Is it offensive to celebrate another culture's holiday?

I don’t think that it is offensive. Why would it be? I have celebrated Diwali with my Hindu friends and Hannukah with my Jewish friends, albeit casually, and it wasn’t awkward or insulting to them or anything.
I suppose if you’re talking about actually participating in the holiday on a deeper level then it might be a little different. If you identify with a culture that is not your own by birth and try to be active within that culture then there are some different social barriers that may exist, but in no way can I conceive of that being outright offensive.

I also enjoy dabbling in different events I can take personal meaning from. Though I’m not hispanic or particularly religious, I also enjoy celebrating the Day of the Dead for the idea of remembering one’s ancestors and their legacy. I’ve been in college for the past 4 years, so not particularly well funded, but I’ve managed to show my respect in my own way.

I think it’s disrespectful when people claim to know more about a religion or tradition that they clearly don’t. Then people get offended. So, just be respectful about your practice and it should be okay.

Considering I just came back from the Dia de los Meurtos celebration at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery last night…

I think you’re being quite sensitive in your analysis—and you’re recognizing that it has value and meaning beyond your cultural understanding. I think you also realize that there’s a risk in fetishizing another culture—and treating it like it’s quaint or a museum piece—or putting it on a pedestal.

That said, the holiday itself in LA had a really wide range of participants. It’s a strange conundrum—as my friend put it, ‘it’s all hipsters and Mexican people—like every cool event in LA’.

In reality most Christians who celebrate Christmas, particularly those who call it Xmas – are celebrating an event related to a culture that they are not part of – so, not it isn’t. I love Chinese New Year and go to Chinatown wherever I am when I can. I did live in China for a while when younger, so I find it nostalgic.

I don’t think so, but I’ve heard of some people objecting to it.

I don’t think it’s offensive at all. I had a neighbor that latched onto the celebration after her son died, and would have a potluck dinner where we would all bring photos of deceased family members, and their favorite food. We’d set the pictures together on a table with candles, eat, and tell stories about the people who had passed. It was a good event. It helped my neighbor, because she was able to talk about her son, and we all learned a little bit about who was important in the lives of our friends.

No one who attended was Hispanic; she latched onto the idea of the holiday as a way to help her cope with her grief, and it did.

Not at all if anything its a better exprience

Hey, any excuse for a party!

Celebration is all good.

No. Fundamentalists might see it as offensive.

I don’t see it as offensive at all. As long as your celebration is handled respectfully and you are doing it for the right reasons (to learn about another culture – not to mock another culture), then I think it is a good thing!

Some people will see it as offensive, so what…as long as your true intention is to really gain knowledge about the holiday and to celebrate it as it was meant to be celebrated, I don’t think it’s offensive…more people can learn from doing just this

Not at all. It seems to me that you have a real interest in certain religions and are willing to learn about their holidays etc rather than just use it as an excuse to get trashed. If everyone was this accepting of other cultures and religions the world would be a much nicer place :)

I don’t see it as offensive, in fact you could argue that when a person chooses to celebrate a holiday outside of their own religion ot culture it is because they think the holiday makes sense to them. I’m not stating this well. That you actually respect and have thought about the meaning behind the holiday more than possibly the people who just do it because it is tradition. And, if it is a celebration held in a public forum, then especially it would simply be participating in a community celebration partly. But, I will add this…I would be happy to have non-Jewish friends come over and celebrate Chanukah or Passover with me. But, if I found out one of my Christian friends just chose to celebrate one of those holidays on their own, I would wonder why? I would not feel offended, but I would just think it odd. Another example could be an America celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving – why? Some of that depends on the holiday. Dia de Los Muertos probably feels like a different way to celebrate Halloween, not necessarily religious? It seems open in some ways for anyone who wants to honor the dead on that day, unlike other relgious holidays that are honoring or celebrating something specific to the people of that religion.

@Haleth Great Question.

It depends on how you celebrate. If you are using specific religious ceremonies for example then it could be offensive. You do not want to misrepresent the culture. This is also true if you are celebrating in a way that harms the culture for example overusing stereotypes. See Appropriation. However if you are celebrating it on a personal note, just for yourself or your family, and you are not getting into the deeper ceremonies then it is not offensive. If you want to delve deeper in the ceremonial side of it or spiritual side of it then it is most appropriate to get yourself a mentor. Once someone from the culture has taught you how to properly carry out such ceremony then it becomes appropriate again. You also want to make sure you aren’t supporting stereotypes and again the best way to do this is to learn how to properly celebrate by someone from that culture.

One example of how scary it can be when people appropriate ceremonial aspects (not holiday for-fun aspects) is the following article. The only reason this happened is because the ceremony was being appropriated.
Article
Definition: Appropriation

Oh, wait – do you mean when people use “Saint Patricks Day” or “Cinco De Mayo” as an excuse to get falling down drunk and ride in the parade and throw beer on the spectators? Oh, yes, that is very offensive.

@YARNLADY That would be a prime example.

@YARNLADY and @RedPowerLady I have issues with the Cinco De Mayo and St. Patrick’s Day examples because it is pretty apparent that both of those dates have been co-opted by big business to sell, sell, sell. Being Irish and (recovering) Catholic I am not the least bit offended when others celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

@SuperMouse It isn’t offensive to celebrate the holiday. It is offensive to force the stereotype by using it as an excuse to get drunk and act like an arse.

St. Patrick’s surprises me as something that offends the Irish, they are out there partying also. Cinco de Mayo is a Joke to Mexicans, it is not there Independence Day as many think, that day represents a Battle against the French, and there aren’t big parties. Mexican Independence Day is in September. Most Mexican’s I know think American’s are just ignorant, but they are not offended.

We have Western Days, where the drunks get dressed up like Cowboys, and of course, New Years, when they simply take their clothes off, if they can get away with it. Then there’s Marde Gras, President’s Birthdays, April Fool’s Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Veteran’s Day, and Labor Day, which are all major drinking holidays. And, most recently,, Halloween when it falls on a weekend.

@RedPowerLady I don’t take offense to folks using St. Patrick’s Day as an excuse to get drunk and act like arses. Probably because the folks that do so, would get drunk and act like arses to celebrate “Take Your Child to Work Day” and spend all of time on the couch with a cooler playing drinking games during “Shark Week.” In short, these are people who would take almost anything as an excuse to get drunk and act like jerks.

@YARNLADY, we had a celebration like that back home. For many of the locals it was three days in a drunken stupor wearing Calvin Klein jeans, Bush Popper shirts, and designer bandannas. I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole!

@SuperMouse You make a good point! I can’t argue with that one bit.

I don’t find it offensive in the least. In fact I find that a large portion of the population in Tijuana (accross the border from San Diego) actually find it kinda funny Howe
many Americans like to use some of our holidays as an excuse to get drunk. We observe the significance of most of these holidays (like dia de muertos and may 6th) but don’t really use them as an excuse to party. We do hold on to some traditions and are very respectful of their deeper meaning but are not offended by the way they are
observed elsewhere. Like I said… We mostly think it’s funny.

@Dr_C Thanks for your input. I have wanted to start a tradition with my kids celebrating dia de muertos as a way to honor and respect our loved ones who have passed but wanted to be sure to do so would be okay. (No drinking involved :) )