We might not all have family members of no less than five religious persuasions, but we all face difficulties relating to our kin at this time of year. Clashes can and will arise out of racial, political, and financial differences, just to scratch the surface. The challenge is to find the common ground that exists between yourself and these annual toasters we all call our families, wherever that may be, and by any means necessary. And if that means a few drinks before the clock hits noon, well, pass the 'special' eggnog...A thoroughly enjoyable read, and one that actually caused me to laugh out loud on more than one occasion, which is more than I can recall for some time. Thanks.

I love your family! Where do I sign up? Can I bring my mom? She's a liberal Birkenstock-wearing retired Naval officer with Catholic sentimonies. I plan to follow in your dad's footsteps in 25 years or so....

Sounds like good clean fun.

Best of luck with the boxing day hangovers!

Hooray for multiculturalism.

If the Wilsons can do it there is hope for the rest of us.

Thanks for another wonderful piece by Cintra Wilson. I have to admit, though not quite as colorful as her family, what she describes is so much closer to my own experience every year that it makes me think that this (dare I say it, "multi-cultural" collision), is probably not that uncommon and is perhaps the unifying element in the paranoia that is the "War on Christmas" that we keep hearing about; the fact that Christmas is increasingly less about the christian religious aspects and more an excuse to hang with the "family" - the ever fractured, non-linear, extended-in-name only, bizarre entity that is the american family. It seems to me that the cultural wars are nothing more than taking a look in the mirror and seeing the edifice of every accepted cultural norm being turned on it's head and a shitload of people that are, like, "okay" with it.

Wow... I can relate so well to this article. I'm Jewish, my boyfriend is Muslim and a large chunk of our extended family is Christian... we're spending the next 2 days celebrating Xmas with his family and then I'll probably light the hannukah candles with my parents and brother at some point.

Multicultural holidays are a blessing and I'm happy to see other people who are able to join together too - even if my family isn't quite as colourful as Cintra Wilson's. :) Thanks for posting this.

You need to pitch this as a screenplay. What a delightful bunch!

A truly great piece that thankfully confirms that the Real America is still alive somehwere. Anyway next year we wanna come too. I'm a metagendered (MtF)scientist with an inclination for Kali and Gaia and my partner is an irreligious stone deaf lesbian with bunions.

Diversity is all!

Luce

I guess all the cameras have been given away. And all the Zadie Smith novels too. Cintra Wilson's flowery langage snapshot affirms Christmas for eccentrics everywhere. Except for the ones who etched out neato identities before they were born into the families who spoiled them.

You made me laugh when I needed it. You are brilliant and funny, funny, funny.

Like the wonderful montage of my childrens' field trip buses . . . it makes me thankful for the time and place (U.S.)I was born in!

Ditto to the other letters. I'd just like to add that, as an Episcopalian, I'm kind of proud that we're the one Christian church that can really handle all this!

What a delightful way to start the day - a little preview of the joys that await me with my own multi-culti clan - Japanese Catholic Bro-in-Law, Jewish sister, confused nephew; neurotic anti-holiday "uncle" and little ol' vegan misfit me !

Cintra - your writing puts the "ho-ho" in "hoholiday" - thank you ! xo

This whole piece is testament to the overbearing nature of identity poltiics. "Hi. I'm a half-Ugandan, half-Solomon Islander, Jewish convert to Rastafarianism who draws her beliefs from Buddhism and Sufism" "Oh, nice to meet, you I'm just a plain ol' human being." Not much room during the Holidays for my antiquated notions of egalitarianism and secular universalism when everyone is bent on being 'separate but equal' with their spiritual identity.

Despite her best efforts, the author also fails to convince me that Islam can play ball with the rest of us (i.e. her brief comments leave a lot of unanswered questions). Why can't this brother-in-law of hers listen to a gay Christian sermon without feeling uneasy or even disturbed? Could it *gasp* be religious-induced homophobia? Moreover, her sister has converted to Islam just because she married a Muslim? This is not a new phenomenon, but no matter how often I hear of one spouse converting to the other's religion (almost always the woman converting to the man's religion mind you) it makes me sick. It glosses over what should be profound doctrinally-based beliefs and makes conversion sound like changing one's clothing. It makes me wonder if this woman's sister has any comprehensive understanding of the Qur'an, Haadith, Sunnah, etc.?

I did like reading about the clash of the Muslim and the Scientologist, although again what sort of religions need to proselytise at a family get-together? The subtext of this meeting: "Crazy Cult Memeber A meet Crazy Cult Memeber B. Oh, I apologise Crazy Cult Member B...I'm not supposed to say 'crazy cult' in reference to your allegedly wonderful, misunderstood, peaceful, woman-and-gay-friendly religion. I forgot there are like a billion of you in the world and that within the rules of political correctness might and numbers make right no matter what your actual beliefs are. Too bad Crazy Cult Memeber A, but Tom Cruise’s sexiness just isn't enough to keep your beliefs from being publicly slammed. Now if we were afraid of you deep down...that would be a different story. Do you know how to fly a plane?"

Wow, was that a joke in poor taste or what? But that's the reaction your article elicited in me. And no I am NOT a Christian, Jew, pro-Iraq War, conservative, Republican, Fox-News watcher, etc. just a someone who forms her opinions based on people's actions and objective evidence rather than vague, anecdotal assurances that all is well. The Wilson family is far removed from the West Bank, Kashmir, Kosovo, Nigeria, southern Thailand, and various other locales where the Abrahamic ‘religions of peace’ spend their holiday season killing one another and any uppity non-Abrahamists who don’t find their paternalistic god and his holidays all that spiritually healthy. I just decided not to go to Christmas dinner tomorrow.