what does christmas mean to you?

Question

im 13 and i dont agree witht the new generation! because people buy presents and half of the time they dont even know the real meaning to it! i mean if they say that christmas is about giving and caring that would be right but they still dont know why!!!
its about how crist was born and all of those people who arnt christian and dont beileven god celebrate it any ways just because they dont know the true meaning of christmas! so what do you think of christmas! also if you look at the word CHRISTMAS you see the word christ!

when i went to ask this qeustion i said that most people think of it as a day were you get presents and im here saying its more than just that! that is about the birth of christ and that its about caring and giving!

and sad to say this to some of you who ASSUMED that i was christian im not i dont go to church but i do beileve in god but who doesnt beilven some kind of god?

Answer 1

Celabrateing the birth of Jesus . and giveing and shareing to friends and family.

Answer 2

I am happy to hear that at a young age itself u are not conforming!

i am a non-catholic and a non-christian, but i celebrate christmas. i come from a country where only a small population is of chirstian/catholic faith but christmas is celebrated widely due to its commercial value.
but i do celebrate xmas. To me, christmas consist of two things. the vain version and the serious version.
the vain version is where i love the build up to it! the whole decorating the tree (i have a very lifelike plastic tree because i don't want to be a burden on the environment), the lights, just basically the whole build up to it. i love all the lunches and dinners. we actually don't exchange gifts on xmas, its just the whole idea of decorating the table and house for it that we like. and ofcourse the food.
but then, i think abt all the people who can't always afford to have a merry xmas. so shouldn't we be "giving" to them since this is the season of giving?
what can't all these huge conglomerates that spend money on decorations and lights donate that money to a shelter, an orphanage or some poor families? because afterall, these big companies can afford to do it more than we can.
so that is why this time i want to GIVE more this xmas.
On a serious version, i hope people haven't forgotten that the most important thing abt christmas are its first 5 letters - C.H.R.I.S.T! as time passed, xmas became so commercialised.

ps. i HATE HATE HATE all these pop bands/singers who sing "remixes" of christmas carols!

Answer 3

Christmas is based on religion, that's for sure, but nowadays it's more a commercial season. People goes crazy buying stuff and expecting to receive something. Now, you have to see deeply and find out that Christmas is more a Catholic thing, but with so many religions in the world you will also find that every religion has a way to celebrate it, and some don't celebrate at all.
So, Christmas is not about Jesus exactly, just because u see the name on it. Again, based on religion it has different meanings around the world.

Answer 4

Christmas Dinner With My Hole Family! I Get To See Everone And Have Fun! Its A Happy Time Of Year! And Getting Gifts Is Fun And Also Giving Them Too!

Answer 5

True, Christmas is a holiday to celebrate Jesus Christ's birth (even though he was actually born in June or July - I can't remember). The origin of Christmas is actually based on pagan rituals. When Christianity first started and they were trying to convert everyone to Christianity they utilized existing pagan rituals to make the transition easier to swallow for people. The winter solstice is when the pagan's celebrated Yule (done on the shortest day of the year to celebrate the return of light).
Though Christian origins and associations have been attributed to many of the Christmas traditions, they do in fact pre-date Christianity.
Yule Log - A special log was chosen on the eve of Yule, for the holiday fire. A small piece from last year's log is used to light the fire. The lighting of the fire was a festive family event, to hurry the return of the sun. Charred pieces from the fire would be kept to protect the house through the coming year. The woods most often sought for the Yule log were birch, oak willow or holly. Today, the Yule log is sometimes represented as a log cake instead. Or a small log is decorated with candles. The burning of the Yule log is a well-known tradition, but it's not often done outside of the Pagan community anymore.

Kissing Under Mistletoe - The roots of this habit are unknown, but is likely tied with the fertility aspects of mistletoe and that it was viewed as a bringer of peace by the Druids. Mistletoe was also a powerful healing herb. Mistletoe and kissing are also seen in one of the Norse myths: Frigga is the Norse Goddess of love, marriage and fertility. Her son, Balder was slain by Loki with an arrrow made from mistletoe. When Balder was restored to life, Frigga blessed the mistletoe and gave a kiss to anyone who passed under it. Some later versions of this tradition say to remove one berry with each kiss. When there are no more berries on the sprig of mistletoe, no more kisses.

Tree Decorating - There is some debate on the origin of this tradition. Druids (and some other ancient cultures) saw evergreen trees as symbols of everlasting life, because they seemed to live through the winter undaunted by the cold. So using evergreen branches as decorations symbolized the undying strength of the Sun. Decorating the trees may have come from the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia (see below for more on Saturnlia).

Gift Giving - The Christians attribute the giving of gifts at Christmas to the wise men who brough gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn Jesus. But this tradition was common well before the time of Jesus, during Saturnalia.

The Ancient Roman Festival of Saturnalia
Saturnalia is one of the best known ancient celebrations of the Winter Solstice. The name comes from the Roman God Saturn, who ruled over agriculture. He was the main God honoured at this time, after the fall crops had been sown. Saturnalia lasted for several days (typically 7, but various officials changed the length of the festival on a few occassions). Saturnlia was the greatest festival of the Roman year, and was marked with great feasting, gift-giving, dancing, playing, and relaxing. Homes were decorated, work was suspended, and there was general merry-making done by all.

