Do you dislike Christmas? Why? Pls share.

chic

chic

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I don't like Christmas at all. Promulgated by people who are either mercenary and benefit from it or by those who are sanctimonious and feel empowered by the celebration of the birth of a price of peace who also taught us to feel compassion for each other but no one ever does. It depresses me unspeakably. It does this every year. People just don;'t get it and want me to believe THEY are good people despite this.

They're no and Christmas seems to be a farce. How do you feel about it?
 

Perhaps you would feel differently if you considered the fact that humans have held celebrations at this time of the year for thousands of years. It is the end of one solar cycle and the start of the next one. People used to gather at Stonehenge and have a feast while waiting for the sun to rise, marking the start of the new year.
Because people were already holding a festival at this time of year, it was appropriate to combine it with the celebration of the birth of Jesus.
I once had Jehovah's Witnesses knock on my door on Christmas Day and inform me that it wasn't actually His birthday. I said that we were celebrating his birth, not his birthday. (I told them to go away and think about that).
 
I don't care for it. Have not for many years. Up until I married for the first time I loved it. My family did not have a lot of money so we did not have a big elaborate day like some people had. My brother and I always got about 6 presents and we were happy. We lived in FL and were away from all our relatives so just the four of us. We would have a bigger dinner than usual to make it special.

As I got older and had my son and got married it became a burden to me. My husband was Jewish so he had never had Christmas before so would go crazy with the decorating and gift buying. Then my Mom got sick and could not shop for presents. So I had to buy for everyone...........had to figure out what to buy and go to the stores was stressful for me. I hated it.

Then over the years, remarrying and my new in-laws would have a huge Christmas thing on Christmas Day. Tons of gifts to buy that we could not afford. Too much food. Not being able to be with my own family but had to go to his family's home or his mother would pout for months over it. My mother was bedridden so she could not come there. Now they are all gone. The feeling of relief is that I can do what I want on that day.
 
By this time I am used to it. My feelings about it have changed a lot. From loving it when I was a kid, to hassling about it for many years, to being a bystander now. It is another "celebration" that we think needs a special day to not do real commercial work, but we spend a ton of our money during this time. Ironic, no? :)
 
This year I am trying to pay it forward although I am prone to miss on many opportunities due to my own distraction. I thought about buying the sheriff patrol a D&D coffee gift card but decided I did not have the money to spend. Alas I am my own cheap enemy.
 
Yes, midwinter festivals have been around forever. But a lot of people feel under great pressure at Xmas because of rampant 21st century commercialism. If you don't go drastically overdrawn trying to provide presents, especially for kids (who are subjected to a lot of peer pressure themselves) then you must be a bad parent. Have to keep the capitalist machine/treadmill running at all costs. Women are often under pressure to provide if they happen to be lumbered with organising all the food, often for extra guests.

I'm spending Christmas just with my SO, no relatives visiting, and we'll just do our own thing, just laze around, maybe a game or two of Scrabble. We'll have a nice lunch, but nothing excessive and don't feel obliged to pig out all day on chocolate or mince pies, and then have to starvation diet for the whole of January. It works for us, and thats all that matters.
 
I'm kind of neutral. It's exciting for the kids and causes some people to be nicer to others. It's in the dead of Winter when we could use some cheering up. It's not really a religious holiday for most people. Feasts, gift giving and Christmas trees have pagan origins. When I was in Japan in '65 I was surprised to see Santa Claus on store fronts.

On the other hand, people go nuts. I hate going out during December. I hunker down until the month is over.
 
We celebrated Christmas at my house when I was a small child, but before I became a teenager, my dad got the idea we shouldn't celebrate it anymore (for too many reasons to get into in this post). He tried to explain it all away, but young children don't understand.

My grandmother mailed my (January) birthday gifts in time for them to arrive before Christmas. I know she timed it that way on purpose so I wouldn't feel left out. I love her for trying.

But, I don't have happy memories of childhood Christmases, and that's carried over, making it hard for me to enjoy Christmas as an adult, even though I do observe the occasion.
 
Now I don't care one way or another because it's just another day. When our sons still believed in Santa it was fun. No Santa it turned to what do you want? Living on their own pretty distant it's now it's not what do you want. It's money because the right color & size.

The religious aspect was up to them, no influence for or against.
 
It was only a short time ago that our cultural cohesion was not yet under aggressive assault. But online shopping hasn't killed malls, it was forced multiculturalism - i.e. anti-culturalism. And it left a legacy of pain in everyone.


Flash mobs and simple caroling were still a thing.

Since we are taking our country back things like pride and joy and positive attitudes will help rescue those who let themselves be beaten down by tarring everything with negativity and nihilism.

