Does anyone else think it's a waste?

[CarlMetro]

Christmas I mean.

We spend hours racking our brains for present ideas for people and then hundreds of pounds on the presents themselves. We wrap them in yards of paper, only to have it all torn apart again.

We buy and consume food we don't normally eat for the other 360 odd days a year, and then sit around suffering because we've eaten too much. Then of course there's the extra alcohol consumption.

We also have the Americans to thank for our residential streets looking ike Oxford Street used to a few years ago, where neighbour battles neighbour in the lighting stakes and the nations electricity consumption rising by aproximately 10% over the Christmas period.

And all of this for what?

How many of us will attend church? How many will sit in quiet contemplation of the birth of Jesus Christ? Not me, for one. I am a non-believer and yet I, somewhat hypocritically, still celebrate the biggest Christian festival of the year.

Why do we do all this? Because it's expected, and the small fact that Christmas is all about commercialisation these days. I find it just a little sad.

[A.F.F.]

Why is it expected ? Because of the kids. I see nothing wrong when kids love Christmas :)

[Schultz]

You've obviously forgotten about the real meaning of christmas. The presents.

[jens]

Well. Honestly Christmas isn't a remarkable period of the year to me. Usual days and I do the same things as on the other days. :) But others in the world seem to try to get as much commercial profit as possible. Or try to get the maximum "christmas feeling". The only things I like about Christmas are gingerbreads and the Christmas tree. :D

[ian959]

Carl, precisely why I gave up on Christmas ages ago.

Nothing but an excuse for stores to rip loads of money out of those who still have not forsaken the commercialistic nature of the period - which incidentally seems to last longer and longer every year.

[555-04Q2]

Christmas I mean.

We spend hours racking our brains for present ideas for people and then hundreds of pounds on the presents themselves. We wrap them in yards of paper, only to have it all torn apart again.

We buy and consume food we don't normally eat for the other 360 odd days a year, and then sit around suffering because we've eaten too much. Then of course there's the extra alcohol consumption.

We also have the Americans to thank for our residential streets looking ike Oxford Street used to a few years ago, where neighbour battles neighbour in the lighting stakes and the nations electricity consumption rising by aproximately 10% over the Christmas period.

And all of this for what?

How many of us will attend church? How many will sit in quiet contemplation of the birth of Jesus Christ? Not me, for one. I am a non-believer and yet I, somewhat hypocritically, still celebrate the biggest Christian festival of the year.

Why do we do all this? Because it's expected, and the small fact that Christmas is all about commercialisation these days. I find it just a little sad.

Amongst my family and friends, we only buy presents for the kids. Adults get to enjoy each others company and a few dozen beers :p :

[Erki]

Why should we celebrate stuff like Christmas, New Year, my birthday etc? Why not celebrate every day?

[millencolin]

a few dozen beers :p :


thats all i ask for this xmas

[Mark]

Why should we celebrate stuff like Christmas, New Year, my birthday etc? Why not celebrate every day?

Because you can't celebrate every day, or you'd be an alcoholic :p

Seriously tho, Christmas isn't about Jesus Christ any more, it's a simple celebration of the year gone by and time to spend with your family. If we didn't have Christmas then some other big yearly holiday would have been invented.

[janneppi]

Seriously tho, Christmas isn't about Jesus Christ any more, it's a simple celebration of the year gone by and time to spend with your family. If we didn't have Christmas then some other big yearly holiday would have been invented.

Originally Christmas wasn't about Jesus at all, those damn churches transformed local Winter solstice festives to a christian mold.
So it's only fair that we take it back.

[Mark]

Tis true tis that. In fact a lot of what we consider to be christian isn't anything of the sort.

[Dave B]

To quote Edward Elizabeth Hitler: "I'm not going to let the arrival of the son of God ruin my Christmas!" :p

My junior school force-fed me Christianity so as a kid Christmas was very important to me. Now that I've grown up and no longer believe in such nonsense (IMO :uhoh: ) I guess I celebrate xmas because, well, everybody else does.

It's mostly harmless fun, but I agree with Carl that there's so much pressure on people to feel that they're having fun, or to spend money they don't have. Look at all the Farepack savers, many of them can't get their heads round the concept that you can still enjoy xmas without expensive hampers or presents :s

Let's be honest: for the vast majority of us Christmas is just an excuse for a few days off and a bit of booze. :s anta:

[A.F.F.]

Why should we celebrate stuff like Christmas, New Year, my birthday etc? Why not celebrate every day?

It gets too hard on your purse?

[BeansBeansBeans]

I'm not Christian, but I'm prepared to be a hypocrite once a year if it means a week or so off work and some nice books and CDs. I agree with Carl though, the Xmas shopping has been stressing me out this year.

[Knock-on]

Christmas I mean.
How many of us will attend church? How many will sit in quiet contemplation of the birth of Jesus Christ? Not me, for one. I am a non-believer and yet I, somewhat hypocritically, still celebrate the biggest Christian festival of the year.
.

