Is Christmas religious to you?

[chris the jedi killer]

i love christmas

[Gorth]

Lets see (jogging memory), last Christmas, that meant buying myself a nice bottle of wine for dinner and then getting back to work, as a client had sent out a RFP to us and a few of our competitors

 

More a nuisance than anything else. A couple of days off at a time of my own chosing would have been nice.

 

I loved Christmas until I turned 8 (or 9 or thereabouts) when I realised that it was all about pushing as many units as possible over the counter and that businesses actually had Christmas as an important part of the annual revenue on their budgets. When I was 10, it was more fun trying to identify the different marketing mechanisms applied in order to try to convince me that "stuff is cool, you want stuff, you need stuff!"

 

Yes, I was a cynical young man

[Sand]

As Sando knows I have become more sentimental and sprirtual about Christmas over the years. For me its a damn good excuse to be nice to people without anyone thinking you're mental. I loathe and despise the commercialism.

I just try to be nice to people all year round. Let them think you are mental. Its more fun that way.

[Walsingham]

Christmas is the Christian version of Winter solstice celebrations . It's not on the right date, I know, but who cares.

 

Anyway, the actual source that Christianity got Christmas day from was, I believe, Roman Mithraism, which was all the rage way back when Christianity was an up and coming religion. The 25th of December was Mithras' birthday.

 

Like Songkhran in Thailand, cunning shopkeepers have a way of making you believe bigger and louder is better.

 

Anyway, on the subject of birthdays, if the Queen can have two I don't see why we should begrudge Jesus. An official one and one for just his friends and family. [thinks: Actually with God being such an authoritarian, and since Jesus lives at home, I bet the second party sucks.]

WHICH REMINDS ME

 

I think from now-on we should make Guy Fawkes night the night when young hip atheists have a gathering of friends. Now that friends are the new family this would be good. It would be like Christmas, with presents, food, and brandy. But with explosions.

[Gorth]

[thinks: Actually with God being such an authoritarian, and since Jesus lives at home, I bet the second party sucks.]

Plus, you have to work so damn hard to get the invitation

[Pop]

I really don't like Christmas. Not because of the big spooky capitalist overtones and all that ****, I couldn't care less about a holiday based around the exchange of gifts. What I take issue with is the all-encompassing notion that you should be happy during Christmas. Nobody's happy during Christmas. Winter's getting bad, there are hordes of busy, frantic people all around, the same banal Irving Berlin tunes are blaring every****ingwhere saying how ****ing great everything is during Xmas, the same too-strong poutporri is burning in every red-and-white adorned shop, everybody feels entitled to be treated specially and obligated to treat everyone else in kind. No wonder the holiday season boasts such a high suicide rate.

 

I mean, it's great when you're a kid. Christmas of '98 I got Fallout, I would have never played it were it not for the holiday, but it's a sour and hollow thing when you get older.

[Hiro Protagonist]

Christmas isn't religious to me in the least as I'm not a christian. It's a nice paid day off from work. If anything I find it an inconvenince. I've been invited to friends places for lunch and as most of my friends aren't anglo-saxon, they've said to me in the past like saying something, 'oh, you celebrate christmas don't you?' and I say 'no, I'm not a christian'. I have quite a few asian friends and they're buddhist. It was also good going out on Christmas day in the city (Sydney) and watch a movie, get something to eat, etc. There were always asians everywhere.

[Hurlshort]

It sounds to me like there are a few Scrooge's on these boards. I'm a bit surprised so many people allow the religious aspect of Christmas to interfere with the true spirit of the time. As a few people have mentioned, the idea of a large holiday in the middle of winter has been around much longer than Christianity, Department Stores, and large crowds at the mall. Heck, Hanukkah has even morphed to fit in with the holiday time. It might not be traditional Judaism, but I think it's a great example of how major religions adapt in order to stay relevant.

 

Maybe it's a geographic issue, but even out in sunny California, December can be a cold month. The Christmas Holiday tends to warm it up. If you really aren't being cheered up by spending time with family and friends, exchanging thoughtful presents and enjoying a good meal together, you might want to look into getting some new friends. Seriously, go dish out soup in a soup kitchen or hand out presents at a Children's hospital. Y'all worry me. It's not healthy. You all have decent lives (if you can spend time messing around on a message board and playing games, you really can't complain too much) and the holidays should be a time for you to share that with others. That's a major part of what makes life so special, whether you are religious or not.

[Hiro Protagonist]

^^ You're certainly right in that it's geographic, but it's also cultural. Most of my friends don't get the whole Christmas idea. It's not being scrooge or anything like that. Do you celebrate Chinese New Year? If no, then why not? Most of my friends do. It's probably because it's not relevant to you, just as Christmas isn't relevant to other people. It comes down to more than just Christmas being Christmas and everybody celebrating it whetehr relisgious or otherwise.

[Hurlshort]

^^ You're certainly right in that it's geographic, but it's also cultural. Most of my friends don't get the whole Christmas idea. It's not being scrooge or anything like that. Do you celebrate Chinese New Year? If no, then why not? Most of my friends do. It's probably because it's not relevant to you, just as Christmas isn't relevant to other people. It comes down to more than just Christmas being Christmas and everybody celebrating it whetehr relisgious or otherwise.

