Christmas over the years has become boring - cos it is so hyped up and sooooo commercialised that people dont care about the true meaning of christmas. It is not a time to see what presents we have but a time to remember (if it is the real date - which according to Atheists isnt as it is a date they used to feast etc) Jesus's birth.
Why is it sooooo commercialised?
2007-12-24 10:20:04 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
does it feel the same as you were a kid - if not then maybe the truth about christmas is being unveiled - as a pagan date
2007-12-24 10:20:59 · update #1
Well It has for a few years now but I agree with you, we are loosing the meaning behind Christmas. However all in all it is for kids.
Edit:
There are lots of dates given for the apparent birth of Jesus, some say spring, some April , some September. There is also strong evidence that it was a Pagan festival before. Really in reality if you are a Christian the date is not so important, just the fact that he was born and died for you. The 25th of December has been in use for sometime now so it would be strange to move it.
2007-12-24 10:25:00 · answer #1 · answered by Zappster (Deep Thunker) 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Consider the fact that, of all the memorial days in the Christian calendar, only three are "birthdays". All the rest are death days, commemorating the transition from this life to the next. Why is that?
The birth of Jesus (or more properly, the incarnation of God in human flesh) is one, celebrated at the time of the winter solstice. The birth of John the Baptist, celebrated six months earlier, is another. And the third is the birth of Mary, celebrated nine months before Christmas. All of these dates seem rather contrived. They aren't real birthdays as we understand them, just commemorations of ideas. And the darkest part of the year is as good a time as any to celebrate the dawn of spiritual illumination.
But how do you celebrate such a thing? One can pray and sing and think bright thoughts. And there have been Christmas observances that went just that way at various times. But sooner or later, the kids will get restless and want to go play. And people who aren't as spiritually rigorous are going to get very bored and lose interest. Many times, piety must give way to practicality, as food, games, and gifts are employed to at least nominally keep people's attention on the feastday.
Have you ever heard someone speaking of "getting" or "having" their Christmas, as if it were something one could stuff in a bag and carry away? Somehow, "Christmas" doesn't really "happen" for them if they don't "feel" it, if they don't have some gratifying, satisfying emotional catharsis. That's where it goes wrong. That's the kind of "Christmas" one can buy in a department store, and accept or reject if the size, color or function isn't just right. It turns the whole point of "Christmas" on its head. Although there isn't a merchant that doesn't want to make a sale, it's hard to say whether it's the sales catalogs or the consumers who treat Christmas as personal entertainment that make this travesty happen.
It's seems to be a natural, human progression to take an idea, reduce it to its components, and turn it into an instrument of commerce. We can't really stop it, only choose not to take part. Turn off the TV. Toss the catalogs. Minimize your exposure to the greed-mongers. Increase your exposure to the kinds of people who DON'T get taken care of by the big, tinselly Christmas machine. Investigate charities that help needy families and homeless people, locally, internationally, wherever the newscameras don't quite reach. Think like Jesus would. Christmas will only be as commercial as you allow it to be.
2007-12-24 19:12:48 · answer #2 · answered by skepsis 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
We used to have 2 days for Christmas when I had kids . we had a birthday for Christ and it was His day it was always peaceful then we had Santa day . The presents we had we kept near our manger scene as we didn't have a tree. THE KIDS LIKED IT, we told them that Jesus didn't get any big gifts till he was about 3 yrs old , and that was from the Magi's(wise men ) we still have a similar style even though they are older and gone they do almost the same . my biggest decoration was a large cross on the lawn with white lights around it and a bright silver star a top the cross with a white light in the center, then the cross got torn out of the grnd after the 2nd or 3rd yr , we kept it up till Easter . When Easter passed we took the lights off
2007-12-24 18:39:41 · answer #3 · answered by the only 1 hobo 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Jesus hates to see this, Read Matthew 21:13, Mark 11:17, and Luke 19:46. Jesus got so mad to see that the Temple was being commercialized, that he made a whip and drove the sellers out of the Temple, and overturned the money-changers tables.
2007-12-24 18:34:31 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because we live in a capitalistic society. Everything is about the almighty dollar. However - I do have to point out that if you feel the holiday isn't spiritual and has no meaning to you - it's not the holiday, or everyone else. It's you. YOU are the one who makes the day meaningful or not. If it has meaning to you - true spiritual meaning - you would feel it. The solstice had a true spiritual meaning for me despite all the businesses trying to cash in. So it lyes with you...
2007-12-24 18:25:35 · answer #5 · answered by swordarkeereon 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because it's the one time in the year everyone needs to buy multiple presents. Santa Claus was created by a cartoonist and popularized through television to sell more stuff.
2007-12-24 18:28:01 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Christmas is very commercialized these days. But we can limit our exposure to television, paper ads,etc. We can make it the spiritual, Christ centered event it is.If we just take the time/effort to do so.
2007-12-24 18:33:50 · answer #7 · answered by paula r 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Christmas means far more to me now then when I was a kid.
The concept of giving/receiving gifts to children is a great metaphor for them to understand that Christ was the greatest gift of all to the world. For the Lord Himself came to us that we might learn to love and serve Him and that He could redeem us.
2007-12-24 18:26:56 · answer #8 · answered by Holy Holly 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
xmas is so commercialized because of the nature of capitalism.
Study up on the workings of capitalism, and you will discover that xmas (and most other things in popular culture) couldn't be anything but commercialized, within a capitalist economic system.
Learn to enjoy it....you don't really have a viable alternative.
Cheers.
2007-12-24 18:25:07 · answer #9 · answered by timthinks 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I personally like the commercial version of Christmas better than the religious one.
2007-12-24 18:30:44 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