I celebrate Christmas as a time to visit family and friends, to give and receive and to have a party.

As for the Christian thingy, as Jan said, the festival is actually nothing to do with Christ but the Pagan festival of YuleTide.

JC was not born around the time so it's a little strange to celebrate his birth :confused:

I just think it's a good thing for everyone but do tend to kick back at the commercialism a bit,

[Sleeper]

I celebrate Christmas as a time to visit family and friends, to give and receive and to have a party.

As for the Christian thingy, as Jan said, the festival is actually nothing to do with Christ but the Pagan festival of YuleTide.

JC was not born around the time so it's a little strange to celebrate his birth :confused:

I just think it's a good thing for everyone but do tend to kick back at the commercialism a bit,

I pretty much agree with Knockie here, especially the first line which, for me, is the meaning of christmas. As an atheist I couldnt care less for any of the religous reasons of the festival and I do the sae thing I do all year regarding the blatent comercialism, ignore it.

[TOgoFASTER]

Winter Solstice salutations to all northerners. DEC-22 @ 00:20 UT
The age old celebration of making it through the last year, hopefully intact, and looking forward to the hopeful better new year coming.

Ring the bells, drink, eat and have much merriment.

[slinkster]

It means different things to different people.. and yeah it can be commercialised and wasteful. I dislike seeing god knows how much electricity being wasted on houses that look like they could be seen from space... but it's their perogative to waste their money.

All our paper I know will be recycled, I recyle all my christmas cards if I don't use them in art projects etc... and as for the food... don't cook so much!!! Any left overs for us are eaten the next day or fed to the cats!!! sorted.

For what? well for me it's a celebration of winter and family and I don't mind saying that despite many obvious stressful sides to it... I love christmas! :)

[Donney]

Christmas are a tradition which is hard to erase because the only thing humans need to celebrate is an excuse and in Christmas you have the perfect one.
The rest is up to you, go to church if you feel like it or don't, put lights or not and the same goes with the tree, the excess of food, the paper..... Nothing is stopping us from celebrating it the way we want to and not the way we like to think we are forced to.

[franna3]

At one time, Christmas meant the world to me. I had parents and grandparents coming to my home --- not for the gifts, simply to be together and enjoy each other's company. Yes, we had more than enough food, but we loved to cook because it was a way of expressing our love for our family.

Now, Christmas is, more or less, just another day. My grandparents are gone, my parents are gone, the aunts and uncles are gone, the cousins are spread out over the country.

Now, Christmas, along with Easter, are some of the saddest days of the year because I remember what I once had.

[Drew]

Christmas is worth it, it's a time of year when you're obliged to see your family and to relax!

Until the bills start coming in, in January.

[schmenke]

Every year I look forward to this time of year :) . I look forward to the time off and spending it with family and friends, some of whom I see only once or twice during the year. Growing up, Christmas has always been a happy time for me and I still cherish many fond memories. I still enjoy the family traditions... the tree, the decorations, lights (yes lights :p : ), the smell of cookies in the oven :facelick: ...
No, it's not a waste :) It's a happy time that I share with my family and I try not to let all the sad "commersialism" bother me.

[jso1985]

It surely becomes a waste if you only think about the commercial part.
For me the most important part of Christmas is to spend a good and relaxed time with your family and enjoy it! :)

[schmenke]

...As for the Christian thingy, as Jan said, the festival is actually nothing to do with Christ but the Pagan festival of YuleTide.

JC was not born around the time so it's a little strange to celebrate his birth :confused: ...

Nobody really knows when Christ was born, but it's widely believed that, according to the Gregorian calendar his birth was on December 25th. The fact that this date is so close to the pagan festival of Yule, Dec. 21st, is just a coincidence. Because of the proximity of these dates, over the centuries many of the pagan Yule traditions have been intertwined into the Christian celebration of the birth of Christ, so that now the two are pretty much indistinguishable.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Remember the true meaning of christmas.......

The birth of Santa :D


If you think that it is bad being the customer at christmas, buying all the food and presents, just spend a minute to think what it is like for the staff in shops. :(

I'm working in the fresh meats counter in a local supermarket on the 23rd & 24th so I'm going to be attacked my people wanting turkeys and chipolatas. Then customers tell us that WE have ruined christmas when THEY have left all their shopping to the last minute.
I'll laugh when someone comes in 5 minutes to closing time this Sunday asking if we have any Turkeys. :laugh:
I also find it funny that the man in a couple always get the blame when they haven't got the shopping done.


It's sad that people have to shop on christmas eve as if the world was about to end after christmas!!!!!!!!

[RaikkonenRules]

I think i'll join the long list of grumpy old scrooges who are officialy sick of Christmas. Christmas is just yet another victim of commercialism. :mad: Although I do enjoy the fact it's an excuse to drink lots of booze :D :up: :beer:

[Erki]

It gets too hard on your purse?

I don't need litres of cheap alcohol to celebrate. :)