I know many Muslim converts struggle during the holidays with how to maintain family ties without celebrating in a way that conflicts with Islam. And I, too, have conflicted feelings about what is appropriate for me during the holidays. One year, for example, I completely skipped my family's Thanksgiving gathering. I regretted it almost immediately, and caused some hard feelings. That same year, I had to push to attend the Christmas gathering, and even fight (verbally) with one relative to just get in. Consequently, I decided to make my family's holiday gatherings a time for me to renew and strengthen relationships with my family, who I see rather infrequently. Now that I live on the other side of the country, I find doing this to be even more important.I generally abstain from the Christmas gift-giving traditions, and it should go without saying that I also abstain from ham and alcoholic drinks that might be around. But the holidays provide me a natural opportunity to socialize with my family members that I wouldn't otherwise get to see. So my visits around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's, when I'm able to make them, tend to be more fruitful than at other times of the year. Although, I do avoid Easter entirely.
This year, since I have a little baby as a travel companion, I expected it to be more difficult to travel more than once, and as the family is expecting another baby in early December, I decided to take one long trip from late November through New Year's, and spend several consecutive weeks with my family. My husband graciously agreed to my plan, so here I am.
Having a few extra hands to watch the baby is nice, and I'm becoming more self-sufficient, though I do have somewhat fewer responsibilities here. But now that I can handle the essential things that have to get done on a daily basis, I'm ready to spend more time visiting family and friends. Hoping things go well!
