If you’re wondering how a born-again Buddhist Transcendentalist Zen Mama celebrates the winter solstice, I’ll tell you how: by buying and setting up a Christmas tree right next to her Buddhist meditation altar. (Click any of today’s pictures for an enlarged version.)
As if cards proclaiming “Happy Holidays!” weren’t enough of an abomination, members of the Religious Right would have a collective coronary if they could see my apartment. I’ve already blogged my oddly ecumenical altar with its mix of Buddhist and Christian iconography. After having waited too long last year to buy a proper Christmas tree, this year I wanted to do up the season right. ‘Tis the season, after all.
As I child, I always loved setting up my parents’ shabby old aluminum Christmas tree, the kind of tree that was an embarrassment when I was a teenager but now is a retro collector’s item. When I was married, my ex-husband and I typically didn’t set-up a Christmas tree, either visiting family for the holidays or staying in New England to celebrate in non-decorated Zen fashion. When I was married, my husband didn’t like having a Christmas tree because of the Christian (and commercial) baggage he associated with Christmas. But I don’t have similar issues. I have nothing but good memories of Christmas past, and I seem to have found my own personal peace as both a non-practicing Christian and a practicing non-Buddhist. (Think about that for a moment, and it just might make sense.)
So excuse me if I don’t apologize for my eclectic taste in holiday decor. If you’re offended by the sight of Buddha meditating alongside a Christmas tree, a crucifix adorned with Tibetan prayer flags, or a Santa stocking hung within sight of a bronze Buddha bookend and Kwan Seum Bosal tapestry, you can move along now, thank you. Here at my inn, there’s room a-plenty for the baby Jesus, Buddha, Kwan Seum Bosal, Santa, and any other spiritual aspirant looking for a place to stay. Why settle for just one Happy Holiday when you can have Happy Buddha-days in abundance?
Hoarded Ordinaries 
Dec 22, 2005 at 10:11 am
Love your tree with the little guy waving on top!!
Merry Christmas to you and Reggie!!
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Dec 22, 2005 at 12:07 pm
“practicing non-Buddhist” – what a perfect description of how I feel about my own spirituality. I’ve had quite enough of the whole -ist and -ian business, so while Buddhism comes closest to what I want to practice, I still don’t want to label myself that way.
Thanks for the mot juste, and here’s wishing you a great holiday, no matter what/when you’re celebrating!
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Dec 22, 2005 at 12:14 pm
In dutch I have a great sentence ready about what you just told. But alas. It’s something about that your eclectic ideas, to combine your meditation cushion and a buddha sculpture with a christmas tree, in a way seem to me very enlightened! Detachment from the idea that one must only surround oneself with the symbols of one religion/lifestyle/philosophy.
I like that.
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Dec 22, 2005 at 12:50 pm
Good for you. I love it. I went to a wonderful carol service for the uni students, wearing my robes, and a number of Christian ministers came over to say how glad they were that I was there. Let’s all celebrate joyfulness and light together. Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we shared in delight and a giving spirit?
Have a great Christmas. Much love, Sujatin x
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Dec 22, 2005 at 2:38 pm
For some reason this posts reminds me of the Bertrand Russell quote, “The biggest cause of trouble in the world today is that the stupid people are so sure about things and the intelligent folks are so full of doubts.” It’s not a perfect match because your room doesn’t convey any spiritual doubt, but it does show a thoughtful, intelligent spirituality. And at the other end of the spectrum you have the less thoughtful, less intelligent, but very loud folks that boycott stores displaying the inclusive “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.”
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Dec 22, 2005 at 2:50 pm
I LOVE what you’ve done, and you’re just the kind of person I’d want to call a friend, someone who is open to many things and not closed to all but one way. You’re like me!!
Wishing you and Reggie a wonderful, warm and happy Christmas Lorianne!
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Dec 22, 2005 at 4:14 pm
Your holiday seems perfectly balanced to me!!!
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Dec 22, 2005 at 5:38 pm
But how is Reggie?
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Dec 22, 2005 at 5:45 pm
I love that you have been able to combine Buddhism with Christmas. You know what book title you might get a laugh out of (I know I did): _The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought_. *heehee* You’re so right, I think the religious right would definitely have problems with your apartment. But I think it’s awesome.
I tried putting a link to the book on amazon, because the cover is priceless, but that didn’t work. Then I tried at least italicizing the title in proper MLA format (self-proclaimed literary nerd), but that wasn’t working either. So I did the only acceptable thing an an English nerd could do, and that’s use the underscore to demonstrate that it’s a title. I know way too much useless MLA citation formats…
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Dec 22, 2005 at 6:49 pm
Ah, but the tree is druidic, or at least Germanic, and pagan. Santa is mostly Lapp. Add a Menorah, and you can be all inclusive. I liked the term Pantheist at times, when required to add a label. I figure it would be better if we all opened all the eyes we have. ‘Stead of narrowing only one and squinting to make the world fit small ideas.
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Dec 22, 2005 at 7:05 pm
Lorianne, I am a bit of a spiritual oddball, seeing as how I was raised Methodist, turned Catholic, believe in reincarnation and now attend a non-demom. church. There are more than 7 roads to Rome – so your altar and tree are not so strange bedfellows to me! Have a wonderful set of holidays – whichever you choose to celebrate!
