To point out that Christmas is not cancelled

[NotReallyTheVicar]

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

@NotAKaren

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.

This exactly

I’m so looking forward to a lovely smaller more peaceful and less wasteful Christmas without having to squeeze in-laws in to same day too

Win win win

Hahahahahaah

Yes, I'm you're not really the vicar OP. Hopefully the real ones have a bit more sensitivity and understanding for their flocks.

You know. To be serious. For a lot of my Christian friends the joyfully bit is in communing with friends. Seeing friends and family and celebrating together.

For me, it’s about seeing family (I’m not Christian). I can’t do that this year.

I'm an atheist and also not cancelled in our house.

Santa will be coming. I'll be cooking a lovely meal.

We'll play games, and sing and give each other gifts and eat too much.

Sure it might be a little different but I'm just as excited (and sort of glad if it means we don't need to visit loads of people in the surrounding weeks)

@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.

Hebrews 10:25. Followed, perhaps, by James 5:13.

Of course Christmas isn't cancelled. Nor is God (perhaps more to the point?) But a lot of the things we would normally do - good things, recommended or commanded in the Bible - look like they're at risk this year.

It is, says the second chapter of the first verse of the Bible, not good for man to be alone. A lot of people are right now.

*first book of the Bible, not verse, obviously!

Genesis
The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

And he made a woman (for some of them and a man for others) and every helper rolled their eyes -as the man seemed to feel that "helper" meant doing it all for no thanks and no appreciation.

In our town they're broadcasting the services into the town square, so people can still attend socially distanced outdoors. I'm not in the UK but wonder whether that's an option for some UK areas? Obviously not practical in every location.
I'm not a church goer but support people it's important to and it seems a good compromise.

You Christians nicked it off us Pagans anyway

Why were pagans celebrating the birth of Christ?

Right I've had a look at OPs other posts.

It is a bloke, telling us off. Nice.

Bwlch that's a bit disengenious - its well documented that most cultures had/ have mid winter festivals which predate christianity and often link to the solstice.

Its a pragmatic development really and hardly surprising most cultures developed a reason for a big feast and get together to break up the winter, especially pre central heating.

FlibbertyGiblets what on earth is going on in the brain of a manwho chooses to behave like that?

F knows - apart from getting a rise out of setting up a scenario and watching women get upset amongst themselves? Weird.

@FlibbertyGiblets

Right I've had a look at OPs other posts.

It is a bloke, telling us off. Nice.

Hilariously though. Starts off by telling us off for moaning that Christmas is cancelled when the Christians are still going to be celebrating just the same, bunch of Christians say "no actually, we're all finding this quite rubbish too," pivots to telling us off for being bad Christians for, er, missing church and family.

@GoldenOmber

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?

Thank you for this. I genuinely laughed out loud. I think i will screen shot it to take out and look at when discussions like this get a bit overwrought

Oh dear, I don't think this thread is going the way the OP wanted!

OP - it's pretty normal for societies to cherry-pick and keep the fun bits of old religious and cultural traditions long after most people have stopped believing in the actual deities. I expect Christmas is celebrated by more agnostics and non-believers than Christians these days.

Of course Christmas hasn't been cancelled. People will probably just have to do Christmas in smaller groups and share their day with absent relatives on Zoom etc. We'll be doing exactly the same as normal, with extended family if allowed by then, and without if not.

- its well documented that most cultures had/ have mid winter festivals which predate christianity and often link to the solstice

I don't dispute that. In the absence of any firm date for Christ's birth, early Christians decided to celebrate it on dates already in their calendars as holiday.

They didn't steal anything from anybody, it was just another of many mid winter celebrations.

Absolutely!

I am so looking forward to not doing all the extras.

Expected at endless gatherings and parties.
Organising the Nativity.
Planning the carol concert.
Worrying over which family members I am 'expected' to have over this year.

I love meeting with family and church as much as anyone but the pressure to have a perfect Christmas has become ridiculous. I have recognised in myself a very real tendency to overdo.

The churches in our town are organising a Christmas trail in the windows of shops for children to find. Its a wonderful idea but there will be 19 stations 19! There are only 5 churches in the town...I'm pretty sure we don't have 19 shops! why do we do this to ourselves? Now they are frantically looking for volunteers.

Its very easy to lose Christ in the Christmas festivities entirely. (I know its not a religious festival for everyone).

I think when you’ve always had the ability to stand up for yourself and say no to things you don’t want to do, you don’t feel as ‘grateful’ when external circumstances give you an excuse not to do the things you don’t want to do.

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

Really made me laugh and I can't tell you how much I need a laugh right now

@NotAKaren

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.

I think many are. Certainly I’ve seen a lot of people say so on threads.

We’re lucky in that we’ve always had lovely, intimate and low-key Christmases with no hassle or stress - on our own, just me, DH and my girls. We see family when we can in the season but we haven’t lived near them for years.

Ironically this year we’ve moved nearer to IL’s (But far away from my daughters 😔) but it’s still quite likely we won’t be seeing them on the day with the way things are going!

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

I'm a Christian and will really miss the nativity/Christmas carols/midnight mass.

I might brave midnight mass actually, I think both DC will hopefully sleep through it and the dark walk to church will be mega exciting!

Sounds like they mean driving your poor kids all over the countryside for hours on end to see relatives you don't really like is cancelled.
Christmas at home is the same as usual.