Letter from Boston A Varied Christmas By MASAKO YAMADA	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
それぞれのクリスマス 皆さんは、アメリカではだれもがクリスマスを盛大に祝う、と思い込んではいないでしょうか？　人種、民族、宗教の異なる人々が集まるこの国では、クリスマスの持つ意味も過ごし方も千差万別です。クリスマスムードいっぱいの繁華街を歩きながら、雅子さんは、改めてクリスマスの意味について考えさせられました。

One of the things one learns very quickly in the States is that there is no one way of doing anything "correctly." Although there are some customs and characteristics that are often considered all-American, there are so many subtle variations and drastic exceptions to the norm that it's almost impossible to know how any given person will react to a given situation. Nothing can be taken for granted.

I think Christmas is a good example of this. There simply isn't any set way to celebrate this holiday. It's true that there are lots of twinkling lights and Christmas trees displayed in the storefronts, but I know many, many people who don't celebrate Christmas at all.

In certain cases, seemingly innocent questions like, "What are you doing for Christmas?" can seem presumptuous and intrusive, since it assumes that the other person observes the holiday. It can lead to a heavy discussion about personal religion, a topic which is often avoided in social situations.

Some non-Christians choose to observe the holiday on a secular level — exchanging gifts at the office, baking holiday cookies, or wearing a Santa hat — while oth ers feel uncomfortable acknowledging the holiday at all.

Even the Christian majority seems to celebrate the holiday on different levels. In my heavily Roman Catholic hometown in New Jersey, I grew up seeing many elaborate, lighted nativity scenes on the front lawns of my neighbors'. I don't see such overt religious displays in my little neighborhood in Boston.

To some people, Christmas is the most holy day of the year, a day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. To others, it's the time to participate in the annual shopping rush. I think for most Americans, the meaning of Christmas falls somewhere in between. At the very least, it's a time to appreciate friends and family — something that a person of any religion, and degree of observance, can do.

As I was walking around one of the most popular shopping areas in Boston, Downtown Crossing, recently, I couldn't help feeling some of the general "Christmas spirit." I was heading toward the train station after eating a meal in Chinatown and I felt compelled to look at the decorated windows of Macy's.

Each of the windows was set up as a holiday diorama with mannequins of famous Bostonians. I real ly liked the windows, and I stood in the cold for quite a while even though I'm not religious nor do I like to shop. The windows captured the spirit of the celebrities and of the happy holiday season in general.

Many of the mannequins looked very similar to their subjects. I had to laugh at the mannequins of Keith Lockhart and Seiji Ozawa since the mannequins were "conducting" facing the back wall. I couldn't help thinking that it was because they didn't have a mannequin with Asian features.

As I neared the entrance of the store, I encountered a strange scene. There was a group of protesters in front of the store, demanding that Macy's stop carrying fur products in their stores. Protesters have successfully forced Macy's stores on the West Coast to stop selling fur and these people were attempting the same on the East Coast.

Right behind the protesters was a large electric menorah donated by a local Jewish group, perhaps to counter all of the Christmas trees and Santa dolls in the shops. And behind the menorah was a Christmas fixture ubiquitous on street corners in December — a Salvation Army volunteer with a red donation bucket and ever-tinkling bell.

Customers continued to go in and out of Macy's, and street musicians played jazzy Christmas carols, with change baskets set in front of them. I just stood there watching.

We were all on the same corner in front of Macy's, each doing what he or she thought was right. Activism, charity, faith, consumerism — and passive objectivism: All I can say is that Christmas means different things to different people.

Shukan ST: Dec. 24, 1999

(C) All rights reserved