Why do we still celebrate christmas?

[Contract Killer]

Given that it was originally a religious thingy with god and his cross?

And now hardly anyone is religious.

So why do we still celebrate it?

It just seems so pointless...

All this buying people pointless st, if i want something i will buy it.
I tell as many people as possible to not buy me anything.

And then we get to the completely ridiculous concept of the christmas card, i mean come on what the fk are these about?

Yes i do enjoy christmas dinner, but we can do that any day of the year if we wish.
The rest is just utter tedious boring st.

I would honestly rather work over christmas, and have an extra week off in the summer when you can actually enjoy myself!


So anyone else with me, and lets get rid of christmas?

[Silenoz]

Absolutely!

[cuprabob]

Count me in.

[LaurasOtherHalf]

Let me guess, you'll still take the day off work though eh?

[Last Visit]

Count me in for Christmas.

I like it. Gives me something to look forwrd to when it's cold, bleak and rather miserable out. And with young kids they keep it fun too.

Edited by Last Visit on Monday 27th November 22:08

[Mr E]

ash73 said:

I think it had pagan origins, but agree it should be cancelled.

Winter solstice?

[Mr E]

And if you don’t want to have anything to do with it, feel free to treat it the same way you tread divali, or Eid or any of the many other festivals that some people enjoy but others do not.

Personally I’ll be drinking too much and eating turkey sandwiches.

[Gunk]

Amazon would collapse without Christmas

[poing]

I can't think of any other day of the year where my breakfast orange juice also contains champagne. For that reason alone I'd like to keep it.

[Yipper]

As someone once said -- Xmas is to celebrate the birth of Santa.

Xmas brightens up the grim Winter months. Kids and grannies love it. One of the best times of the year.

[TR4man]

Commercialism keeps it going and prospering.

Retail is the religion we worship not God.

[Ari]

Because people like it.

[otherman]

Mr E said:

Personally I’ll be drinking too much and eating turkey sandwiches.

Perfectly good thing to do. I wonder if OP would count this as 'celebrating christmas', when it's had all the religeon taken out of it.
Just shows there a degrees of Christmas. You're all quite free to choose how ever much of it you wish to do. It's the british way my chums, do whatever you like if it don't bother anyone else.

[Monkeylegend]

Just another day as far as I am concerned, glad when all the Christmas ads and stuff in the shops are gone.

Completely overhyped and a complete waste of money.

[SCEtoAUX]

TR4man said:

Commercialism keeps it going and prospering.

Retail is the religion we worship not God.

Exactly. Shopping centres on a Sunday are the new cathedrals.

I absolute hate Christmas. A time of year when people with little money feel obliged to buy things they can't afford for people they don't want to buy gifts for.

I grant you it's rather wonderful for the very young who believe in Father Christmas, and when I have grandchildren I will probably enjoy it for a few years.

[dazwalsh]

Firstly the upsides. It's about the only time of year excluding weddings and funerals that all my extended family get together.

My two little ones absolutely love it

Dinner

A few weeks downtime from work to relax and make a pig out of myself.

The downsides

If I hear Mariah careys all I want for christmas one more time I am going to cause a lot of damage

It costs a small fortune

Retailers are like fecking leaches.

I have to fish around in the loft for the tree and decorations, assemble it all, and do the reverse a few weeks later.

TV is st during the Christmas period, proper st.

It's used as a measurement of time, ie "it's only 19 weeks till Christmas" - oh do fk off!

[StanleyT]

Is Christmas coming?

A couple of weeks ago I thought it must be soon as my local Asda had just started the six month run up to Easter and there were buy 3 get 2 free Cadburys eggs on view in the foyer.

But now I am starting to doubt it. I haven't yet heard off radio2 or other office radio channelz Shane McGowan and Kirsty McCallOfftheProppellers "Fairy Tale of Noo York" so perhaps it is still September or October. #earliest ever hearing with Christmas mention 19.09.12 on Oxford FM.

Thank God for being a church going Catholic. We haven't even started thinking about Christmas at Church yet, still "Ordinary time" in the churches colander (until Sunday) for us.

[jdw100]

Contract Killer said:

Given that it was originally a religious thingy with god and his cross?

?

No it wasn’t. You’re thinking of Easter anyway.

Both Christmas and Easter dates/celebrations were co-opted by the Romans as Christian festivals. They had previously been pagan festivals for many thousands of years. It was easier to bring these into the new Christian tradition than stop people celebrating the pagan (pre-Christian) festivals. People don’t like to give up a party.

Easter dates are a complete fudge - blame the Council of Nicea for that. (3rd century ACE?)

Anyone who believes that Jesus was born on Christmas Day is a moron and clearly has never done the tiniest bit of research into their religion of choice.

[paua]

Time to crank up the barbie, get a bit of a tan etc - summer solstice. No religious value to me.

[caziques]

Move to the southern hemisphere...

New Zealand shuts down for month. With any luck Christmas Day will include salmon for dinner (hot if cold, cold if hot), perhaps a glass or two of drinks - and a swim in the pool.

So yes, Christmas in summer is where it should be.