Christmas as a Christian

[Bleakmidwinter1977]

Those of you who are celebrating Christmas, and consider yourself to be Christian...just wondering why you do, and what parts you opt out of/in to?

Asking as I'm interested, not because I have an opinion either way.

@Bleakmidwinter1977 you might find the Clerk of Oxford's writings about the modern interpretation of "hijacking" pagan festivals interesting. She is an Oxford academic and recently published a book on the passage of time in the Anglo Saxon year. I loved her Advent blog here in 2020 https://aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com/2020/11/times-handiworks-by-time-are-haunted.html

The relevant bit is about halfway down the blog post, beginning "In Britain, as elsewhere in northern Europe, Christmas is a midwinter festival. (This is where people start shouting 'because it was stolen from the pagans!' so I'm now going to talk about that; but please proceed with an open mind, and don't just shout at me...)..."

It's very much worth reading from there to the end!

I am married to a priest.
December is insane. Christmas simply does not happen until Boxing Day. Christmas Day May end up as a bacon sandwich grabbed on the go as he is usually on call for the local hospital Christmas Day. I taxi eldest daughter to hospital as there is no public transport at stupid o clock.
Decorations wait till the last Sunday in Advent, we have a nativity under the tree, Christmas last for the whole 12 days until Epiphany. The tree may well stay up till Candlemas at the start of February.
My fave is the candlelight at midnight mass on Christmas Eve. Walking home through fields after in the stillness of the night lit by stars beats all the flashing lights

he is becoming fixated on all the aspects of Christmas that are not necessarily related to Christianity, e.g. Christmas tree, santa, etc, and removing all the joy from the season.

What's wrong with these things? Why is there no joy in Santa? In your other thread you've been given loads of reasons why Christmas is a good thing for non-Christians. Why are you so negative about positive things?

Christmas/advent services and christingle service. Nativity and nativity scene on display. We read one chapter of Luke each day throughout advent.

We also do Santa, Christmas tree, Christmas lights, magic, reindeers, the whole shebang.

I bloody love Christmas.

I Hope you have someone is real life to talk to. Try a Christmas service, they are usually designed to be very welcoming to people who don’t normally attend. Ours run an Alpha course (learning about Christianity) in the New Year and will advertise this in out church services.

JOY is a fruit of the spirit of God and it is deeper and more forebearing than your DH seems to appreciate, that we have nativities in schools because Francis of Assisi created a tableaux for those who struggled with church at Christmass .Santa Claus is a derivative of Saint Nicholas. A very robust bishop who punched those he disagreed with in the various councils debating early church doctrines and creeds. Trees are fairly universal. the bible has one in Eden Genesis and again in Revelation in the city of God. If you’re not worshipping said tree , no problem. TBH there are some things that have crept in that have more to do with well dodgy conspiracy theories than theological thinking. Now if he took umbrage at the commercialisation of wants that places profiting above peoples needs then he might have a valid point.

I don't have chocolate advent calendars for the kids and only send religious cards, so I opt out of those bits.

Thank you. I'm struggling this year. My husband is Christian, as am I, but he is becoming fixated on all the aspects of Christmas that are not necessarily related to Christianity, e.g. Christmas tree, santa, etc, and removing all the joy from the season. I just want our children to enjoy Christmas as a time of peace and joy, but I'm now questioning the validity of Christmas (a festival which he constantly reminds me is a pagan festival hijacked by Christmas).

I'm a Christian and I cannot stand fun sponge Christians like your DH.
Yes, Christ wasn't born on the 25th of dec but it is the day chosen to now celebrate it. If your husband is that bothered he could celebrate it another day or even every day if he wanted to.

There is nothing wrong with Christmas trees, elves etc. we use these things to help celebrate and bring joy. If you're firm in your faith then a fat magical man that delivers presents shouldn't really be an issue.

Jesus turned water into wine at parties so obviously was a fan of people having fun!

