Do You Like Christmas? Do You Celebrate Christmas?

[Mirella]

Just curious..
Do you like Christmas? Why?
Do you celebrate Christmas?
How do you celebrate Christmas?

[Mirella]

I don't like Christmas because it has become totally a commercial holiday.
And I don't like Christmas shopping. I get stressed!!

[sinus_caroticus]

for me Christmas got completely spoiled, its a christian tradition and non-christians shouldnt celebrate it, because where there is no meaning behind the feast it becomes jus an oppurtinity to spend money and eat too much.

[Puppet Princess]

for me Christmas got completely spoiled, its a christian tradition and non-christians shouldnt celebrate it, because where there is no meaning behind the feast it becomes jus an oppurtinity to spend money and eat too much.

Except every Christian holiday is ingeniously paired up with every pagan holiday (and before people start freaking out... Pagan means anything that is not a Judeo-Christian religion, NOT witchcraft. Basically it's everything that predates Christianity and Judaism... which is pretty much every other religion.) So you really can't get your nickers in a twist if non-Christians want to celebrate Winter Solstice under the blanket of the only winter holiday that gets any press or commercialization. Christians dominate the world and then like to forget (or in my experience just don't care enough to learn) that other religions do exist and most of them do actually share holidays.

So, for everyone's information, there are dozens of holidays that take place this week that all pretty much involve feasting and presents and shockingly not all of them are about Jesus. In case anyone actually wants to learn about Winter Solstice.

Now... personally I love Christmas. I find it fun to figure out what presents to give my family, sneak around to buy it, and find places to hide things in the house. I love the cooking and the smells. And most of all I love spending time with my family. Christmas isn't just one day really. It's been several weeks of spending time with my family doing little things for Christmas.

It's also good for the economy. I'm proud to say I have defiantly done my part to stimulate the economy this year.

[sinus_caroticus]

It's topic about Christmas, birth of God for Christians, not winter solstice. And well, for most children presents are brought by Santa not some deity of sun or whatever (sorry, I had to write it) Andi i'm not irritated by other traditions but by making shallow feast of consumption of this importatnt holiday. No offence, do whatever you want but be aware that these are important days for some people not just because its time to meet family and eat fancy food and get some gifts. Its all about how much do you respect others and yourself. But its not something to discuss in here, over the internet. So joy to the world.

[lynchmob72]

It's topic about Christmas, birth of God for Christians, not winter solstice. And well, for most children presents are brought by Santa not some deity of sun or whatever (sorry, I had to write it) Andi i'm not irritated by other traditions but by making shallow feast of consumption of this importatnt holiday. No offence, do whatever you want but be aware that these are important days for some people not just because its time to meet family and eat fancy food and get some gifts. Its all about how much do you respect others and yourself. But its not something to discuss in here, over the internet. So joy to the world.

I think you misunderstood. It is a holiday for non-christians as well as christians. Other people /religions have celebrated other things on or around the same time as christmas. Over time, it has all blended into the same thing. Christmas means different things to different people, your view is not the only view. Your right to celebrate for your own reasons is upheld by the people, so why not uphold other people's rights to do the same?

[sinus_caroticus]

Well, i guess as i started it, i'll end it. Sorry for disturbing Your pagan or atheistic or whatever Christmas. But still to me its a celebration of birth of Jesus Christ (as the name of these days shows), but maybe i'm wrong. Because the main point of my answer wasn't to deny your right to celebrate whatever You want to celebrate. Just don't call it Christmas, just as you don't say that you are scientist when you are a secretary (for example). Just semantics, no ideology

[Puppet Princess]

lol I expected him to completely gloss over the point. It's the same reaction all Christians I've met have when you ask them to examine a religion that is not their own. They take the one piece of information they think they know and mock it. I've actually had people I was quite close to, say to my face, well at least our god isn't some big fat guy like Buddhists. Their ignorance and lack of compassion is amazing but not shocking.

Santa is actually not JUST a Christian figure. In fact most of the myth Santa is based on originated before Christianity and found in Norse myth. Not that any Child or most adults who are Christian actually know what Santa represents to Christians.

For the record, a number of religions have a god being born in Winter. It a symbol of the end of the death of the world (Winter) and the start of the coming rebirth of the world (Spring).

Don't worry you didn't disturb my "Pagan Christmas" since I don't see religion as something that solitary. I celebrate holidays based on my family history. Being of Roman and Germanic decent, and taking into account where I was raised, traditions have always been a hodgepodge of cultures and religions in my house. I have ancestors who were Christian, ancestors who were Jewish, ancestors who believed in Roman Gods, I also have family from more Eastern parts of the world, and school has made sure I was well aware of Asian and Polynesian holidays. I can see the similarities in the beliefs, stories. and philosophies so it doesn't really bother me to combine them all in my life. Whether I believe in something or not doesn't matter to me as much as understanding and celebrating with all of my family and friends. I have never once had someone say, "No, you can't take part because you don't believe in this." They are always happy that I care enough about them to learn, participate, and spend time with them.

