Christmas, secular or christian?

[lydialemon]

First of all let me just say that I am not personally religious at all, although my children have been christened at DH's request for 'cultural' reasons and I went to C of E schools. I don't disbelieve in god/higher power per se, just not comfortable with structured religion.

I was just curious, after reading the thread on the Christmas Party meet up, how many people celebrate Christams primarily as a religious festival and how many (like me!) see it as more a general celebration now? I've never really considered whether people following different religions find the whole experience distasteful or uncomfortable? Do christians get hacked off with people like me hijacking their festival as an excuse to get together with friends and family?

I'm honestly, honestly not trying to be contentious, I am just really curious how other people approach this time of year. I love christmas, the tree, the big family get together, watching people open their pressies etc I just seem to leave the religious part out....

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muddaofsuburbia, in our house, Father Christmas (I hate the name "Santa"!)doesn't bring the presents- he brings a stocking full of silly little gifts that arrives mysteriously in the night. The main presents are from parents and relatives who are appropriately thanked! Dd helps with the buying of presents for other people, too, so how can we then pretend that FC brought them?

HTH

We celebrate the whole Winter Festival theme. Dh and I have always exchanged our gifts to each other on Winter Solstice but we open gifts with extended family on Christmas Eve as several are Christians.

My dh and I are both Christians and the focus for us is therefore essentially 'religious' I suppose. However, as my FIL (who is a Jehovah's Witness) constantly reminds us, Dec 25th is NOT the day Jesus was actually born and so instead I try to be mindful of, and thankful for, Jesus' birth EVERY day. I have a tendancy to agree, therefore, with my FIL that Christmas is an over-commercialised secular (he would say pagan) festival. That said, as a family we do celebrate Christmas and thoroughly enjoy exchanging gifts, attending Church on Christmas morning, decorating the house etc. Dh and I do, however, tell the children (ds1 is 9 and ds2 6) that Christmas is about Jesus and not about Santa. So, in answer to your question Muddaofsuburbia, Santa doesn't really get actively promoted in our house and we share presents from each other in celebration of the gift God gave to us of eternal life through Jesus. We don't force feed Jesus to our children at Christmas, any more than any other time of the year. Our faith is simply an everyday part of life and therefore the boys readily accept Christmas as a Christian celebration. I want the Christmas season to be a love-filled, joyful, peaceful, memorable time of year for the children and for everyone else I know so, Lydialemon, I personally have no problem with non Christians 'hijacking' the Christian festival (as you put it!) and celebrating Christmas and I'm equally sure no one has a problem with me trying to put Jesus in the middle of the celebrations for our family. Christianity is not a legalistic faith and hey I love a party! Jesus came to earth to bring us freedom and life in abundance (to quote the New Testament)and His first miracle was to turn water into wine at a wedding ... enough said However, this is just my opinion and I wonder (idly) what God makes of Christmas! There is another can of worms ...
Interesting thread by the way lydialemon.

Very much agree with Hedgehog. We don't have to forcefeed Jesus into our Christmas celebrations, since he is a central part of our lives every day of the year.

We pretty much ignore Santa, which is quite a feat for an American family.

That's our present tradition too Tissy! My Mum once even told me that Father Christmas (never Santa!) bought our presents in local shops after I discovered a price tag from the newsagents on one of mine. I believed her!
We are Christians so celebrate by going to Church as well as eating lots, presents, tree, pulling crackers etc. I think there is no problem with the "secular world" muscling in on our festival as it means there are lots of festivally type things to buy in the shops but I do have a problem with people thinking that one day in the year is the be all and end all of everything and get themselves into lots of debt over it

Secular xmas for us too.

Kid's gifts come all have the names of the people who bought or gave them to them.