keep the lights burning for one day exactly. After clearing away various things they found a single jar left with the seal unbroken, and they used that to light the lamps for one day. Legend goes that the lamps kept burning for eight days, by which time enough oil had been prepared.At Hanukkah we celebrate the miracle of the oil.
"Jewish festivals are always connected with food, and during Hanukkah we eat food in which oil is an essential ingredient, to remind us of this miracle. Jews in western parts of Europe eat potato pancakes fried in oil, and Jews in southern Europe and the Middle East make things like doughnuts fried in oil. Nowadays you'll find that most people eat both.
"The festival starts with the lighting of the first candle, and then we light one more candle each day for eight days. The children play a traditional game with a dreidel, or spinning top, for some nuts or a couple of coins. The children are given presents or money, and we sing songs such as Rock Of Ages as we light the candles."
The Muslim
Khalid Ibrahim, from Iraq, has been living in Ireland for 10 years. He represents the Iraqi Human Rights Organisation
"On Christmas Day I will share the occasion with some of my Irish friends. I will say prayers for God to give them health, happiness and wealth and for peace and prosperity for all religions. Islam, like the other two main religions, is all about peace and respecting life as the highest value. I believe Christmas is an occasion for all religions. It's very much for Christians, but Jesus was a messenger in Islam and he performed a lot of miracles.
"As a community, it's not our most important celebration: Ramadan and the festival of Eid would be our main celebration. Eid means celebration of successful fasting . . . There are some Christians in Iraq and they would celebrate Christmas. In Baghdad and other cities they will prepare their houses, and all the signs of the celebration are visible, such as the lights and Christmas trees. But in Iraq the new year is when everybody celebrates.
"I'm very happy when people wish me a merry Christmas, and every year I write postcards to all my friends. Traditionally we don't give presents, but Muslim parents in Ireland may give their children a present in the new year. It's like putting milk in your tea: it's one of those dimensions of Irish culture you pick up."
The Orthodox Christians
Lacra Neacsu and her husband, Ion, who came to Ireland from Moldova three years ago, are Romanian Orthodox Christians. They have two children, Alexandru (two) and Anastasia (nine months)
"We don't have any family in Ireland, so it's different having Christmas here. But we will invite some of our Romanian and Irish friends around to eat with us and go to our church on Christmas morning.
"In Romania we do a Christmas tree on the evening before Christmas and decorate it with winter fruits, such as red and green apples, oranges and mandarins, nuts and home-made sweets. I'll do the same here in Ireland. When the children come around singing carols they can take what they want from it. Mos Crãciun is our Santa Claus, and when the children get back from visiting relations they find he has left a big bag of gifts. So Romanian children are lucky, because they get to open their presents on Christmas Eve.
"We have a vegetarian fast for 40 days before Christmas and don't eat any meat during this time, so we have a special menu for Christmas Day. We used to cut a pig before Christmas and clean it out . . . . From the pig we make many things, such as smoked sausage with garlic - it tastes a lot better than Irish sausages. But after fasting the pork is very heavy. We eat a lot of dishes, such as sarmale. It's meat, rice and vegetables covered with cabbage leaves, and we boil it in the oven for a few hours. We also have cozonac. It's a sweet bread, like brioche, with nuts, cream and chocolate. Maybe this Christmas we will use turkey because we are in Ireland."
The African
Lloyd Mudiwa, a Methodist from Zimbabwe, came to Ireland last Christmas
"I will be spending Christmas Day at home in Dublin with my wife and some friends. I expect it will be very quiet, as most of my friends will be off with their families.
"For a traditional Christmas in Zimbabwe we travel into the country to our rural home, where our family originally comes from. The whole extended family goes back and we slaughter a beast, maybe a cow or a goat. We do this all together. But a modern Christmas is coming in more and more because of Western influences.
"On Christmas Day we will have a special meal of chicken and rice . . . . My family would be religious, so in the morning we would go to church and then meet up with our relations in the afternoon.
"Santa Claus is not a Zimbabwean tradition, but we get presents from our parents. We have Boxing Day on December 26th, and children go around asking relations for a 'Christmas box', and they would give you a tenner or something. This tradition is fading out now, because people don't have the money for it any more, but it was very important when I was a kid. We used to exchange presents, but over the last couple of years the economy has not been doing too well. People are not buying presents as much as they used to; they buy a token present but mostly just Christmas cards . . . . The best present would be to remove the government. That would really create an environment for economic recovery, and people would be able to spend Christmas as they used to."