Really, your elitist and exclusive view of religion and holidays seems quite disturbing to me.
The "Us only, everyone else GTFO." mentality is what starts wars and genocide...

[lynchmob72]

That's like saying, if you're not irish, then you can't call March 17th St. Patricks day. if you all ready don't (i'm assuming that will be your answer) then that's your loss.

[Ethlenn]

I've actually had people I was quite close to, say to my face, well at least our god isn't some big fat guy like Buddhists. Their ignorance and lack of compassion is amazing but not shocking.

To your, and maybe not only, knowledge, the "fat guy| is actually Japanese\Chinese god of prosperity, in Japanese Hotei, (link: http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/hotei.shtml) and not Buddha, I know they are often mistaken, but believe me, they are not the same person, if you see a sculpture of a fat person it is called "laughting Buddha", and it is NOT Buddha, but Hotei ( I'm a University teacher, I really know what I'm saying), how come Siddhartha became fat guy after practising an ascethic way of life?

And Christmas? As a agnostic person, I can say, I don't care. Don't fight over Christmas and soltice, because in ancient Iran (it wasn't called Iran) December 25th was a holiday for Mithra. Not a soltice. Every eligion is tangled, intertwined with another, so fighting over "My religion is better" is simply stupid.
Christmas is in a way, great holiday, imagine - the birth of a GOD, whether you believe or not. It is a difficult question. And don't mix RELIGION with FAITH, they are two different things.
Any doubts?


Anyway, I'm spreading my own religion: Korealogy, eager to join?

[Puppet Princess]

That was my point. They were mocking something they couldn't be more wrong about. Not only do they not understand that Buddhism is not a religion or that it has no god... they have the wrong man completely. I know, my house is filled with statues and artwork of Buddha and not one depicts a jolly fat man. Which shouldn't be surprising if you know anything about his life. But they would take whatever little piece of information they thought they knew to belittle something they felt threatened their religion. They didn't care if it was right or wrong. And of course trying to correct them led to thumbs in their ears and a bunch of "lalala, I can't hear you."

Which was ironic since I was always very patient whenever they tried to convert me and listened to what they wanted to tell me. Unfortunately for them, I just do not believe in organized religion. Faith is one thing, but when we have to put names to things society falls to hell. Religion is meant to teach people how to be good people. In that sense they are identical. If the details were actually important then it wouldn't be called faith, now would it.

[Ethlenn]

Yes, you got my point. My sister, i.e. is very religious, but in the same time, she's really great person not trying to convince me into her way. We get along really great.

And I work at the Institute where Judaism, Buddhism (Tibetan if anyone is interested), Christianity, Confucianism and Atheism meet. Everyone is friendly. Because religion can put a glasses on our noses, but it doesn't make our sight.
And you're right, Buddhism is not a eligion in a strict point, it is rather a philosophy. But to be honest, almost every " higher" (forgive me the term, religious studies folks are using it so am I) religion is not a religion but a compilation of philosophical thoughts. Of course, when there is a central axis mundi like a (better or less) defined GOD(S), it becomes a religion.
I don't find any religion better than any other.
In death we are all even. We are all becoming the food for earth.
And not Mother Earth, don't put this on me, really.

And yes, I celebrate Christmas, I think Jesus was one of the best philosophers and men ever. For my family's sake. Don't find any religion useful though. Sorry.

[sinus_caroticus]

well, nice that we got to discuss but i guess that it wasn't Mirellas objective for this topic to turn out like this. So just don't mind my elitist whining, we won't change our viewpoints so its futile to drag it on.

[fictionalistic]

I think I love the idea of celebrating Christmas more than actually celebrating Christmas. Especially with the presence of certain relatives. xP

[stud1al]

No,i do not celebrate it.
I live on my own so no point having a tree or decorations .I also come from a fairly large family and we agreed years ago not to buy each other presents. It is too expensive.
I do sometimes go to my mother's house for Xmas dinner ,though.

[angeltan]

It's Christmas Everyday all year round for me! I am a child of Christmas

Yes, it's commercialised, but hey, that's just an addition to the season. My heart holds the spiritual graces, but also embraces Christmas fun!

[Keiko1981]

No. Especially not this year.

[liddo-kun]

I like Christmas since it's a holiday.
Sometimes I celebrate it by putting up a christmas tree.
Watching Last Christmas jdrama and listening Tokio's Ding Dong, ahh those are good memories. Maybe I should try eat KFC as well lol.

[DanyDrama]

I loved Christmas when I was a kid, I enjoy it now as a day off. But I don’t celebrate it.