Not everyone celebrates Christmas

[FourChimneys]

Semi lighthearted but is anyone else exasperated and irritated by the assumption that you celebrate Christmas? If you were obviously from another culture it might be easier but otherwise the default is Christmas.

Nothing I do or say suggests this is the case but people persist. Eg in the supermarket today, getting some basics "Oh, hello Chimneys, doing your Christmas shopping?" Or "What are doing for Christmas?" Or "Finished your Christmas shopping yet?".

I know people are making conversation and I usually just smile and move on but it's as though an alternative viewpoint doesn't exist.

YABU

This is a country, which for well over a millennium has based its laws and customs on Christianity. Most people in the UK celebrate Christmas. If you don’t people will be curious and ask about it, human nature causes people to enquire about differences (deep down and primordially to ascertain whether it’s a threat). Humans are designed to spot the difference and this deep rooted programming is not going to disappear because you’re buying in a shop rather than out hunting in the forest.

if I lived in a Muslim country, I would do some kind of family celebration for Eid. If I didn’t celebrate I’d expect to be asked why, because I’m an anomaly.

Yes, I think this type of thing is probably why you think they're judging you. It's not about whether you celebrate Christmas or not. It's more than you send weird emails criticising the way they do.

I know this thread was supposed to be lighthearted but it does raise some valid points. It’s easily done while just making polite chitchat to start on a topic you think is “safe” and you’re actually really offending the other person unintentionally. Like my SIL whose dad and auntie have recently died, when people ask her what she’s doing for Christmas and has she decorated the house etc and she has to try to not burst into violent sobs in public because she’s been busy organising two funerals! People truly don’t mean to be offensive, but it can be. And this has always been the case- you see countless subjects on MN where people are trying to educate others “Don’t say this to someone who is infertile”, “Don’t treat my child with ASD like this…” etc. Perfectly understandable and warranted but it truly makes me terrified of opening my mouth. I understand sometimes it’s far better to just listen and say “I’m sorry, that sounds hard”, but life does feel like a bit of a minefield sometimes. I talk a lot when nervous/uncomfortable as well and sometimes I clearly mess up. :/

In regards to this, obviously Op acknowledged that it’s just cashiers making polite chitchat. Where I’m from in Scandinavia no one ever talked to cashiers full stop (at least when I was little). I remember one year visiting from here and I said a few polite things to the cashier back home. She abruptly stopped her scanning and said “Excuse me, but do I KNOW you??” . I was mortified- I was just trying to be nice!

Having grown up with different traditions as well, I must say I fully expect to adapt to British customs- this is where I’ve chosen to live after all. I’d never rock up to anyone at Christmas and go “Where are your girls with candles in their hair eh???! Why don’t you celebrate Lucia???” I do things the British way and if I don’t want to I smile and wave. ;) Of course people do things differently, but that’s fine by me!

Just out of interest, you refuse to wear Christmas jumpers... Like ones with pics of Santa or Christmas trees presumably? What about a nice wintery fair isle number? Snowflakes or snowmen?

When does a Christmas jumper become a winter jumper...?!

Yes yes and yes to this . With bells on

Well I hope you don’t have kids OP. It would be extremely unkind to prevent them from celebrating an event that is virtually universal in the culture you have chosen to inhabit.

The “winter solstice” business just sounds very affected.

What are you on about. You do know other religions don’t recognise Christmas?

It’s not child abuse to not celebrate. You sound a bit tapped 😂

Yes obviously not child abuse but many people despite observing other religions still do a bit of Christmas for their kids if they live in the UK. Mo Salah a famous Muslim footballer posted a photo of his family in their Christmas PJs by the Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve.

Yes that email with the article attached…. That would have been laughed about at length over various the recipients family Christmas lunches!

So the irony is that the OP ended up spreading a lot of Christmas cheer by sending that email!

Can we have that again in English, please?

Many said they found it very interesting and had no idea the things they associate with Xmas actually pre-date it.

(I see Santa delivered you another sack load of “uninformed but smug”. Congrats.)

Oh not the OP

the PP who sent around an email to her colleagues with an article educating them!

Oh…. You! 😂

It’s fucking rude. Especially when they’re happy enough to take advantage of my working between xmas and new year and availability for on call so that they can be off. And this year I’m telling them so.

how did that go down?!!

When they’re “happy enough to take advantage “ of the fact that you decide not to book holiday between Christmas and new year??

Using a pagan fertility symbol to celebrate what was originally a pagan festival

No idea who Mo Saleh is but I don't really care that he observes Xmas. Many many religious Jews and probably Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs etc do not choose to celebrate another religions holidays. Are you saying that make them less British?

As I said, Jews have a specific reason why celebrating xmas is unpleasant and brings up traumatic memories from Jewish history. I appreciate that may not be the case with other religions.

No I'm saying that lots of people who are not Christians do some form of Christmas even if its just a couple of presents and a tree for the kids so they dont feel left out of what their friends are doing.

I don’t know anyone that isn’t Christian that does that. Do Christian’s celebrate Hanukkah or Eid?

Oh do bore off - it's so clear from your posts you just want to feel different and important because you don't celebrate Christmas but winter solstice etc.

Maybe you're just peeved bc no one has asked you what it is you DO celebrate in real life and you'd love to bore them with it coz it makes you feel special.

"Time spent outside, mainly in our woodland" fgs - have you heard yourself? 😂

Because the uk is generally a country that celebrates christmas , more do than don't

Hi everyone, this thread has been hilarious, far more intense than my first post warranted. Some of the responses have made me laugh out loud, so much unnecessary angst and outrage.

Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas xx

I have Jewish and Muslim friends that do.

Jesus is the most important prophet after Mohammed so my Muslim friends give me cards and presents. And both they and my Jewish friends give their children gifts because they don't want them to feel left out when they all talk at school about what they got. I don't know if they all go full out with a Christmas tree but certainly some do.

I doubt most British non Muslims and Jews celebrate Eid or Hanukkah, but I bet if they moved permanently to a country where one was a national holiday, they would do bits, just to help their children feel part of the culture.