 

Actually, I do celebrate Chinese New Year, but I work in a predominately Asian school district. Still, I'm surrounded by it, so I see no reason not to enjoy the celebration, despite not being Chinese myself.

[Pidesco]

Anyway, Christmas, like all other holidays isn't about being nice to each other or celebrating this or that, it's about spending a couple of days not working for a living. You know, because it's healthy.

[Lord Mayyn]

christman has never had any religious value to me. its a time of family and get together.

its a time of love, and giving. showing you care. gifts are just the icing on the cake. i love christmas.

 

to hell with christ

 

 

 

 

and lets not forget getting wasted off of some spiked eggnog!!!!!

[Pop]

Maybe it's a geographic issue, but even out in sunny California, December can be a cold month. The Christmas Holiday tends to warm it up. If you really aren't being cheered up by spending time with family and friends, exchanging thoughtful presents and enjoying a good meal together, you might want to look into getting some new friends. Seriously, go dish out soup in a soup kitchen or hand out presents at a Children's hospital. Y'all worry me. It's not healthy. You all have decent lives (if you can spend time messing around on a message board and playing games, you really can't complain too much) and the holidays should be a time for you to share that with others. That's a major part of what makes life so special, whether you are religious or not.

That's all great if you've got a nice, functional family. And charity shouldn't be a part of it. A single day in 365, or a single week in 52, in which everybody chips in and helps everybody else serves no greater purpose than to make the charity workers feel good about themselves. The reason Christmas is so unsatisfying is that what it represents is supposed to be special as opposed to being normal.

[Dark_Raven]

Screw christmas. christians stoled it from the Pagans and now capitalism has stoled it from the christians.

[Llyranor]

Man, those capitalist stolers.

[Pidesco]

Yes, stoling is evil.

[Cantousent]

It's religious to me.

[Masta Revan]

Yeah Christmas is very religious to me actually its very very important to me. I think that some people just dont see it as a religious holiday because they just were not raised in an area of people that see it that way. You do things according to your culture and beliefs ya know. Just like it is Sweden you call Santa Jul. Well a religious person would mainly not have a santa clause at all cause when i was growing up i didnt believe in Santa at all i always looked at Christmas as the day Jesus was born. Its important cause that was when my savior was born. When i receive presents i never had thanked santa ever in my life cause i always thanked God that my parents had the money to afford things that i wanted. People that barley have money teach their kids about santa after they just got done working until 12:00 in the morning trying to please their kids. Im sorry if you think thats wrong or im ruining my future kids child hood but even if i was rich i still wouldnt think to teach my kids about santa after i worked my butt off. They better thank me! Anyways what im really trying to tell you is that theres a reason for the season and that is to praise God. There is more to it but you have to figure out for yourself unless you ask me. Im really not the type that starts up conversations like this unless its discussed and it is.

 

Sorry if you took this the wrong way i didnt mean to but if you ask you are going to get an answer.

 

By the way who in the world thinks about December in this HEAT! I dont want the HOTNESS AND I DONT WANT THE COLDNESS.It feels like a hot mess down here and can think about air conditioning is water cause this girl dont like to sweat. LOL!

Edited July 5, 2007 by Masta Revan

[WITHTEETH]

My family are all Christians though, so it is definitely religious to them, at least presumably. I'm not affiliated with a religion, but i do celebrate Christmas. Why turn down fun!?

[Krookie]

I think age also plays a role. Older people may have a more religious sense of the holiday because they were brought up that way, and Christmas was (probably) more religious for people 25 years ago then it is today. The first Christmas I remember is the same Christmas that I got my Nintendo 64. I look at Christmas as a time for gifts, not really religion. But now I feel bad about saying that. Sorry God.

Edited July 5, 2007 by Krookie

[theGod]

I think age also plays a role. Older people may have a more religious sense of the holiday because they were brought up that way, and Christmas was (probably) more religious for people 25 years ago then it is today. The first Christmas I remember is the same Christmas that I got my Nintendo 64. I look at Christmas as a time for gifts, not really religion. But now I feel bad about saying that. Sorry God.

 

It's cool Krook. We'll settle it at your reckoning.

[kirottu]

[Cantousent]

haha What a bunch of doofi. :Cant's goofy grin icon:

[Guard Dog]

As religious holidays go, Christmas is pretty low key. There is just a 1 in 365 chance that Dec 25 is actually the anniversary of the birth of Christ. But it is important to pick a day to celebrate the fact that it happened. Yes I know some of you atheists and agnostics and miscellaneous others clenching your fists at what I just said. Jesus of Nazareth is a historical fact. Now the significance of him is left up to what you believe but you cannot deny the man existed. But, since I got divorced, I don't really celebrate beyond getting presents for my dogs.

 

To me Easter is much more important because that celebrates the event that actually makes Christianity what it is. Or at least what is should be.

 

Thats my $.02

[Krookie]

I think age also plays a role. Older people may have a more religious sense of the holiday because they were brought up that way, and Christmas was (probably) more religious for people 25 years ago then it is today. The first Christmas I remember is the same Christmas that I got my Nintendo 64. I look at Christmas as a time for gifts, not really religion. But now I feel bad about saying that. Sorry God.

 

It's cool Krook. We'll settle it at your reckoning.

 

I'm thinking that's Kor. But maybe not.

Edited July 5, 2007 by Krookie