(Note: this post may be regarded as anathema to some most, due to my Christian worldview. Disregard as you will.)
No, I don’t post my thoughts often on this site, but I feel that I must interject here: Christmas, nominally Dec 25 (purportedly a date selected by early Christians to discourage the practice of Pagan tradition which occurred on this day), is supposed to be a religious celebration, i.e. that of the birth of the Christ, Jesus. That the “spirit of giving” is merely associated with Christmas should be rejected as a matter of policy; under Judaeo-Christian tradition, the practice of giving tithes to the Church which are then (at least in part and in theory) to be distributed to the poor, as but one example, is demonstrative of a fact that most are wont to recall: that giving to those in need is to be heralded as an act of great importance. However, the undue secular commercialisation of Christmas has led to the prime focus being taken from the Christian Messiah and His message to a trade in such gifts with price scalping by major corporations being a blatant and disturbing example of this trend, which has been occurring since the diminishment of the importance of religion in Western daily life (a topic for another post, perhaps… and if you don’t like it, simply don’t read my posts.) Moreover, the expectation that one will receive material goods is utterly stultifying: one should be giving to those in need, not simply members of one’s family, and expecting returns beyond gratitude is absurd. It is a sad fact that the vast majority of society simply does not reflect upon the poverty-stricken proletarians that live amongst the community, or for such a brief period that they may make a token donation to a charity or somesuch out of a sense of (well-justified) guilt. Those taking advantage of this annual celebration, which is most definitely not secular in origin, such that they may engender material returns should be ashamed of their wanton and gratuitous behaviour. To such a degree, I find agreement with the previous post by “Missy” and “Crowbar”; but I cannot, with a clear conscience, justify merely disregarding a celebration of the birth of whom I believe to be the Saviour of man. This time should be used for reflection, penitence, and for those who have not yet discovered the profundity of Christ’s message, perhaps questioning the nature of their beliefs.
I question the beliefs of people who believe in a deity that shakes its finger from millions of years ago and says “do it…do it and i’ll fuckin’ spank you” (to quote dogma). Show me proof!
Ultimately, it is a question of faith. Is it any more plausible to believe that NO deity exists? That question rests with you, but the evidence is strongly against that, even from a scientific viewpoint. Evolution is far from incompatible from Genesis in the Pentateuch (despite what many “Creationists” and “Intelligent Design theorists” may say). But believe as you will.
sometimes it’s nice to see things from the point of view of someone who has faith. an enlightening insight, archaios.
i have no problems with people who celebrate a christian holiday on the 25th of December, i have a problem with those people trying to force it down my throat.
Those forcing it down one’s throat for the most part are the aforementioned commercial enterprises, and such practices I condemn. I am in agreement there.