Christians - do you feel Christmas is devalued in modern western society?

[skihorse]

hello everyone, I am just hoping to canvass a few opinions amongst those of a Christian faith (I am Jewish).

I am simply astounded by the way "Christmas" is held up in UK society these days - yet, at the same time, Christians are ridiculed.

Do you find this offensive or do you of course simply turn the other cheek?

Does it hurt your sensibilities to see people eating to excess, drinking to excess and worshipping the idiot box and material posessions and calling it their "special time" with seemingly no knowledge of the concept behind the holiday?

(I am generally a bah humbug at Christmas, please take no offense! )

Well, as no current Christians have bitten, I'll give you my POV. I used to be a Christian, and even then I was well aware that midwinter festivals are not unique to christianity; what we have now has roots in Roman Saturnalia, germanic 'yuletide' etc as well as in christianity.

The concept behind the holiday was to have a jolly good party at the low point of the year!

Now, as an atheist, I don't mind the Christian additions to the mix. The emphasis on giving to others is laudable. Adopting a popular holiday time to celebrate the birth of their saviour is quite reasonable.

I don't feel offended by how non-Christians choose to celebrate the thing they call "Christmas" - in my mind it's just a completely separate festival from an actual religious celebration of the birth of Jesus.

The secular "Christmas" is about family, and caring, and fun, though as you say it can also be about gluttony, drunkenness, avarice etc. But if people want to enjoy it in their own way without any reference to Jesus, then I'm fine with that.

Christians chose to tack their own "light coming into the world" onto the pagan celebration at the darkest point of the year, so if the non-believers want to reclaim the midwinter festival then I'm fine with that - the fact they still use the name "Christmas" isn't really that relevant to me.

Doesn't feel devalued to me, tbh. I hear the 'Keep Christ in Christmas' stuff and just think, 'He's never been away'. It's always been a feast of some sort anyway, and as long as people are still remembering those who don't have as much, then I'm quite happy for everyone to join in in whatever way they want to.

I'm one of those people who wish anyone Merry Christmas, mind.

I don't mind in what way people want to celebrate Christmas.
I agree with Kay that Jesus has never been away from Christmas.
The one thing I am sad aboutis that with a 'commercial' Christmas (without Christ) people will still feel empty and have nothing to show for it apart from the debts.

So - peace on Earth, Goodwill to all (wo)men!

If only Grimma...

One can but hope

Nope to me Easter is the most important religious holiday and Christmas makes me think of celebrating family in a Christian way.

I don't think its devalued, though like most people I don't like seeing the stuff in the shops in August.

I think along the same lines of AMumInScotland. People tend to be kinder and more giving during Christmas, as a Christian I'm down with that!!

Plus, we read the Bible during advent, go to church on Christmas day etc. etc. as well as eating loads, drinking, and spending too much time in front of the "idiot box"!!

Yes, Easter is really the most important Christian fesival - despite being named after Eostre the Goddess of Spring

I didn't realise quite how much Christians were ridiculed until I became one! Also insulted and stereotyped and personally accountable for any other Christian's misdeeds! Quite an eye-opener!

Not whining about it though, other people have it much worse!

And no-one proposing I'm eaten by a lion!

blah blah multiple post exclamation mark

Well quite, Northerner, IRRC it says in the Bible you'll get persecuted so if you're only copping a bit of ridicule you're obviously not trying hard enough

easter is the biggee really.

christmas is a time to indulge a little and ofcourse its not only celebrated by christians - i don't think there is much wrong in getting caught up in it a little.

when the kids were smaller - at xmas dinner we sang happy birthday to Jesus!

Grimma I certainly didn't intend for anyone to "bite" and it seems that the vast majority of you have replied have absolutely no qualms about the whole shebang - so perhaps it's just me who is the Grinch!

Custy I find that (happy birthday to Jesus!) both really funny and sweet at the same time!

me too

aww twas sweet.

It's all been said before, but the eating and drinking part was there first. The church moved the date of the birth of christ to match it and insisted we change the name.

No one really minded, but if christians wanted to keep it purely a religious thing it would have been in their best interest to keep to their own day.

You were bound to get christians doing the pagan stuff like the yuletide log, the mistletoe, the gift giving, the food, the wine and so on. The only part of christmas that is still religious is if you go to church on that day.

Ah Grimma, how right you are! So I intend to spend today fashioning a large cross from one of the trees in the garden which I shall drag into town tomorrow. From there I intend to harrass kindly inform all the unbelievers passers by. That should sort me out for a higher class of ridicule with a chance of persecution!

Well I tend to agree with the prevailing view that other people can celebrate it how they want.

But I do find it hard to celebrate a Christian Christmas in the face of the rampant consumerism and endless hype. I would love to have a properly reflective Advent season, followed by a short and sweet celebration starting on about Christmas Eve. But it gets harder and harder to do that.

And my children's (church) school is as much to blame as the rampant consumerism, with the million and one "special" events that all run into each other and mainly make the children over-excited and stressed.

I do what I can to avoid the shops - don't watch TV, in order to avoid the adverts - stand firm in the face of demands to start decorating etc until the last minute. And make sure that we have plenty of Christian influences in our family Christmas, and the presents and gorging on food are only a small part of it.

And I also agree with others. Easter is waaaaay more important. When the Good Friday and Easter Sunday holidays start to come under threat (as I suspect they will) then I will be up in arms!

I don't celebrate either of them as they are both pagan in origin. Jesus was a Jew and was born around the time of the feast of booths NOT at the time of the death and resurection of the sun god tammuz (dec 25).
He was crucified on the passover not on the pagan feast of eastre.

Christmas - which actually means christ's - death. as the word mass is a celebration of the death of christ.

to me there is nothing merry about christs death.

Jesus is NOT the reason for the season.

Skihorse,

thanks for posting this question. I do feel in some way the balance has been lost. I am a Christain and love Jesus and hold his teachings in my heart.

I do wish the big retailers would, i dunno, fuck off! I mean it is not about stuff, and killing yourself to get STUFF! Do you know what I am saying? And they start the advertising like 3 months before...like I think it should start in December, keeping that time special.

Maybe the retailers should just leave the true believers to it, it has gone too far.