Thanks for your comment.
I don't believe there is anything wrong with these things. My husband however, is another matter.
I'm just interested in the motivations of individuals/people who celebrate Christmas, whether they are Christian or not.
Perhaps I was hoping for some ammunition to argue "for" Christmas, as we seem to be heading towards not celebrating and taking on a puritanical view of Christmas.

Thank you, I will read this.

Christmas is a time of great joy. In every Christian church.

Our CoE church do an advent book which DH and I read each evening with our advent candle burning.
I go to advent service, carol services and normal Sunday/christingle/festive service.
Do we opt out of anything? I don't think so. We do the usual family and drinks and stuff.

Practicing catholic here. I love all the church stuff and advent as well.

I'll do first Vespers on Christmas Eve and then come back for midnight mass.

Are you collecting for an article? You already have have a thread about Christmas as an atheist

I go to the Christmas services at church. I’ve been involved with food banks over Christmas (truly humbling, I have some fabulous stories about selfless giving) or other charitable / social causes. I’ve been offered a seat for Christmas dinner when I’d otherwise have been alone, and paid it forwards by opening my house to others (I know that’s not uniquely Christian, just related to my motivation).
I do know some Christians who opt out of some elements, trees are a big one, due to one specific passage, but I don’t interpret it that way. Some do Santa, others don’t, a very few don’t do much by way of gifts. They still make it special for their children.

I love the way that it's advent first, a time of reflection and quiet, and I try not to get too carried away by the secular world in which it's Christmas already (I don't completely avoid parties etc, but I don't seek them out) and I try to be a bit internal and reflective until Christmas Eve. Then, loads of singing (I'm in the cathedral choir) and then all the "pagan" delights starting on 25th Dec.!

I go to Mass weekly so I will be at Mass on Christmas Day. I give money to charity. I will also partake in our school Advent Carol Service this week.

I also have a Nativity scene in my house.

@Bleakmidwinter1977

Great user name ! Please listen to BBC Radio 4 Nine Lessons and Carols, Christmas Eve 2023 at 15.00, or you could watch on BBC television, not sure if it's broadcast at the same time. Even if you have not been brought up in the Christian tradition, hoping you will feel the warmth of the message.
Would you consider attending a local church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? Hoping you will find a lovely atmosphere. Happy Christmas !

We don't do Santa, Elf, etc. Never have done.

We put our tree up a few days before Christmas, and take it down on twelfth night.

We are fairly minimalist on presents, but with five children plus their spouses, the heap under the tree is still obscene

I'm a churchwarden and find Advent/Christmas absolutely exhausting with all the church events plus external concerts.

We're heavy into advent here which is weird when the rest of the country is celebrating Christmas!! We make a Jesse tree with ornaments symbolising the Old Testament prophecies and stories which foreshadow/lead up to Jesus's birth, and there are lots of saints days we celebrate during advent (we celebrated St Nicholas's day today with little chocolate Santas in the kids' shoes, singing special songs and watching a mini film about st Nicholas on YouTube (called the boy who became Santa, it was quite nice!). We usually try to do some secret act of kindness in the spirit of St Nicholas too but we didn't get to that this year even though that's probably the most important bit 🤦🏽‍♀️It's St Lucy's day next week where my little girl has a candle crown and we do a little light procession and make saffron buns. And all the gorgeous advent hymns!!!
Advent is so full for us that Christmas itself always takes us a bit by surprise 😂😂 My friends do reverse advent calendars where their kids donate something each day of advent which is lovely.

I also have a lovely book using R S Thomas's poems as an advent devotional, and I read that each day (just one poem and a page or two of exposition), though I'm already behind this year!

You don’t need to argue ‘for’ Christmas, you just celebrate the way you want. If you want a tree- buy a tree and put it up.

We happily do both the religious bits and the secular bits. Cocolate advent calenders for the DC, a tree and Santa, as well as an advent candle, nativity scene, carol services and church every Sunday.

DS1 has decided that Santa is St. Nicholas who now lives forever at the North Pole.

We dont do elf on the shelf though or too many expensive days out.

Not sure if we'll go to the Crib service or midnight mass this year, I used to love midnight Mass as a DC but I can't remember how old I was when I first started going (my eldest is 7.5).