When I became a Muslim 22 years ago this month, I left behind the Christmas traditions my family celebrated every year of my childhood. My mother was able to transform our Southern California home into a Winter Wonderland as soon as we walked in the door; it may have been 75 degrees and sunny outside, but inside we felt we were in a Currier and Ives world of red velvet be-ribboned pine boughs, twinkling lights and beautiful music. I loved it.

The Christmas season and our small traditions remained the same no matter how many years passed. My mother worked extremely hard to build warm, and loving holiday memories, and I sincerely cherish them.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Like many American homes, there wasn’t much Christ in my family’s Christmas. There would always be some discussion surrounding the reason for our celebration, but we didn’t attend church services or talk too much about what my parents believed. The beautiful nativity on the mantle, hand-painted by my grandmother, was flanked by tasteful, secular decorations. This led to a kind of vague confusion between the miraculous birth of Jesus, and the magical feat of Santa Claus zipping around the world in one night.

Nostalgia not withstanding, thinking about Christmas is now far more meaningful to me on a spiritual level than it was when I was young. The fact that Muslims accept and believe in the virgin birth of Jesus has been a golden thread that links my childhood Christmas memories to my very fulfilling adult life as a Muslim.

The world’s more than 1.5 billion Muslims would like their Christian neighbors to know that we believe in the Annunciation; in the Quran we read that God sent the angels to Mary:

The Quran has only one chapter named after a woman; Chapter 19 is titled “Mary,” or as it is translated in Arabic, Maryam. The Quran tells us that the infant Jesus, (or Isa as it is translated in Arabic), spoke from Mary’s arms:

While Muslims don’t celebrate Christmas, we believe in the awesome and miraculous birth of Jesus, in the miracles he performed by God’s Grace, and in the message of love and peace Jesus brought to the world. I hope my family knows that I am more attached to the account of Jesus and Mary (blessings upon them) than I ever was as a child, now that I am a practicing Muslim. It is a vital part of my faith; a faith that I share with over a billion and a half people around the world.

This is my Christmas card to my family, and all my Christian friends and neighbors: Peace on earth and goodwill toward men.

Kari Ansari is a writer, editor and social commentator on the American Muslim community. Her commentary has been published in the Chicago Tribune, PBS, and Public Radio International’s Speaking of Faith. Kari and her husband founded and published America’s Muslim Family Magazine in 2003 to 2008 to help fill the void of Muslim media in America. In addition to her work in publishing, Mrs. Ansari is the Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Mercy-USA for Aid and Development. A version of this article was originally featured in Altmuslim.