‘I doubt it’d happen on 24 December’: Eid and Rosh Hashanah cancelled by coronavirus, why should Christmas be exempt?

We’ve already seen the government treat religious holidays as collateral damage in pandemic management. So, Tahmina Begum asks why Christmas should be different?

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On Thursday 30 July, Muslim families across England were gathering to celebrate Eid the following day. To cook, and pray together, and share stories of the unprecedented lockdown. Then, the news broke. Health secretary Matt Hancock, just three hours before festivities were due to begin, had reimposed restrictions in West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and East Lancashire. Households could no longer mix indoors or in their gardens.

For the 3,000,000 Muslims who live in the UK it was a blow as, outside of London, the greatest percentage of Muslims in England live in the north west and Yorkshire. Bradford - the place with the greatest concentration of Muslims in England (approximately 24.7 per cent of the population) and Blackburn were both included in the zone of restrictions. Pubs - typically not Muslim spaces on Eid - were allowed to stay open.

The secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, Harun Khan shared his frustration: “It’s like being told they cannot visit family and friends for Christmas on Christmas Eve...the UK government has failed to provide clarity on the shockingly short notice and the reasoning behind the new rules that British Muslims deserve.” Others were less tactful, with reports citing Boris Johnson “Grinch who stole Eid” memes circulating on social media. 

Two months later, and four days before Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the Jewish High Holidays and ten days before Yom Kippur (Jewish New Year), Boris Johnson’s “rule of six” was introduced nationwide, meaning people could no longer gather in each other’s homes, but, similarly, pubs, restaurants and offices could stay open. Rabbi Natan Levy tells The Independent: “I’ve been asked, ‘How come people can go to the pub but not come to the synagogue?’

This was particularly challenging for Orthodox Jews and other groups who would not use technology, like smartphones or Zoom calls, during the holiday so could not connect with those outside their household. “It is the most vulnerable, such as the elderly, who are missing out most. The religious experiences behind the High Holidays, where a rabbi comes to you or when you sing and pray communally, is what many wait all year for,” he adds.

But, in a bid to comply with regulations and witnessing the mounting death toll (there have been 450,000 cases and over 42,000 deaths in the UK), Islamic and Jewish communities got on board with the respective regulations, vowing to celebrate again next year. But as winter approaches and Christmas moves into view, a different narrative is emerging; that perhaps celebrations could be exempt from the rules in a bid to boost morale and togetherness. 

If Eid or Rosh Hashanah was important, it would have been kept track of months before, just how Christmas is…

Although it has not been confirmed, reports suggested that Boris Johnson was considering removing the rule of six for 24 hours on Christmas day as a sweetener for a nation, which has lived under coronavirus laws to varying degrees since March. Whether or not it happens, community leaders feel frustrated at the seeming exceptionalism applied to Christmas.

Bristol-based poet and cultural producer, Muneera Pilgrim, says: “It doesn’t feel malicious nor is it just culturally insensitive but it’s a reflection of the bigger issue we have with diversity in politics. If Eid or Rosh Hashanah was important, it would have been kept track of months before, just  how Christmas is.”

Prison chaplain and imam, Hassan Mahmoud, agrees that it seems there is a different weight of importance given to each: “Of course, we need to keep our communities safe and Islam promotes that first and foremost but it’s the fact that the announcement was so last minute that matters. I doubt that would've happened on Christmas Eve. We are a small percentage in comparison but I’d like to think we’re a qualitative part of the population.” 

Perhaps you could argue it is purely a numbers game; that Christianity being the majority religion (according to the 2011 census) in Britain means it gets priority. But a faith survey from 2016 predicted active church members in England were predicted to only make up 4.3 per cent of the population by 2025. Not to mention, 52 per cent of the population said they had no religion in a 2019 survey. Of course agnostics and atheists celebrate Christmas, but if a greater proportion of those celebrating Christmas than Eid or Rosh Hashanah are doing so for non-religious reasons, then the numbers logic isn’t watertight.

Of course there’s also the question of how much money is spent at Christmas - income that the economy could well use as the UK enters recession once again. The Bank of England estimates that monthly household spend of £2,500, increases by £800 in December. On average, Britons will spend 27 billion over the Christmas period on gifts alone, with 21.7 per cent taking out a loan to fund their shopping. Pilgrim says, those of other faiths have to ask: “Is saving Christmas about ‘British values’ and ‘Christian faith’ or about the economy?”

And this isn’t about different faiths not wanting Christians to have Christmas, if anything, Levy says he has witnessed faiths pull together during the pandemic. “If my Muslim neighbour is struggling with Eid, I can empathise as I’m in the same boat with the new year”. Instead, he says this is about treating all faith communities with equal consideration and respect. Mahmoud agrees: “Eid is a really big deal, so to cancel it last minute, displays a lack of care and without communication, it is eroding trust,” he says. “Then when you hear Christmas being spoken about so far in advance it does seem a bit unfair.”

This trust and communication is particularly important as the government has lent on Muslim and Jewish faith leaders throughout the pandemic to communicate messages and encourage adherence to the rules. Christian faith leaders have not yet been advised to lay the same groundwork and manage expectations when it comes to Christmas.

Levy says it speaks of a general lack of religious literacy at the heart of government. “Some of the ways [things] have been managed such as openings of madrassas [Islamic colleges] and yeshivas [Jewish colleges] needs more consideration.” In June, Imam Qari Asim told mosques not to reopen, despite government plans to open places of worship. This was due to the nature of congregational prayer in Islam, compared to private worship elsewhere.

As 2020 has afforded many of us time to reevaluate our lifestyles, what’s also been reflected is what needs to change. “If we’re a society moving towards equality,” says Pilgrim, “We have to be pro-equality of all faiths. It isn’t enough to passively let important [dates] go by”.

Time will tell whether Christmas is cancelled and Boris Johnson risks being the government grinch. Lockdown measures, including local restrictions and proposed circuit breakers could mean that the virus is under control by then, allowing people to socialise more safely than in July or September. But whatever the outcome, faith leaders already feel that the wants and needs of their congregations were dismissed as an inconsequential and tolerable price of pandemic management. A fate they do not expect awaits those celebrating on 25 December.