11/1/2022 0 Comments Saturnalia y navidadThe tree eventually became coterminous with the figure of Christ himself. For immigrant Christians, the tree was a relic of their old homelands they replanted in their adopted country. German immigrants are believed to have introduced the symbolic item to the US (earlier ascetic Christians were vehemently opposed to the idea). The origin of this current tree at the epicentre of Christmas holiday celebrations is probably Roman Saturnalia – or an even older pagan tradition – which was eventually Christianised in Europe. We all look at the same tree, but see different things. A dakhil is a piece of cloth people hang on tree branches to wish for a dream to come true – a suitable boy for their daughter, a faithful bride for their son, success in their spouse’s business, cure for the illness of a relative, pregnancy for a young cousin … The lightbulbs and Christmas decoration items on the Rockefeller Center tree always remind me of those dakhils. At the mausoleum’s courtyard, there was a magnificent tree on which local worshippers hung their “dakhil”. The tree reminds me – one among billions of non-Christians – of my late mother, a devout Shia Muslim, going to the mausoleum of the Shia saint Ali ibn Mahziar Ahvazi in our hometown. Have we all – Jews, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, agnostics, shamans etc – become Christianised or has the Christmas tree itself assumed a whole different set of meanings? Solid as it stands with all its glittering light bulbs, the tree has become a floating signifier. But in New York City, the tree has assumed a set of different meanings – and no one is in charge of legislating what the tree means. The White House too has its own so-called “National Christmas Tree” that was lit on December 2 this year. What is this bizarre ritual (aren’t all rituals bizarre and yet magical?) and what does it mean? On the surface the Christmas tree is a symbol of the Christian character of this city and this country. So, those locals who know the area better go through side and adjacent streets to get an even better angle on the glorious tree, and take their annual picture with their family and friends in front of it to send to those who are far away. The locals soon discover that tourists find their way to the tree using their Google Maps app and thus almost always enter the site from Fifth Avenue, and as a result that entrance is prohibitively crowded. The only issue is that getting anywhere near the iconic tree is a Herculean task.įrom the time that it is ritually lit in early December – this year it was on Wednesday, December 1 – to Christmas Day the site of the tree is flooded with native New Yorkers and tourists alike, making it difficult if not impossible to get close to the tree itself. Among the annual rituals in New York around this time of the year is for the whole family to make an outing to see the Christmas Tree at the Rockefeller Center.
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