Putting decorations on the Christmas tree this year I began thinking. My views on life have drastically changed in the past few years. I used to be a Christian in the truest sense of the word. I accepted the teaching of the Catholic Church, did good deeds whenever I could in the name of Christ, prayed, went to church on a regular basis, etc. Approaching the end of high school, however, my views began to change, making me more of what I like to call an Ethical Hedonist.
Anyway, the point of this thread. What has Christmas become? Has it become so secular and commercialized that someone who used to be a Christian but has complete rejected everything that he was taught can still enjoy the holiday?
Has Christ simply been "X"ed out of the holiday?
What religion/set of values do you follow and do you celebrate Christmas?
__________________ Thanks to Pittman for the sig
"I don't care if I fall, as long as someone picks up my gun and keeps on shooting." -Ernesto Guevara.
I'm a bit of an agnostic and I still celebrate the birth of Christ. I have to celebrate Hanukkah on the fifteenth and then Christmas on the twenty-fourth.
I celebrate christmas because of tradition. But I can't help but feel sorry for those people who have their birthday on nearly the same day. It must be aweful for them to get birthday presents and christmas presents.
It depends on whether Christ is "X"ed out of the holiday. Everyone who celebrates the holiday has heard of Christ and knows of Christ, they associated christmas with Christ and so on. So I say no, he hasn't been "X"ed out of the holiday. He's just not the main theme.
Christmas in the West has become commercianalised. That is because West has a Capitalist consumer orientated culture, which demands that urge to consume must be exploited to its fullest.
You have two options - you can celebrate Christmas as a tradition, holiday, and admire its sagnificance to the people today and the ancients (before and after Christ), or you can buy into the consumer shite, spend the money you saved all year on Christmas presents, eat and drink yourself stupid and treat it as a day off.
There is no wrong answer. It is just how you feel like spending Christmas.
At the end of the day - we made Christmas what it is today.
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في هذا العالم ثلاثة أشخاص أفسدوا البشرية : راعي غنم , طبيب و راكب الجمال , و راكب الجمال هو أسوأ نشال و أسوأ مشعوذ بين الثلاثة
I celebrate New Year's Eve and that is the time Santa (my mom) buys me presents. While it is the most important eve in December for ME, I tend not to get myself ridiculously drunk, fall all over the place then blame consumerism for my incompetence.
I don't celebrate Christmas - 25th is the best day to earn money I so desperately need for my tuition fees, and i particularly despise binge drinking morons, who take any opportunity to get drunk then justify it by saying how ''it is Christmas'' which was somehow supposed to excuse their behaviour.
That is the same low class group who saves money all year around to buy unnecessary shite for ''Chrstmas'' and spent the leftovers on alcohol.
Classy!
So yeah, im bias !
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في هذا العالم ثلاثة أشخاص أفسدوا البشرية : راعي غنم , طبيب و راكب الجمال , و راكب الجمال هو أسوأ نشال و أسوأ مشعوذ بين الثلاثة
I totally agree except me and my family drink a lot. I have Irish blood so we tend to drink when the family gets together. However, my family hardly buys into the commercialism of the holiday. We have a kid grab bag to make sure every child in the family gets a gift. We buy presents and all that like everyone else but since most of my family is working class we don't spend too much.
Although I'd rather smoke a jay than drink a beer why is it "moronic" to drink during the holidays?
__________________ Thanks to Pittman for the sig
"I don't care if I fall, as long as someone picks up my gun and keeps on shooting." -Ernesto Guevara.
I try to follow Christian ones - but I must admit I've gotten pretty caught up with the whole commercialized process as much as any other.
Still - I did explain to my child that the holiday was really about the birth of Jesus - and that Santa Claus was a good man who tried to follow God's will. And he definitely knows that those gifts are comming from me(and Christ) - not Santa(After all I work hard for my money..and God worked hard to get me my job so I can make the money..He..He..)
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Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.
KMC Community Forums
Thanks to Pittman for the sig
Dec 9th, 2006 09:05 PM
