does anyone else think the true meaning of christmas has been forgotton?

Question

I went to church and there was hardly anyone else there I think its a shame.

Answer 1

Since the TRUE meaning of christmas was originally celebrating the winter solstice and the return of the sun god, then yes, certainly. It has been forgotten and stolen by some greedy monotheistic religion...

Answer 2

Yes, the true (or perhaps better said, original) meaning of Christmas has been forgotten by most people.

Most of what passes for Christmas is taken from pre-Christian festivals which were held to celebrate the Winter Solstice, the end of one year and the coming of the next, to affirm light and life at the darkest time of year, when the outside world appeared cold and lifeless. Even the date, December 25th, was originally a Pagan festival, that of the Roman deity Mithras.

Some of the Pagan traditions such as putting up lights and decorating the house with greenery, and sharing food and exchanging gifts - essential for survival in primitive societies - have survived. Much of the rest seems to have been re-invented in Victorian times, thanks to the efforts of people like Charles Dickens.

The spirit of charity and goodwill still exists but it depressing to see the way that the Festival is so ruthlessly exploited for commercial reasons. 'Selling' Christmas begins before summer is even over and hardly has the last mouthful of Christmas Dinner been swallowed than the TV adverts are trying to lure people to the 'January' sales (which often begin on December 26th or earlier).

Most people who celebrate Christmas aren't Christians, but then the Bible does say that the Christmas message is for everyone. To borrow another Biblical analogy, some hear it and act on it and others don't.

Happy New Year :->

Answer 3

There "true" meaning of Christmas? I'll think about that..

Literal meaning? Christ-mas - Celebration of Christ. Probably forgotten by quite a few, though I suspect the majority still know its about Jesus Christ.

Original meaning? Many people seem to be labouring under the delusion that it - at some distant time - was really pagan, but I don't think that is a matter of forgetting. Its more about the vast amounts of misinformation regarding the beginnings of Christmas in 3rd century Rome - and about the neo-pagan myths about ancient solstice festivals which are neither relevant nor based on historical evidence.

Given the above, the true meaning has to be in the original message given to the shepherds: ""Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord... Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased"

Still remembered by many but practiced by rather too few - as always.

Answer 4

Yeah,,
I was watching a debate kinda program on tv they were talking about this.
in the end they found that church is boring and thats why people dont go
maybe if they made church a little bit more fun/less boring then people would go

and most people (where i live anyway)
they dont belive in any god, they celebrate christmas and easter and get christined but never go to church
i think its a shame too

Answer 5

Hmmmm...I didn't know the true meaning of Christmas was about going to church. Does one have to go to church to celebrate Jesus?

But anyway - the Peace on Earth & Goodwill parts? Oh yeah - those have been forgotten - drive through a mall parking lot on Christmas eve day - that proves it right there. It is a shame.

Answer 6

We had a full house at my church. I think that the majority of people have taken Christ out of Christmas. Remember 2 years ago when Christmas fell on Sunday and there were all these churches across the country that did not hold service for the express reason that it was Christmas? Our church held service both nights...candlelight service Christmas Eve and Christmas service.

Answer 7

Well not entirely. Originally it was a celebration of the fact that all the crops had been gathered and stored and we were about to enter the coldest part of the year. We had to live on what we could keep and store for the winter so we had a feast and ate up what we thought would not keep and some we gave to our neighbours, family and friends. Now days of course this is not necessary but we still retain the celebration and giving as a sort of tradition. Of course various religions have taken the event over such as Mithrasism which was the main religion of the Roman army and then of course when the christian religion became the official religion of the Romans they took it over

Answer 8

Yea it is not the religious holiday it was in the past. I think that the retailers have done a terrific job at getting the" buy presents" as the main focus of the season for a hundred years or more. Lots of people give lip service to the religious aspect, and focus on gifts instead. Santa is the reason they were able to pull it off.

Answer 9

i dont think the meaning has been forgotton just changed. we still all get together with our family and catch up. its a time for family and i think a lot of people still spend it with loved ones. as far as church sadly not as many ppl go to church at all i think i kno like 8 ppl that actually go to church but it is a shame.

Answer 10

I don't think the true meaning has been forgotten, because a lot of the adults today grew up with their parents telling them the true maning and they just keep passing it on. And besides, maybe other people who don't go to your church were at their church, OR some people don't go to church on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day, like me. Don't worry, it's not forgotten.
-Jamie

Answer 11

I watched this special on Fox last night about the history of Christmas, and it was very interesting to learn that historically Jesus was not born on Christmas, and that several clues have been found to show that he was most likely born in april...BUT of course that it still up for debate. Who knows!? I just thought it was interesting. (Per Wikipedia) "Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival, incorporating ivy, holly, and other evergreens, as well as gift-giving." to read more about it, here's the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas