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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think that christmas is farce ?

247 replies

portocristo · 23/10/2022 11:31

Christmas seems to be a alcohol and food fest plus lots and lots of gifts and elf on the shelf etc. Just wondering if kids nowadays know or care that it's a religious occasion . I'm pretty sure that if you asked most kids about Christmas they would say its all about presents and chocolate. Am I being unreasonable in thinking this ?

OP posts:
CakeCrumbs44 · 25/10/2022 12:08

I'm an atheist. Christmas isn't a religious festival to me, it's an enjoyable time to spend with friends and family. Things change over time and I think Christmas has evolved as the number of practising Christians has gone down massively over the last 100 years or so.
That's OK though, Christians can still celebrate the religious aspect if they want to.

Stompythedinosaur · 25/10/2022 12:19

My Christmas isn't a religious event.

Do what you like, don't attempt to dictate to others!

Topgub · 25/10/2022 12:47

@MangyInseam

Because its supposedly celebrating the anniversary of the crucifixion/resurrection

Deaths, like births (christmas) happen on a fixed date. It shouldn't move and shouldn't always be a Friday to Mon.

It does, because like every other Christian festival, it's piggy backed on to existing festivals (passover)

Myunclesmustache · 25/10/2022 12:51

@Againstmachine
There is actually no evidence of Jesus, only evidence what people state is accounts written some years after his supposed life. He inst in any Roman records or anything.

You are misinformed.

The Roman historian and senator Tacitus referred to Jesus, his execution by Pontius Pilate, and the existence of early Christians in Rome in his final work, Annals (written ca. AD 116), book 15, chapter 44.

Myunclesmustache · 25/10/2022 12:57

@Topgub I'm not mounting a campaign to keep Easter the same date every year.
Well it certainly sounds like it !

It makes no difference to me personally.
I'm happy for you 🙂

But logically the date shouldn't change.

Why?

Topgub · 25/10/2022 13:03

@Myunclesmustache

See post above yours.

Myunclesmustache · 25/10/2022 13:12

@Topgub
See post above yours.

Yes I have done.

Deaths, like births (christmas) happen on a fixed date. It shouldn't move and shouldn't always be a Friday to Mon.

That's your opinion and IMO it's pants.

What about people who are born/die on 29th Feb (Leap Year) do people celebrate the birthdays/anniversaries of these people on the 28th Feb or 1st March in a non-leap year?
Or may only have a birthday every 4 years (that would go down a storm with the kids).

Not everything has to be logical just to make your diary entries/leave requests/holiday bookings easier !

Againstmachine · 25/10/2022 14:40

*You are misinformed.

The Roman historian and senator Tacitus referred to Jesus, his execution by Pontius Pilate, and the existence of early Christians in Rome in his final work, Annals (written ca. AD 116), book 15, chapter 44.*

AD 116 is the pertinent point, someone writing about someone 70 odd years after their death doesn't mean they existed.

Myunclesmustache · 25/10/2022 14:48

@Againstmachine AD 116 is the pertinent point, someone writing about someone 70 odd years after their death doesn't mean they existed.

So why would someone with the credibility of Tacitus want destroy that to make up a fairy tale?
Obviously you know nothing of Tacitus.
His best-known works are Histories and Annals, which cover the history of the empire from the time of the Julio-Claudians to the reign of Domitian (r. 81-96 CE).

I think you're grasping at straws here to prove a point.

thecatsthecats · 25/10/2022 14:54

I'm not religious, but I do find it weird that people think that religious has to be synonymous with dreary, dire and dull.

What is unreligious about feasting and spending time with family, and extending goodwill to others?

Myunclesmustache · 25/10/2022 15:00

@thecatsthecats
I'm not religious, but I do find it weird that people think that religious has to be synonymous with dreary, dire and dull.

What 'people' are you taking about??🤔

Christmastide is a wonderful, happy celebration for Christians.

MarieIVanArkleStinks · 25/10/2022 15:23

To me, it's Yule, although I do enjoy the Christmas story. I prefer the quieter marking of the winter solstice to the conventional obligations (and, let's face it, bloody hard work) involved in Christmas. Ostara/Easter has none of those obligations attached, and happens at a lighter, brighter, time of year, making it my favourite holiday bar none.

