Deck the halls with Absurdity!

[Dagobahn Eagle]

It's that time of the year again. Westeners decorate their houses with lights, reindeers, and fatsoes with big bags. They proceed to eat some really good, really costly food, spend a sleigh-load of cash on each others, and gather as an extended-family-under-one-roof to celebrate... "Christmas?"

 

Every time I walk my neighbours' dog trough the neighbourhood or drive trough it in my school bus I shake my head at the decorations and atmosphere. I take the doggie for long walks sometimes, and I've seen one cross and less than five stars. Merry Christmas:rolleyes:.

 

Because of this celebrated event, Midwinter is always a special time for me. Why? It's when I get to shake my head at the extreme uncouncious display of atheism defeating Christianity; of hypocrosity, and of the big ironies of someone refusing to believe in God and Jesus, and the celebrating Christmas 'because they're Christians'.

 

But Is Jesus Christ mentioned with a word?! Nope. It's just TV commercials, Santa Claus (product of Coca-Cola Inc.), reindeers, chimneys and stockings full of candy. I'm fine with parties and yearly family gatherings, and merry unity, which is probably great for the whole family. But why call it Christmas when you don't believe in Christ? Why not call it the Mid-winter Feast or something?

 

I remember when I was little and we actually associated Christmas with religion. We sang religious songs, read books related to Christianity (such as one girl who follows a goat trough a mall, and, when she leaves the mall and downtown behind, is met by an angel and travels backwards trough time to Jesus' birth, one chapter a day until the 24th). I don't see much of that anymore.

 

In Norway we have something called the St. Hans Eve, celebrated by a bonfire on the beach. This Eve, as it happens, is rapidly losing its religious meaning. However, those who celebrate it just to celebrate it call it the Mid-summer night bonfire. I think people should do likewise with Christmas. Either you celebrate it for Christ or you don't celebrate it. You're free to do the same things, but... as long as you call it Christmas, you're celebrating the birth of someone who's no more than a mythological figure to you.

 

You can call me a grumpy old eagle. I'm fine with that. But at least one person should agree at least a bit with me.

 

Eagle.

[wassup]

I believe some cause for this transformation has to attribute to the media. For example, I can name you 3 Christmas-themed commericials from TV right off the top of my head right now, but I can hardly guess even any original Christianity-related songs/stories of Christmas. Thus, this aspect of Christianity and religious celebration has all but disaspearred in the onslaught of the highly media-influenced Christmas holiday. Most of the time, media cares about money and profits, right? To sell and present their products/goals to a wider and more diversified crowd, the media has to in effect take away the Christianity and religious aspect of this holiday because in this world there are many different people that are not Christians or dwelve into the Christian faith, thus these people would be turned away if the media promoted themselves with chiefly Christian/religious themes. Thus, to a certain extent, this influence/ideal of Christmas has spread into the millions of lives that are connected and influenced by the media.

[rccar328]

I have to agree that this is mainly caused by the media and overcommercialization. For many, however, myself included, Christmas truly is about the birth of Christ. Personally, I would rather not give or recieve any gifts for Christmas simply because all of the television commercials and holiday sales have been sucking Christ out of Christmas. It's up to those who believe, though, to remain vigilant and remember the true reason for the celebration of Christmas. My wife and I agreed that we would not buy a Christmas tree because of the commercialization that it has come to represent. Instead, we set up a nativity scene. In this way, we are constantly reminded of the true meaning of Christmas.

[lukeiamyourdad]

Don't people have a nativity scene and a tree anyway?

 

I know that commercialization of Christmas has all but destroyed the true meaning of it. Especially for little kids. It's up to the parents to teach them to give generously on Christmas and be mindful of what that Holiday is.

 

Now I'm not a Christian but I still celebrate Christmas. Why? Because it's a good moment to get together and have fun in a nice way.

[Kurgan]

See the thing that gets me is the double standard politically correct thing flying around every Christmas season.

 

On the one hand you have the people who say:

 

"Christmas is a federally recognized secular holiday."

 

People get off for Christmas, not because they profess Christianity, just because it's the holiday.

 

People put up decorations who aren't even Christian or even who aren't particularly religous at all.

 

People who don't celebrate Christmas aren't throw into jail, it's purely optional.

 

So in that sense, anybody can enjoy Christmas, regardless of their personal beliefs, and people who want to make it a really spiritual time and go to Church and read the bible and put up religious symbols, that's fine too.

 

 

Then there's the other folks who totally freak out anytime they see the colors red & green, a pine tree or a picture of Santa.

 

OH NO! IT'S AN ESTABLISHMENT OF RELIGION! HIDE!

 

Then they turn around and put up Menorah's and Kwanzaa posters and say it's a celebration of diversity or some other feel good thing.

 

But wait, so religious symbols are okay to put up (well Kwanzaa is secular) as long as they aren't Christian? WHAT??

 

Anyway, I wish people could just live and let live.

