In a recent Reddit post, a user found herself facing a dilemma with religion and her mother-in-law. Here’s the full story.
Spending Christmas With Family
The original poster (OP), an Australian, and her fiancé, an Italian living in the US, planned to spend Christmas with his family in Italy.
A Collection of Nativity Scenes
On a previous visit, OP’s future mother-in-law had shown her an extensive collection of nativity scenes depicting the nativity story with Jesus born in different parts of the world.
Plus, when OP met her mother-in-law, the older woman told her how much she loved koalas.
The Jesus Koala
Inspired by this, OP and her mother decided to gift her fiance’s mother an Australian-themed nativity scene, with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph portrayed as koalas surrounded by other cute Australian animals.
Things Took a Turn
But, the well-intentioned gift took an unexpected turn when the mother-in-law’s reaction was not what they had hoped for!
She Was Upset
Upon opening the gift, she grew visibly upset, putting the koala back in the box and hiding it away.
She Had a Total Breakdown!
Later, when OP and her mother had left, her mother-in-law had knocked over the Christmas tree, and started crying, blaming her son for not preventing the gift from being given.
Her Wild Accusation
She said that the Baby Jesus Koala was a sign that her son had turned his back on his culture and religion by leaving Italy and not following the Catholic faith anymore!
Her Sons Had Left the Catholic Church
OP thinks that the strong reaction might have been influenced by her disappointment in her sons’ decision to leave the Catholic Church, and another son being gay.
OP says it is possible that she harbors resentment towards them for no longer practicing Catholicism.
She Didn’t Expect This Reaction
Despite this, OP and her mother didn’t anticipate the negative response to the gift.
They had thought it was a lighthearted and culturally inclusive gesture.
Her Fiancé Took Part of the Blame
OP’s fiancé, who also left the Catholic Church, took some blame upon himself, feeling he should have foreseen the potential offense caused by the gift.
He accepted his upbringing in the Catholic faith and the cultural sensitivities surrounding the nativity scene.
Her Mother Thinks There’s Nothing Wrong
But OP’s mother, who was raised Catholic but no longer practices the religion, didn’t find any issue with the Baby Jesus Koala.
Her Mother Gave Her Reasons
She questioned why depicting Jesus as an Inuit or Native American, in cultures with different religions, was deemed acceptable, while the koala representation was seen as blasphemous.
She Needed Advice
OP now questioned herself whether she was in the wrong for what happened and took to Reddit to ask if she was wrong.
It Was a Thoughtful Gift
Several Redditors sided with OP saying that she was not wrong.
One Reddit user wrote, “NTA, it was a thoughtful gift based on the information you had. Would Have easily been a no AH situation if she had reacted like an adult, even if she didn’t like it.”
Another Redditor commented, “NTA. You tried to find a Christmas gift that would be special and meaningful for your MIL, and she overreacted horribly.”
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The post Her Melodramatic Mother-In-Law Pitched a Fit When She Saw the Christmas Gift She’d Been Given first appeared on Career Step Up
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / fotograftutkunu. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: Reddit
