Christmas in Pakistan: Greetings and Reflections

Posted on December 25, 2007
Filed Under >Adil Najam, Architecture, Minorities, Religion, Society
26 Comments
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Adil Najam

Christmas greetings to all our Christian readers in Pakistan and elsewhere. On this auspicious day, we at ATP pray for peace and goodwill to all. Last year our Christmas post had carried the picture on the right below. This year we thought that the one of a Pakistani Santa riding a camel would make a good compliment (thanks to Islamabad Metroblog).

Santa - Pakistan styleSanta - Pakistan style


Last year we had also done a pictorial on Churches in Pakistan and I hope that our readers might revisit that post. It remains one of my all-time favorite posts on ATP and a particularly apt one to visit today.



(For more details, click here)

More than just the architectural heritage that these living churches represent, they should be a reminder to all of us Pakistani Muslims that to speak about Pakistan (as we so often do) as if all Pakistanis are Muslims is not just factually incorrect it is insulting and alienating to those Pakistanis who are not.Pakistan belongs to all Pakistanis. Equally. Today, December 25, seems like a good day to remind ourselves of this. Not only because it is Christmas for our Pakistani Christian compatriots but also because it makers the birth anniversary of Pakistan’s founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah (more on him later today). For Jinnah, as is clear from his famous August 11 speech, Pakistan is a Pakistan for all Pakistanis. Equally.

26 responses to “Christmas in Pakistan: Greetings and Reflections”

  1. Jim B. says:

    I have been exploring your site and it is a great treasure. Humanity transcends borders and religions. May all live in Peace.

  2. Shayan says:

    Merry Christmas all. May we Pakistanis learn to live in peace together and learn to appreciate our religious, ethnic and linguistic differences.

  3. Franck says:

    Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.
    The pictures here are all excellent.
    Thank you.

  4. Watan Aziz says:

    Most Churches in Pakistan, but not all, have an adjunct school facility and as such serve the larger community beyond worship needs. Many of them offer up to secondary education, both of Matriculation and O Levels. Generally, they are single gender schools though some offer coed up to middle school. If I am right, only Cathedral High School (my former school) in Lahore, offered coed all thorough the secondary education.

    Besides providing decent education, these schools also served as a bridge between Muslim and Christian communities. As young children, we participated in tableaus for Christmas and Easter. The only period when we went separate ways was religious studies and that included some Parsi students. Personally, I found the experience enriching and it helped me for a more global, integrated and accepting world. I learned to appreciate the similarities as well as the differences of my faith with that of others.

    This post has brought a rush of memories past and pleasant. First the banner card of Government College Lahore, (I am a Ravian) and then the tower of Cathedral High School in the collage of churches was also refreshing.

    Pakistan stands as perhaps the only country in the world with the national flag demarcated specifically with color white for minorities within its realm. It should serve as a constant reminder of acceptance and accommodation with differing views. That ultimately, is the view of the Creator.

  5. RE says:

    Happy Christmas to all even to Muslims. I believe if Christmas is a day of birth of Hazrat Eisa then why can’t Muslims celibate along with Christians?

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