Something about Christmas also amplifies loss, and I miss my Mum in December almost more than any other time. It does provide a welcome break from work in the middle of winter to regroup. But most of it's nicked from the pagans, including, in some Scandinavian traditions, the association between the Santa figure and the god Odin. As Odin was viewed as the Green Man, depictions of him in that tradition show him looking pretty similar to Santa but garbed in green rather than red.

It's so interesting, when reading about old cultures, religions and traditions, to see how many of them overlap and intersect. The idea of the virgin birth in old Egyptian myth, and the connection between Mary as goddess and Brighid, the Celtic goddess of healing, light and life, show how these stories come into being and intersect throughout many cultures.

There is not one prescribed meaning to anything.

Topgub · 25/10/2022 16:51

@Myunclesmustache

But we're not talking about a leap year event. So no. Its not pants.

The reason it moves is because Christianity piggy backed their festival to someone else's

Like they did with most if not all of them

Puffalicious · 15/12/2022 18:11

TheKeatingFive · 23/10/2022 11:39

It was always, fundamentally, about celebration, excess, cheer, in the depths of mid winter. It long predates Christianity and has performed this function for thousands of years. YABU.

This.

I can't stand religion being shoved down my throat, all this 'It's Jesus's birthday' whining really pisses me off. Do your religion, grand, just don't impose it on other people. It's a festival of light and family for me.

Crackof · 27/12/2022 18:18

It's an important time of year in the English (etc) calendar since long before Christ. I'm a spiritual person & an animist and I'm really feeling the slow dark and the deep rest and the standing still. I'm loving the greenery and the candles and the lights and the feasting and the love. It's not an expensive thing for me. None of us spends much and it's not super boozy. Just very loving and nice.

HelloBunny · 27/12/2022 18:23

I do think Christmas has turned into a bit of a monster. The commercial aspect is all pervasive nowadays. We have moved quite far away from what Christmas actually is. The stress is huge for a lot of people. And so much of it is pointless...

TimeFlysWhenYoureHavingRum · 27/12/2022 19:18

Christianity is a relatively new religion. Yuletide predates it by a long time!

BananaCocktails · 28/12/2022 00:58

Christmas is only a farce here in the uk in my country of birth it’s just a dinner with family and church - how it should be
none of this retail crap and all the commercial nonsense

Skodacool · 31/12/2022 20:56

StrychnineInTheSandwiches · 23/10/2022 11:37

A December midwinter festival pre-dates Christianity so YABU

This is true.

Pothoswithasparkle · 01/01/2023 05:46

BananaCocktails · 28/12/2022 00:58

Christmas is only a farce here in the uk in my country of birth it’s just a dinner with family and church - how it should be
none of this retail crap and all the commercial nonsense

That's because you are all actually religious. I come from very non religious country and it's not about jesus (well he brings presents but that's that) or church.
It's commercial, but it's still more about food and fun with family.

Hoppinggreen · 01/01/2023 10:12

Pothoswithasparkle · 01/01/2023 05:46

That's because you are all actually religious. I come from very non religious country and it's not about jesus (well he brings presents but that's that) or church.
It's commercial, but it's still more about food and fun with family.

We are not all religious.
I am UK born and bred but my Christmas has nothing to do with any historical figures, real or imaginary.

UWhatNow · 02/01/2023 12:41

Puffalicious · 15/12/2022 18:11

This.

I can't stand religion being shoved down my throat, all this 'It's Jesus's birthday' whining really pisses me off. Do your religion, grand, just don't impose it on other people. It's a festival of light and family for me.

Who is shoving religion down your throat? Nobody. Christians are quite open about the pagan associations of midwinter and how it was unlikely to have been the actual birthday of Jesus so it’s not some big shameful secret you’ve exposed there!

We are a country whose laws, customs and traditions are built on Christianity so the bank holiday you enjoy on 25/26 Dec is actually one set up for a Christian celebration whether you like it or not. So the only one whining is you. Bit hypocritical to say it’s a festival of light and yet you have very dark emotions going on there…

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