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Dec 22, 2005 at 9:24 pm
Love your tree! Luxuriant!
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Dec 22, 2005 at 10:18 pm
What a beautiful crucifix. I love that you’ve adorned it with prayer flags, of course, but I’m also struck by its beauty all by itself — not a way I’m used to feeling about that particular icon.
Three cheers for days growing lighter!
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Dec 22, 2005 at 10:47 pm
Lorianne, I feel like you have given us a holiday gift. Thank you. I appreciate it that you always share yourself in such appropriate ways. Yours is not just a “place blog;” it is a “person blog.” Have a good holiday. Peace . . .
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Dec 22, 2005 at 10:59 pm
What fun. You have us beat, though we do have two hanukiahs across from our tree. (I like to think that the marriage of Hanukkah and Christmastide in this year’s calendar may have had something to do with their successful engagement in our home.)
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Dec 23, 2005 at 1:27 am
All places should be decorated celebrating everything and practicing whatever makes one happy and at peace.
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Dec 23, 2005 at 1:28 am
Btw, nice picture of yourself.
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Dec 23, 2005 at 4:54 am
Thank you for stopping and leaving a comment about my Carolina Wren picture. I was here yesterday on blogexplosion but didn’t stop then. After I saw your comment on my blog I came here and will make a brief comment. I am an old guy at 71 and my wife is 69. We have five adult children and have been married for just a few months past 50 years. Christmas is now a commercial event and not really like it used to be. I have a post about that on my blog. When I was born and growing up nobody “celebrated” Christmas and there were only two families in my village who had a tree decorated. No artificial trees existed. No flashing lights. Just a tree they cut down and propped up in the house and hung popcorn on and paper dolls cut out and no angels on top. On the big day only the regular church goers went to church and there was no trees in church. Stores didn’t decorate but they began to sell things they had left over that year and at WWII it took off some because women worked and families seemed to have more money. Now it is the other way and to extremes. It is a commercial end of the year. Fortunately Christ has never been in “Christmas” and isn’t there now. Santa Claus was adopted to put some materialistic appeal in sagging sales and even he is not much of a salesman anymore. I have heard lots (a lot really) of people say no cards this year, no stack of gifts under the tree and no more spending a fortune on Christmas. Sorry for the long speech. I don’t know how to make it shorter.
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Dec 23, 2005 at 7:49 am
Now that is interesting. I clicked on Abraham Lincoln’s link and it goes straight to a commerical.
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Dec 23, 2005 at 8:11 am
I believe Abe mistyped his URL. It should read
http://blog.efx2.com/user/oldmanlincoln/
Check out the photos on his site: the wren I commented on is a couple posts down.
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Dec 23, 2005 at 10:31 am
Love it! Especially your “angel”…. my wife loves snowmen (we are inundated with them). Being a Jewess working in a Catholic school it gives her a means to celebrate the season without really caving in. Me, I am just a spiritual hodegpodge – so your apartment strikes a chord.
Hope you and Reggie have a wonderful holiday!
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Dec 24, 2005 at 5:15 am
In the Dong-A Ilbo, a national newspaper here in So. Korea, there’s was an inside-cover picture of Buddhist monks putting up a huge Christmas tree, full of trimmings! Even our temple has hung a banner outside saying, “Baby Jesus is born!”–you’d be right at home here!
I love the tree. Merry happy ChristBuddhamas!
(…I got your card. I still like snail mail more, so I’ll send another your way.)
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Dec 24, 2005 at 9:26 am
Cambridge Zen Center has a Christmas tree up in a window where it looks very festive as seen from Auburn Street. Providence Zen Center had its usual low-key Christmas party last week. As is typical of a PZC bash, there was an abrupt clean-up starting at 9:00 so everyone could go to bed. CZC parties go later.
Your setup is festive and makes sense, and doggone it I can feel the warmth of your living room.
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Dec 24, 2005 at 5:52 pm
I say, “Yeah–that is exactly the way it is.”
Happy Buddah-days and all Lorianne!
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Dec 26, 2005 at 2:41 am
I, for one, love your eclectic celebration! Hope you had a nice holiday however you celebrated it. I sure remember those aluminum Christmas trees–never had one–and the bubble lights, though you may be too young to recall that. I actually have some of my great grandparents ornaments on my tree–and a felt stocking given to me by a stranger in a toy store when I was 10. My tree, since I have collected ornaments, is like a giant story tree with almost every ornament having a history.
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Dec 26, 2005 at 11:07 am
Beautiful!
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Dec 26, 2005 at 1:40 pm
yes yes yes.
when we send happy holidays cards (as opposed to the english tradition of happy christmas) to the us it is to say – take your space, be where you are, draw from your own personal and spiritual tradition and let’s all take a breath together…your interiors are a comfort and inspiration and ours don’t look that different.
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Dec 27, 2005 at 6:26 pm
Your apartment makes me smile, looks very Unitarian-universalist to me
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Dec 28, 2005 at 2:50 pm
We got one of those Tibetan prayer flag strings, too – the Campaign to Free Tibet trying to guilt us into sending money, I guess. It looks great on our Christmas tree. I wonder how many other recipients of that mailing had the same reaction?
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