Geeze, just go watch The Grinch from the 1960s:

But this sound wasn't sad!​
Why, this sound sounded glad!​
​
Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small,​
Was singing without any presents at all!​
​
He hadn't stopped Christmas from coming! It came!​
Somehow or other, it came just the same!​
​
And the Grinch, with his grinch feet ice-cold in the snow,​
Stood puzzling and puzzling. "How could it be so?​
​
It came without ribbons! It came without tags!​
It came without packages, boxes, or bags!"​
​
He puzzled and puzzed till his puzzler was sore.​
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.​
​
Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.​
Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!​
​
And what happened then? Well, in Whoville they say​
That the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day!​
 
HermitHogan said:
That reminds me... I need to get my wife a card. I can get all her gifts through Amazon, but cards are the one thing where I need to go out into the %$#@!in' world to get.
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I stopped buying cards when they stopped being reasonably price.

DH refuses to buy cards too.
He handwrites me cards with how he feels about me and the years as we pass. I have a treasure trove of his handwritten mini-loves.
 
chic said:
I don't like Christmas at all. Promulgated by people who are either mercenary and benefit from it or by those who are sanctimonious and feel empowered by the celebration of the birth of a price of peace who also taught us to feel compassion for each other but no one ever does. It depresses me unspeakably. It does this every year. People just don;'t get it and want me to believe THEY are good people despite this.

They're no and Christmas seems to be a farce. How do you feel about it?
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I am neutral. I like thinking about my kids' faces when they were under 12 on Christmas morns.

Better than gold.

Now on some years I feel like I am in a mood and have enough energy to decorate and or send out cards; some years I don't.

Some years, if our budget feels flush and we are able, we send out a few gifts at Christmas, usually to grandkids 10 or so and under or our siblings.

If I find special things - gifts - throughout the year, I just send them out of the blue..and say "Thinking of you and love you" or "Christmas came early", etc.
 
I don’t like all of the commercial buildup but December 25th was not the birth of Jesus anyway. It was the celebratory date of one of the Roman sun gods (I think there were two at that time).

It was the Romans who decided to incorporate Jesus’ birth with their sun god celebration. I forget why but there are tons of CREDIBLE links alluding to it.
*****
”On the day when Jesus was born, there were shepherds out in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks. December is winter, but is it possible to graze sheep in Israel?


Israel, located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Desert, has a shorter spring and autumn, and longer summer and winter, and it is characterized by a huge daily temperature range. That is because it is situated in the region where the Mediterranean climate meets the subtropical climate.
Winter is the rainy season in Israel, so it rains a lot and the temperature falls off. So people move their sheep into the sheep pen at least by October so that they can go through winter there. Therefore, it is hard to keep watching over the flock of sheep in the fields at night in midwinter, December.”

On the day when Jesus was born, there were shepherds out in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks. December is winter, but is it possible to graze sheep in Israel? - Bible Q&A


2. “25th December) is the day in the later Roman empire when people celebrated the winter solstice and the birthday of the sun god Sol Invictus: “

25th December: the Roman festival of sun god Sol Invictus - Colchester Archaeological Trust

******
In terms of not liking a holiday— I HATE all Hallows Eve (Halloween). I refuse to pay obeisance to what & whom it represents.
 
How do I hate this season? Let me count the ways...
I hate the cold, dark, short days.
I hate all the commercial brouhaha especially since I have little money to spend on gifts.
I hate feeling like a misfit, being Jewish. When I was a kid we got presents on Xmas morning but trees, wreaths and the like were forbidden.
I hate feeling guilty bc I'm not doing more for more people.
I hate that when I actually got it together and sent my grandsons presents, they haven't thanked me or even acknowledged they got them.
I'm sure I'll come up with more later.
And, @chic, thank you for this opportunity.
 
katlupe said:
I don't care for it. Have not for many years. Up until I married for the first time I loved it. My family did not have a lot of money so we did not have a big elaborate day like some people had. My brother and I always got about 6 presents and we were happy. We lived in FL and were away from all our relatives so just the four of us. We would have a bigger dinner than usual to make it special.

As I got older and had my son and got married it became a burden to me. My husband was Jewish so he had never had Christmas before so would go crazy with the decorating and gift buying. Then my Mom got sick and could not shop for presents. So I had to buy for everyone...........had to figure out what to buy and go to the stores was stressful for me. I hated it.

Then over the years, remarrying and my new in-laws would have a huge Christmas thing on Christmas Day. Tons of gifts to buy that we could not afford. Too much food. Not being able to be with my own family but had to go to his family's home or his mother would pout for months over it. My mother was bedridden so she could not come there. Now they are all gone. The feeling of relief is that I can do what I want on that day.
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Yes...I feel the same, Christmas was always lots of work and stress, now that I'm old I only do the very minimum. I watch my children and grandchildren doing Christmas with all the stress and overspending...lt makes me sad.
 

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