With society getting caught up in adapting to cultural “trends,” people often forget to respect their own religious rituals. Farha Khalidi addresses this complication over cultural appropriation in her article, “Why I Don’t Celebrate Christmas.”

Farha tells how a friend asked why she didn’t celebrate Christmas. I have learned that Christmas is a religious event in which Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, not just a day where presents are received along with gingerbread houses and other goodies. Farha, who comes from a Muslim household that celebrates Indian traditions, felt pressure to deny her cultural roots in order to avoid humiliation from her peers. She “white-washed” herself, losing her cultural traditions in order to fit in to mainstream white society. Cultural appropriation is often unrecognized; people don’t realize they may offend someone of another culture by taking part in their religious traditions.

Nowadays, everyone is getting henna tattoos and celebrating Christmas because it is “in” and “cool,” and Farha explains how this is not okay. I am Chinese, and I have heard people claiming that they are more Asian than me when I don’t eat Chinese food. Farha writes, “Who am I to expect people to stop trying to style up my culture and copy and paste the trendy parts of my roots when some minorities fail to recognize they are doing the same thing?” Farha makes an excellent point, proving all the flaws of cultural appropriation and changing my views of its significance.