Do you think Christmas as an event as had its day & will it look very different in 5 or 10 years?

[NalPolishRemover]

Reading through MN over the past few days it's struck me how many threads are so negative about Christmas, too much work, too much stress, spending time with people you don't like, hating the gifts you've received, hating buying gifts, hating the traditional foods, taking decorations down on boxing day, erasing all signs of Christmas as soon as possible, not doing Santa, or if doing Santa doing it as minimally as possible etc etc

It got me thinking, most of us have sort of trundled from one year to the next doing what we've always done in terms of our own family culture/ tradition but covid has disrupted everything. It's broken lots of cycles for people. Do you think it's perhaps started a decline in Christmas and over the next 5 - 10 years Christmas will no longer be recognizable?

Given how much everyone was (claiming to be ) longing for their traditional family Christmas gatherings last year, I thought this year the boards would be full of happiness & joy but they seem overwhelmed by frustration.& disappointment instead.

Maybe Christmas is actually over?

Oh op you are funny 😆

Forget about Christmas being over, in my opinion Christianity itself is over. Materialism has replaced religion. People do as they wish: adultery, gluttony, lust, greed, envy... what in heaven's name would Jesus say?

I had the best Christmas I've ever had as an adult. I'm not going to post that though.

Honestly my ideal Christmas definitely isn't for everyone. Slow cooked turkey so theres no faffing on the day. Paper plates, cups, cutlery etc. So no one's wasting time washing up. A few board games, bit of shit TV, bit of booze, lots of toys everywhere, a huge chew to keep the dog busy. PJ's all day, no guests, no Martyrdom, just relaxed fun.

@duvetdayforeveryone

Forget about Christmas being over, in my opinion Christianity itself is over. Materialism has replaced religion. People do as they wish: adultery, gluttony, lust, greed, envy... what in heaven's name would Jesus say?

To be fair, I doubt Jesus would have said "you must have a massive celebration in my honour every year for thousands of years after I'm gone if you want me to like you" either.

@goawaystormy

Hopefully it will be ended by then, its a grim over hyped commercialised nightmare that always leaves me feeling depressed for the whole of January.

How about, if you don't like it, just don't do it. Why must something end or be spoiled for everyone just because some people think it's too 'commercialised'. Take some responsibility for yourself. If some aspect(s) male you depressed it's on you to proactively find ways to avoid these things/do Christmas in your own way.

I bloody hate the MN sentiment that just because certain individuals don't like certain holidays/celebrations/traditions they hope they die out for everyone

Im not surprised your depressed with an attitude like yours. Its only a hyped commercialised nightmare if thats what you buy into and make it . Since when have people lost the ability to think and act for themselves ,quite sad really.

Hope so.....

Food has changed with different types of meat and vegetarian/vegan options and will probably continue to change but people are still getting together for a feast on Xmas day and I can see that continuing.

People who aren't christians can still enjoy listening to carols, watching nativities etc. I don't think that will change, nor do I think that people will forget that Christmas has its origins in christianity and the day that Jesus was born on.

People who like giving gifts will continue to give gifts, and will instill the love of giving instead of receiving in their children.

There will always be people who enjoy spending time with families and getting together to celebrate.

So yes, Christmas will change on the outside, but the fundamental aspects of it will stay the same.

I also don't think it is changing as rapidly as you believe. Mumsnet gives people an outlet to moan (nothing wrong with that). But when it comes to social media, the minority that moan are always louder than the majority that are having a good time.

I agree with @WeAllHaveWings. I think Christmas shuld be all about managing expectations - other people's and your own.

I posted about this on another thread. We both have families who don't try and guilt trip us because they know it is futile.

@NalPolishRemover

I still think Christmas & how it's celebrated has changed a lot since my own childhood & given what I read here that change is ever accelerating & it will change how we & our children experience Christmas.

Lots of dropping traditional foods in favour of alternative meals, the religious aspect not celebrated by so many, no gift rules etc

I just found it interesting to think what an average Christmas might look like in 10 years time.

I think it might look different but that's a far cry from it having had its day and people en masse not celebrating it. Do you really think that the teens growing up now who'll have kids in a decade will just say nah, it's just a regular Wednesday with extra time off work. We'll ignore the shop selling decorations and trees. We'll ignore the spec offers on party food. We won't swop presents. We'll just watch Corrie eating beans on toast?

Not to mention that Christianity might be declining but it won't be obliterated I na generation of four so there will still be religious observance.

People doing happiness and joy aren’t posting on MN

I had the best Christmas I've ever had as an adult. I'm not going to post that though.

