Christ & Christmas

[Packerjohn]

Christ was never much of a consumer. He was born in a feed trough in a smelly barn, a refugee endangered by a genocide. Throughout his life, the Jewish peasant owned little more than his clothing, preaching from borrowed boats and riding on a borrowed colt. He didn’t worry about where he would sleep or what he would eat, although he was known to cook for his friends and he enjoyed a good dinner party.
hat’s why it seems strange — downright bizarre, in fact — that many people mark the holiday commemorating his birth by getting stressed out over lengthy gift lists and spending beyond their means to buy stuff.
Canadians will spend an average of $1,593 for the 2019 holiday season, and more than 80 per cent will use their credit cards,

 

[Keesha]

I’m so glad I’m not average

 

[terry123]

No stress here as I give nice gift cards along with Body Shop items for the ladies. Each month I have the Bank put some money into a separate cash rewards account. By the end of November I have enough to buy my gift cards for everybody. They all have their special likes so I give what they want. They get what they want and I am not stressed trying to shop. Amazon, TJ Maxx, Bass Pro and Dicks Sporting Goods are a lot of their favs. BIL hunts and fishes and loves the Bass Pro card. one daughter wants Starbucks and the other wants Macys! I know my people!

 

[Capt Lightning]

Packerjohn, while I agree with the sentiment of your post, the period around the winter solstice (N hemisphere) was celebrated for thousands of years before the Christian era. In fact the birth of Christ was not celebrated till around 300 years after his death, and it is widely thought that the 25th. Dec was chosen to make it more acceptable to the largely 'Pagan' population. We have no idea whether pre-Christian people exchanged gifts, but they would most probably have celebrated the 'rebirth' of the sun with food and drink.

As a Humanist, I prefer to celebrate Yuletide. I give presents that I think will be appreciated. They don't need to be expensive. One of the best presents I received was a secondhand paperback book that I'd been wanting for ages, but couldn't find.

 

[fuzzybuddy]

I have the honor of being the first person inducted into "The Lousiest Gift Giver Hall Of Fame". One of my exes was the second. I spent lots of money. I wore out my charge card, back in the days when you embossed those carbon paper slips. Yet, I managed to get the wrong gift. Much later, and much poorer, I fond out that it wasn't the present, which was important, but the friendship between two people. I don't give gifts anymore.

 

[Aunt Bea]

 

[Rosemarie]

Christ was never much of a consumer. He was born in a feed trough in a smelly barn, a refugee endangered by a genocide. Throughout his life, the Jewish peasant owned little more than his clothing, preaching from borrowed boats and riding on a borrowed colt. He didn’t worry about where he would sleep or what he would eat, although he was known to cook for his friends and he enjoyed a good dinner party.
hat’s why it seems strange — downright bizarre, in fact — that many people mark the holiday commemorating his birth by getting stressed out over lengthy gift lists and spending beyond their means to buy stuff.
Canadians will spend an average of $1,593 for the 2019 holiday season, and more than 80 per cent will use their credit cards,

Actually, if you read the gospel with an open mind, you will realise that Jesus was far from poverty-stricken. He had very wealthy friends, who provided him with accommodation as he travelled around, preaching. His parents were able to afford to stay at an inn (yes, the inn was full, they obviously hadn't booked, but the inn-keeper offered them alternative accommodation).