With that said, I am a Christian but understand that Christmas is more than just a Christian holiday. It is about sharing, togetherness, a possibility for peace, and joy. It is the one time of the year that people who normally don't, are willing to give to those less fortunate. It brings people together and there is an all around feeling of happiness that you don't find at any other time of the year.
Christmas may be celebrating the birth of Jesus to some, and gift giving to others, but it has evolved into it's own entity. It has become bigger than commercialism and is, in my humble opinion, the most amazing holiday ever!
So, whether people are Christian, Pagan, Athiests, Agnostics, or whatever - for one holiday we are all united under a common umbrella of sharing, caring, and hope.
How can you beat that?

Answer 6

Paganism.

Date of the celebration

M’Clintock and Strong’s Cyclopædia says: “The observance of Christmas is not of divine appointment, nor is it of N[ew] T[estament] origin. The day of Christ’s birth cannot be ascertained from the N[ew] T[estament], or, indeed, from any other source.”—(New York, 1871), Vol. II, p. 276.

Luke 2:8-11 shows that shepherds were in the fields at night at the time of Jesus’ birth. The book Daily Life in the Time of Jesus states: “The flocks . . . passed the winter under cover; and from this alone it may be seen that the traditional date for Christmas, in the winter, is unlikely to be right, since the Gospel says that the shepherds were in the fields.”—(New York, 1962), Henri Daniel-Rops, p. 228.

The Encyclopedia Americana informs us: “The reason for establishing December 25 as Christmas is somewhat obscure, but it is usually held that the day was chosen to correspond to pagan festivals that took place around the time of the winter solstice, when the days begin to lengthen, to celebrate the ‘rebirth of the sun.’ . . . The Roman Saturnalia (a festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of agriculture, and to the renewed power of the sun), also took place at this time, and some Christmas customs are thought to be rooted in this ancient pagan celebration.”—(1977), Vol. 6, p. 666.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia acknowledges: “The date of Christ’s birth is not known. The Gospels indicate neither the day nor the month . . . According to the hypothesis suggested by H. Usener . . . and accepted by most scholars today, the birth of Christ was assigned the date of the winter solstice (December 25 in the Julian calendar, January 6 in the Egyptian), because on this day, as the sun began its return to northern skies, the pagan devotees of Mithra celebrated the dies natalis Solis Invicti (birthday of the invincible sun). On Dec. 25, 274, Aurelian had proclaimed the sun-god principal patron of the empire and dedicated a temple to him in the Campus Martius. Christmas originated at a time when the cult of the sun was particularly strong at Rome.”—(1967), Vol. III, p. 656.

Wise men, or Magi, led by a star

Those Magi were actually astrologers from the east. (Matt. 2:1, 2, NW; NE) Although astrology is popular among many people today, the practice is strongly disapproved in the Bible. (See pages 144, 145, under the main heading “Fate.”) Would God have led to the newborn Jesus persons whose practices He condemned?

Matthew 2:1-16 shows that the star led the astrologers first to King Herod and then to Jesus and that Herod then sought to have Jesus killed. No mention is made that anyone other than the astrologers saw the “star.” After they left, Jehovah’s angel warned Joseph to flee to Egypt to safeguard the child. Was that “star” a sign from God or was it from someone who was seeking to have God’s Son destroyed?

Note that the Bible account does not say that they found the babe Jesus in a manger, as customarily depicted in Christmas art. When the astrologers arrived, Jesus and his parents were living in a house. As to Jesus’ age at that time, remember that, based on what Herod had learned from the astrologers, he decreed that all the boys in the district of Bethlehem two years of age and under were to be destroyed.—Matt. 2:1, 11, 16.

Answer 7

Your right, Christmas is a celebration of Christ's birth...My family celebrates it as most Americans do...the only difference is that I try to make it more of giving than taking and to always bring God into the whole day. We give thanks on Thanksgiving and we Celebrate the joy of our Lord Jesus Christ's birth on Christmas Day. I do wished more people would stop and think about why we celebrate than how we celebrate...........Merry Christmas

Answer 8

Christmas has no roots in Christianity and it is not the birth of Christ. Actually the bible doesn't give a date of his birth. Jesus said to celebrate resurrection not his birth. Christmas actually comes from Egypt and it was the rebirth of the sun, they worshipped the sun god ra. Christmas was adopted by the Christians and made up the meaning. it is a pagan holiday which does not please God.

Answer 9

Presents!

Answer 10

It's Christ Birthday...Lets celebrate

Answer 11

I think i am kinda like you i like traditions( old fashion). Christmas to me mean gathering with the people that you love like family and spending time with them, sharing stories, and eating in good company. Presents to me are a way of showing someone you care about them and they are an important part of your life. I like hearing my grandma's stories and listen to my cousin Clay talk about the stupid things his friends do. So funny. I think Christmas is one of those things that cannot be explained it has a different meaning to everybody. Happy Holidays.