Exactly! I'm not going to start a thread about my DH who more than pulls his weight and buys me lots of thoughtful gifts.... and actually excelled himself this year! And I'm not going to post about my delightful in laws who were lovely and complimentary all day 🤷🏼‍♀️

We love Christmas but we keep it relatively low key and local. We host Christmas Day which we love doing and spend the evening at our friends who live across the road .... we've done this for 10 years now and I wouldn't want to change it.

Today is a PJ day for all of us.... I'm chilling with the cat and reading and DH and DS are watching horse racing and betting on horses with the best names ( 50p a race before anyone call social services 😂😂)

Don’t be daft!

We are having a lovely time and I think that applies to everyone I know. People don’t generally post on here about the good stuff.

The only thing that’s changed for us over the last few years is that we do all of the shopping online. The only things we ventured out to shops for were the trees, collecting the turkey and wrapping paper.

I think it’s changing. There’s a swing away from materialism on the one hand, but alongside it a sense of entitlement around gifts that they should be something wanted/useful. The tradition of gifting is dying out - picking out something thoughtfully but accepting that “it’s the thought that counts’ when you receive. For some gifts can feel more like an imposition. Making gift lists is closer to placing an Amazon order. It’s becoming a weirdly pointless exchange of capital.

Alongside this there’s a growing puritanical environmentalism where all the excess of the season is frowned on. Brightly coloured wrapping has been replaced with brown paper. No doubt coloured lights will go next.

I think it’s worth remembering that Christmas is ancient - much older than Christianity. It will continue in some form. But I do think it has changed even within my lifetime.

No I think it’s a bit like reviews, people are more likely to post with a bad experience than a good one.

No we all like Christmas. The kids insist on the traditional bits more than us tbh.

@Grumpyosaurus

I had a lovely Christmas Day. No point posting about it, really.

This is the thing - lots of people had a perfectly nice Christmas Day and just got on with it. There'll always be more posts and more threads about things going wrong, which skews it.

No I think it will still be with us. I was absolutely stunned to see all the posts about gift swapping (Christmas afternoon), shit gifts etc. We don't have traditional food because we don't like Turkey but apart from that, tree wise up and will stay up till 4th. It's a pj and chocolate day today just relaxing and enjoying each others company. I think many people forget what Christmas really is about.

I hate Christmas. I have only gone through it all this year because my mum wanted to celebrate it. I hated it so much, that we have now agreed to spend it in our houses next year. Next year in my house, I will do nothing on Christmas day

I also hate how people blindly do the same thing every year. Without thinking or questioning it.

This year I googled "why do we put up Christmas trees";and I found out that this idea came from Germany. Why do we keep lugging trees around , because Germans did it a long time ago? Why don't we ever do something different.

Another reason I don't like Christmas is because it is a Christian religious celebration. It is to celebrate jesus's birthday. I am not religious. I am not religious at all so I don't care about Jesus's birthday. It all feels forced to me

Who would start a thread showing off about their perfect Christmas? No-one. Not only is that insensitive bragging but they’re likely still enjoying their wonderful Christmases with their friends and family instead of posting on Mumsnet.

People who have had a tough time over Christmas or if it wasn’t what they expected are much more likely to post for support and to feel less alone.

Christmas for me and everyone I know in real life has been wonderful. I’m only scrolling through Mumsnet because my daughter is sleeping on me right now.

Yes and people will probably not bother having relationships by then either because all I read on here is how awful they are.
No one will have babies because all anyone on here says is how hard it is.
No one will have houses because all I read on here is how hard they are to keep clean and tidy.

We’ll all live in tiny bedsits and just plug into virtual reality world where we have virtual perfect Christmases with our virtual perfect partners and children.

I had a lovely Christmas and hope for many more.

So no thank you

To add if you don't enjoy it then don't do it.

But no need wish it away fir the rest of us.

What a Bah Humbug thread.

@Mufasa1118

I hate Christmas. I have only gone through it all this year because my mum wanted to celebrate it. I hated it so much, that we have now agreed to spend it in our houses next year. Next year in my house, I will do nothing on Christmas day

I also hate how people blindly do the same thing every year. Without thinking or questioning it.

This year I googled "why do we put up Christmas trees";and I found out that this idea came from Germany. Why do we keep lugging trees around , because Germans did it a long time ago? Why don't we ever do something different.

Another reason I don't like Christmas is because it is a Christian religious celebration. It is to celebrate jesus's birthday. I am not religious. I am not religious at all so I don't care about Jesus's birthday. It all feels forced to me

There needs to be a new festival, that also falls on the 25th December, but celebrates Humanitarianism. A day of Winter mindfulness perhaps.

No, people love it too much and it's too much of an institution.

Question: is anyone here religious?

Christmas is a Christian religious festival celebrating Jesus.

I am sometimes surprised at the popularity of Christmas, when most people are not religious anymore.