I have just been granted a two-week exchange study-cum-holiday in London. I am a college senior from Cagayan de Oro City in the Philippines taking up a degree in international studies. That is why I am now looking forward for a very merry Christmas in London. I have long been enchanted with the London Eye. I first saw it in the movie The Rise of the Silver Surfer. To promote the movie, a huge Silver Surfer was erected at the center of the London Eye. Now I can’t wait how it looks during Christmas. Probably it will be donned with hundreds of small yet powerful lights. My whole body is excited just by the thought of that one. Next, I am also looking forward for the fireworks over River Thames during Christmas Eve and the fireworks in Big Ben during New Year’s Eve. I am also looking forward seeing the back-to-back concert of emo bands Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Paramore and My Chemical Romance at the Hyde Park during the holiday period. Apartments at this area surely have high rates so it’s much better to go to London during Christmas time in a three-star hotel because room rates there do not fluctuate, holiday or not. Anyway, that will not be a problem because I’ll be staying at the dormitory of the University of London. Other structures that I’m looking forward seeing include the Westminster Palace, the Buckingham Palace and No. 10 Downing Street where Prime Minister Gordon Brown resides although I have heard that is too far from the main highway and the whole street is restricted because the whole street is government-owned.

Most of the residents in London are Anglicans and so Christmas here is kind of different as compared to Christmas in Italy, France, Spain or Germany. Despite that, London is a melting pot even though it is not located in the European mainland and it is somewhat isolated at the Island of Great Britain. So there are lots of non-Christians here in London like Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Sikhs. And so for them, commercial establishments here in London have resorted to other gimmicks and are sensitive enough not to promote the religious part of Christmas. Anyway, Muslims and Jews both have major celebrations this holiday season this Christmas. It is exactly that reason why Londoners greet you “happy holiday” instead of “merry Christmas”.

For the Muslims, they will be celebrating Eid ul-Adha this coming December 20. This is a day of sacrifice as this is a commemoration of the prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son Isaac. On the other hand, the Jews have just celebrated Hannukah which is the festival of lights. It is a commemoration of the win of the Maccabees from the reign of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes. It is for this reason that non-Anglicans in London have banded together to form a lobby group and pressure the government to remain secular. That I will see during my vacation.