 

If somebody wants to celebrate Christmas with a commemoration of the birth of their Savior, that's great. If somebody else wants to put up a tree, sing a few songs and get drunk at home while watching "A Christmas Carol" that's cool. If people just want the day off to get some extra sleep, hooray for them.

 

Instead some folks have to have a heart attack trying to out Correct their neighbors on the right way to celebrate a holiday.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

PS: Pet peeve, some people mistakenly get angry when you write "xmas" instead of Christmas, and they accuse you of "trying to take Christ out of Christmas!" While you literally are taking the letters C-h-r-i-s-t out of Christmas when you write it xmas, you aren't taking away the religious significance, because this was acutally a pious abbreviation in the Middle Ages, the X representing Christ (there's all kinds of ways to represent Christ this way, such as IHS or the PX symbol, a latin or greek cross, or the fish symbol for the early Christians, etc).

 

People who are really against the word "Christmas" use other words like "Yule" (which is a pagan holiday going back to pre-christian times) or simply "the holidays" since that's what they are. Of course even the term "holiday" comes from "holy day" which originally had a specifically religious context, as opposed to any other day.

 

But if you're not Jewish celebrating Channukah (a minor holiday on the Hebrew Calendar anyway, it just happens to fall close to Christmas) or African-American celebrating Kwanzaa (a secular "harvest festival revival celebration" started in the 1960's) or a Neo-Pagan celebrating Yule you can still enjoy yourself in late December until early January. ; )

[Lathain Valtiel]

Kurgan stole my sentiments straight out of my mouth. It's absurd.

[Kain]

The worst part about this thread is that all its doing is seperating everyone in the season of unity. No offense to anyone, but why does it seem that all Christians need Christianity to be the super-power religion ALL the time? Can't we all just forget the entire religion thing. Unity, people.

[ShockV1.89]

What the hell is Kwanzaa, anyway? It seems like a holiday created just for the sake of having another holiday.

 

I don't know, I think you guys are getting caught up in the few bad seeds who ruin it for everyone. Try to look past that.

 

Xmas is what you make of it. If you sit there and angrily rail against the evils of corporate America infesting christmas or hypocritical people, then of course you'll be grumpy. But Xmas as it is is just a day to be kind to your fellow man and celebrate life.

 

Forget about what others are doing and celebrate in your own way.

[El Sitherino]

Though I'm not a Christian, I do enjoy the spirit of Christmas. It's not about celebrating a birth or presents. It's about sharing a message of kindness and compassion to all. I enjoy the season not because I get presents, but because everyone is happy, unlike the rest of the year. Sure I get some presents but I could care less. I just enjoy seeing everyone happy, christian or not.

[Datheus]

Culture is something that changes and evolves.

 

Language is something that changes and evolves.

 

Christmas is both of those.

 

Christmas: n; A time of winter festival

 

Voila.

[Darth Eggplant]

christmas was co-opted by christianity to replace the winter soltice or Yule. many cultures around the world for various reasons celebrate seasonal things like the spring equinox, or the summer soltice, harvet rituals in the fall etc. and over time traditions for good or bad, start forming, and eventually they begin over lapping and co-opting each other. I mean Albert brought to Victoria england's first christmas tree. and if you can alienate yourself from fact, fiction or traditions, I think they look pretty. I also like lights. (not plastic figurines) unless their animated with happy plinkly music. Houses look neat with lights on them. another co-opt of tradition is father christmas or saint nick. Our North Amercian version, the guy in the red suit, IS if you do not know it, a marketing tool for and of Coca Cola. Ever seen those old sants dudes on everything? well coke hired an artists to do them something seasonal, and he made his santa round and jolly as oppossed to tall, slim and narly. he also placed him in red, and the white trim is the coke swish thing really. coke and the public loved this santa so much that coke hired him to do 100's and hundreds of them, in fact the guy died I believe having coke as a pertpetual customer, and now they most likely creatively recycle them.

so holidays mean different stuff to different people. I mean we have many islamic people living near me and they celebrate Ramadan which is not a fixed holiday. each year it is falling closer and closer to x-mas, eventually all three religions (judeaism, christianity and islam) will celebrate together.

Religion, the trappings of santa, what it all means to people; I think even though you may or not approve, (and you have the right to complain) but you are putting yourself into the Grinches shoes. Maybe christmas is not bought in a store, maybe christmas is something, much more;

however take away santa, and the noise and crowds of the sales, and you will wake up december 25th to hear all the Who's singing.

you can complain, but you can't stop christmas from coming.

(however throwing hot egg nog on pesky christmas carollers

who show up on your doorstep is okay.)

 

[align=center]

happy pretty twinkly lights

and assorted plastic icons

and various cultural spiritual deities

and over eating too much

and spending time with your relatives

whom you really, really hate day

to one and all from Darth Eggplant

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[Kain]

Atleast most carols still have religious sentiments...however irritating that may be to one such as myself (thats why we keep snowballs in the freezer)