Haddiyat al-Eid (A Christmas Gift); Watani Printing and Publishing Corporation; Cairo; December 2009
Thinking about Christmas presents and finding something different from previous years can be quite a challenge, so I was pleased when a small book caught my eye as I walked through the office at Watani. On its cover was a picture of a gift beautifully wrapped in Christmassy green paper tied with a red bow, and its title was Haddiyat al-Eid (A Christmas Gift). Instantly I grabbed a copy hoping I might get a fantastic non-traditional gift especially for my friends’ children who stare anxiously on Christmas Day trying to guess what these little bags I have carry inside.
“For God so loved the world…”
The short book makes very easy reading. As predictable, it is all about Christmas; the material was compiled and written by a group of Watani reporters and the introduction was written by Laila al-Hinnawy, one of the editors who have been with Watani since its foundation. Ms Hinnawy reflects on what Christmas really means to every one of us: grandparents, parents, and children. But basically, she concludes, Christmas is but a message of love.
Since Christmas is in the first place a spiritual occasion, an article by Pope Shenouda III about Christmas opens the book. “Why Jesus Christ came to our world” takes us on the journey from creation to salvation, depicting and analysing the deep love of God for mankind; “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…”. It is this love that leads the Lord to search and find that which was lost, to endure the suffering and hardship of our human lot, and finally to redeem us from death.
The silver star
The following chapter takes us on a journey into history to the place where Jesus Christ was born. The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, which was built by the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century, is introduced with its history and architecture highlighted by some very rich coloured photographs. The imposing building of the church, its interior, as well as the silver star which marks the spot which is believed to have housed the manger, grace the pages of this chapter.
Some Nativity icons from various places in the world are introduced by Donia Wagdy, with short comments on the history of each icon. A mosaic by Isaac Fanous from Egypt, a Nativity icon by Giotto from Italy, one painted by none other than St John Chrysostom and currently at St Catherine’s monastery in Sinai, and one painted by Gaugin are among the collection.
Since some of the most popular signs of Christmas are the Nativity display, the Christmas tree and Santa Claus, A Christmas Gift gives us a light historical coverage of how these three symbols of Christmas came to be integral parts of our celebrations and how they evolved with time to the present-day version.
Fun and festivity
At this point we move from the spiritual and historical to the fun and festive with Dina Sidhom presenting a delightful section on how to create a Christmas tree using the ancient Japanese art of Origami. The instructions given are so simple and easy that I had a go at doing my own Christmas tree, and it really worked.
Never forgetting that Christmas is all about children, there are two beautiful images of Christmas for children to colour.
Since stories never lose their lure, the book provides a short critique on one of the most popular Christmas stories ever written: Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Again, the message of love is eminent, with Scrooge finally finding out that Christmas—and indeed his entire life—can have no meaning without love. A short reflection on the life of Dickens enriches the scene and sheds light on how this story reflected in his own childhood.
A second story is a modern-day one written by Mary Mansour who brings alive the meaning and spirit of Christmas through the eyes of a little boy who is constantly jealous of his younger sister. Christmas, however, brings brother and sister closer in a moving scene of children’s purity of heart, under the Christmas tree.
Family heirlooms
Computer addicts, myself included, will find in the chapter “Christmas online”, compiled by Lydia Farid, a list of safe websites that display e-cards, music and carols, games and many more.
Finally, none will but agree that a feast is no feast without food. So the final section of the book offers us tried and tested recipes of some of our traditional feast food such as the kahk—the sugared butter cookies that go back to ancient Egyptian origin. A few of these recipes may even be considered family heirlooms.
Leafing through A Christmas Gift definitely adds to the Christmas mood; the book is a fine reminder of the spirit and meaning of Christmas.
Editor’s note:
A Christmas Gift, dear reader, was—independently and unknowingly—reviewed by our two reporters Marina and Christine. Each review involved special insight, yet both were endearingly complimentary and shared the same spirit, which made the exclusion of either of them an impossible option. It was finally decided, dear reader, to offer you both reviews merged into one, to eliminate the predictable redundancy. You will have to forgive, however, that the first person experience could not be attributed to either of them. The only pretext is that the experience was all too similar for both. S. Sidhom
