Does it bother you?

Question

That you get Christmas shoved down your throat every year?

Like you HAVE to be nice and happy and cheerful. And not try to think of the fact that the cuddly father Christmas could be a child molester that is not on the sex offenders list through some loophole in the law.
Sometimes i think the best way to spend christmas would be in the soup kitchen giving to those that really appreciate. But the nearest soup kitchen is run by social services :-(
Personally i would have a 'Appreciation Day'. And it would be on the 22nd of December. It would be appreciative of the fact that it is when the days are starting to get longer. And of the fact that i live in a consumer society. I can show my appreciation by going on a mad shopping spree to buy pressies for all the people i never get to tell that i really do appreciate them.

You?

stephen ... you're missing the point. I am getting a cristian ritual shoved down my throat every year. I don't buy the bible stories and it is no less mythology then Thor. Christmas is about spending money, stuffing your face and watching telly in the UK. And don't let anyone else tell you different.

lilnuttbutt: that another dilemma ... what do i tell my three year-old? i want to feed her imagination. but i'l be damned if i have to do it in the name of christianity or any other religion for that matter.

Answer 1

i agree with you... there is too much pressure both socially and commercially surrounding this fete.
personally i think it should be turned into the traditional feast of light, which is/was celebrated by almost all northern hemesphere religions on the darkest day of the year, so that interpretation, if required can be given according to the family beliefs, and if you have no belief, then is doesn't matter, it is just nice to see lots of lights and candles around, and makes the winter that little more bearable.

Answer 2

Whether you will celebrate on Christmas or not is entirely up to you. People make a holiday happen, not the shops or television. If you don't want to watch TV on Christmas, then don't. If you want to give people soup - do it: post a note in the supermarket and stand in front of it with a pot, a ladle and plastic cups.
Already in your question it is evident, that people celebrate Christmas in different ways. Santa Claus has nothing to do with Christianity.
Again, the holiday will be Christian or spiritual, if you give it this meaning - if you tell your daughter what you think the true meaning of Christmas is or what you would like it to be.
All the preparations around Christmas are actually similar to creating a big scene with all the decors and decorations. If you don't want to be part of it - don't jump on the stage. If you do, act it out in a way that will make you and your family happy.

Answer 3

You know you made a good point, Christmas has been raped of its meaning and is now shoved down your throat to buy this, that, believe or not I lived on the real skid row in Los Angles for 3 days I will never feel sorry for myself and help others if I can. Christmas is the spirit [Jesus was born"] all the spirit means is what you said in a way just be nice and do what makes you feel good. Forget the commericalism enjoy the smiles and the spirit of the time.

Answer 4

I wish people would stop crapping on about Jesus and Christianity when talking about Christmas. For a majority of us, it has bugger all to do with the little baby Jesus anymore but the crappy doily bread roll holder that your great auntie gave you and the Noel Edmonds DVD that some nincompoop thought would be a great idea to give you. Don't forget the gargantuan turkey you spend the next two weeks eating. As you can tell, I'm not a huge fan of Christmas (bring on the humbugs!) It's completely lost all meaning and it's all about the poxy Queen's speech and gorging oneself on mince pies and chocolates. I think your idea of Appreciation Day is awesome - bring it on. Give us some sentimentality back to this once special time of year.

Answer 5

There is one thing that I truly LOVE about Christmas aside from the fact that it is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and that is that I get to see all my family especially my nieces and nephews.

But the rest of it to be honest the older I get the more I am beginning to find it soul-destroying. Everyrone rushes out and tries to buy gifts that most people wont REALLY appreciate (how many bottles of perfume/cologne does one person need?) all for this one day, and then for the other 364 days of the year everyone forgets each other. I dont have enough money to REALLY be able to give REAL help to the people I love and care about and buy them the things they NEED. I totally agree that to spend the day helping others rather than stuffing my face is the ONLY way to enter into the real spirit of Christmas.

i just read your other response. i mean this is no way disrespectfully but I am not surprised that you feel oppressed by "Christs mass" given that you dont believe in Christ. You are trying to separate the celebration from its original meaning - of course without given homage to the birth of Jesus it is just an exercise in over-indulgence!! Celebrating Jesus' birthday is the only reason Christmas makes any sense to me at all. if you feel so strongly about it, you should consider not celebrating "Christs mass" at all (its kinda contradictory to celebrate it if you're an atheist in my opinion) and instead why not, as you mentioned, establish an appreciation day with other like-minded friends and family members maybe as an alternative, which has nothing to do with God or Jesus at all. but I think trying to find some deeper meaning to Christmas when you dont believe in God is a pointless exercise.

Helen B, I am not trying to bible bash you but celebrating "Christs mass" is the only authentic and meaningful way to give homage to the day, otherwise its just a day like any other. In one breath you are saying that CHristmas means nothing, in the other breath you are trying to remove the only thing which gives the day any meaning at all. What do you think the the "Christ" in "Christmas" stands for???

I personally am all for atheists setting up an appreciation day for themselves and separating it from Christmas all together. I am tired of being told off for celebrating CHrist's birthday the way it was intended.

Answer 6

I think you have a good idea, and should do as you write above. I'll see you at the soup kitchen. I was homeless for twelve years, and I assure you that people will be grateful. You will find this makes the holy days much more meaningful to you.

Go away for a while, get away from the commercialism. Don't watch so much tv or listen to as much radio as many people do.

Read things which are spiritually and intellectually uplifting. I recommend The Conscience of India, by Creighton Lacy. I'm reading it now.

Answer 7

I like christmas, But I suppose I'm one of the lucky ones, christmas was always fabulous when I was little. The tree, the smell, meeting family I hadn't seen all year and not to mention the tons of presents. As you get older you do see it for what it really is. Now I go to church on christmas eve (the only time I go). It might not be much fun for grown ups but children enjoy it. Every year christmas seems less and less like we remember it to be. People who don't celebrate chrismas for its true worth shouldn't have a holiday from work or reap the binifits of it (like double time and increased fares) But for those who do, look at the eyes of you kids when they drag you down stairs at 6 am to see the lights and boxes covers in glittering paper and ribbon. It makes it worth it for me. Mery Christmas!!

Answer 8

The true meaning of Christmas got lost in all the crass commercialism by corporations who are not only money hungry but godless as well... as a man thinks in his hart there also go's his soul...! "If money is your god that your reward will be on the other side" After all the season is about reflection on ones self and the birth of the lord or at least it should be, the good book says: a fool in his heart hath said there is no god...!

Answer 9

I work at the mall with a Santa. And i know what you're saying about them. I'm suer somewhere ot there they may be a gu like that. But Christmas is an appreication day. And when i see those smiles on those kids, it makes me realize how specail the trations on this hoilday season are. How we take them out of context and make the hoilday season abrasive, when it shoud just bea bout the special people in out lives, and the smiles on those kids.

Answer 10

I think, personally, it's really sad that people tend to be extra nice only during the Christmas holidays. Why can't all of us be like that all year round? What irritates me more about Christmas is that the reall meaning of it has all but gone out the window; everybody's rushing around to see who can outdo each other. Give from your heart; no matter what time of year it is.