To point out that Christmas is not cancelled

[NotReallyTheVicar]

Many millions of Christians will be celebrating Christmas as joyfully as ever!

Praise be!

yeah but, that aint what we mean by 'Christmas' is it.,.......or should that Consumfest.

Of course it’s not cancelled.
Of course you are aware that many non Christians celebrate Christmas, as a mid winter festival.
Christmas for me is about spending time with friends and extended family, and that’s looking unlikely.

@NotReallyTheVicar

Many millions of Christians will be celebrating Christmas as joyfully as ever!

Except not at church, which is usually a fairly big bit of said joyful celebration for most of us.

I’ll still be celebrating Christmas of course but I really want to sing carols in a choir and go to church and hug people.

Amen Sista!

MN threads are usually full of angst and dramas about gift buying, having to cook Christmas dinner again for 20 people with various food intolerances, not wanting to visit in-laws, not wanting drunk uncle to ruin the day. You would think that lots would be secretly pleased at not having to worry about all this.

Genuinely happy for those who feel that way (really). I don't like the idea this is ruined for everyone.

Mine has been severely impacted. I have no children (grieving heavily for that fact just right now, I'm usually more ok with it), am long term single because of trauma, have very little in the way of family. I normally rely on keeping myself busy with seeing my closest friends who are all quite spread out around the country and usually make a big effort to go to things where there are lots of happy people around - carol services, markets, etc which normally force a little joy into the occasion. I have to work hard at making myself do that but it has helped a lot in the past. I still spend most of the festive season alone struggling.

Perhaps the millions of people fortunate enough to be looking forward to things could spare a thought to the fact that for lots of us, it's not quite that simple.

And my Christian friends are upset at the loss of nativities, christingles, crib services, carol services, midnight mass, church on Christmas Day...

@mildlymiffed under his eye

No church
Services, Carol concerts, time with family.

No carols services but we’ve got loads carols advent music, to play not forgetting prayers and the nativity either, that’s my big advent calendar each door hides a character from the story. So looking forward to this, it’s the magic of Christmas for me the nativity.

I am intrigued to see that even those posters who describe themselves as Christians seem to value the worldly trappings of Christmas above the real importance of the festival.

@NotReallyTheVicar

I am intrigued to see that even those posters who describe themselves as Christians seem to value the worldly trappings of Christmas above the real importance of the festival.

What, like going to church and hugging people?

But (some) "even Christians" are finding this all really, really hard. It's nothing about "worldly trappings", to understand that a lot of the joy comes from communal worship, meeting friends and family for carols/ services and so on. To have that taken away makes me so sad... not just Christmas, to be honest, but having all the beauty and ceremony and communal nature of church taken away, for us to become potential disease carriers who must be got out of the church building as quickly as possible without infecting anyone or touching anything that may then be contaminated. We are social creatures, and our religion in normal times recognises that.

Maybe I'm failing as a Christian if just can't manage "joyful" in my faith at the moment. I probably am, to be honest.

@NotReallyTheVicar

I am intrigued to see that even those posters who describe themselves as Christians seem to value the worldly trappings of Christmas above the real importance of the festival.

Church (the place and the community) is ‘worldly trappings’ now? Forgive me, I must have missed a memo

Ah I see, we're doing Christianity WRONG, awful people that we are. Tut tut.

Ah yay, another Christian coming to inform everyone that they're wrong. And that even going to church and hugging people is wrong.

Fuck off.

My Christmas Isn't effected by lockdown, other than potentially changing my dinner plans, but I still have enough compassion in me to understand how others, no matter how different their Christmas traditions, church / pub, presents/choir WHATEVER, may struggle.

Always nice to see the Christian spirit of extending kindness in full flow.

@FlibbertyGiblets

Ah I see, we're doing Christianity WRONG, awful people that we are. Tut tut.

I know. Why can't we just sit at home eating mince pies and watching Die Hard like the apostles did?

In my 36 years there is only 1 when I haven't gone to church on Christmas day. I'm gutted that we won't be able to attend this year. I often go to midnight Mass as well. And Carol services, christingles and church cafe Christmas meals.

I'm all in favour of a pared back Christmas, although I will really miss our big family get togethers on 24th and 26th :( . I had Christmas Day with just my teens and me last year and it was wonderful. But it was sandwiched between 2 days of seeing everyone else. I'll miss that.

OP, your attitude to others doesn't seem very Christian to me

Many millions of Christians will be celebrating Christmas as joyfully as ever

I won't be. I mean, I'll still be celebrating it of course, but not as joyfully as ever.

A Zoom service on Christmas Day watched (probably) alone in my house, singing along to carols by myself = not what I can call as joy filled as normal!!

Sorry if that makes me a bad Christian.

@NotReallyTheVicar

I am intrigued to see that even those posters who describe themselves as Christians seem to value the worldly trappings of Christmas above the real importance of the festival.

this has actually made me quite cross.

I am a Christian. I have lived in many different places round the world, some of which don't celebrate, and I have always managed to have a lovely Christmas, even if sometimes, just me dh and a pizza.

Of course the real meaning of Christmas for a Christian is the coming of Jesus.
But since the world began we have celebrated important times in our faith with festivals. Food, friends, and reminding each other of why we are here.
I do not consider singing Hark the herald with a group of people who believe in the words as valueing the wordly trappings over the real importance. on the contrary, I see it as celebrating together to wonder of the nativity.

carols, singing together, church services, hugs, family, eating together. These are not wordly trappings, they are part of celebrating what we believe.

I have really missed church. Our church has been meeting for the last 5-6 weeks. It is OK but not the same. I wnat to sing together with a group of others, to lift my voice and heart to my Lord in worship.

yes I can do that at home, but it is wonderful to do it together with others.

I love my family, but the 5 of us have been looking at each other round th etable since March. We would love to be able to get together with my brothers and their kids, either at Christmas, or anytime really.

I feel like I drifted away from christianity in the last few years and apart from a few zoom services in March probably havent been to church in a year.

One of the things that I still believe though is that God made people to have relationship/fellowship with him (which I have to say i dont really feel any more) and with each other. And the idea that love comes in many forms - romantic love, love for your friends, for your children, for your church family....and that is much harder without being able to meet people, hug them even. That's nothing to do with worldly values or materialism and consumerism. (I'm keen on a bit of consumerism as well because my job depends on it!!
The human race wouldnt survive if everyone had to stay 2m from each other and communicate via zoom!
When I ask my kids what they feel is the best thing about xmas, they always , without fail, say seeing all of our relations even the quite annoying ones

It's rubbish isn't it IDSNeighbour? I'm glad we can do live-streamed services and so on, don't get me wrong, but it is just not the same as getting to SEE people and be there all together.

can I remind you that the last supper, was the disciples celebrating the Passover fesitval, having a meal, (with, shock horror - wine) together round a table.