Christmas............the "low down"

[MisterTinkles]

oh blow it out your arse you....you....you AMERICAN

How......could......you......say.........such.........a............MEAN.......thing...........to me!!!!!

[TonyAndonuts]

This christmas is just a gimmick to get money from people and sell lots of goods

Isn't every holiday ever just a gimmick to sell stuff? I honestly don't care. It's something special to look forward to every year. Imagine a world with absolutely no holidays. It'd be boring as hell.

[Ekwarph]

Scientists say Jesus was born June 17.. And its summer. This christmas is just a gimmick to get money from people and sell lots of goods

As well, he was born 7 years before himself. That's the Christmas overnatural Power !

[southbiochem]

And i just dont understand the whole idea that its the birth of Jesus but then most Catholics would make Santa Claus (St Nicholas) the focal point of the event

Ah, dear Evan, only Catholics can take something allegedly sacred and take away importance towards something else entirely pagan..

I think the original real life Santa was Italian, though...

[justbry87]

Scientists say Jesus was born June 17.. And its summer. This christmas is just a gimmick to get money from people and sell lots of goods

Well, people celebrate Christmas during the 25 of December mostly
because the early Christians tried to superimpose on Roman Pagan Holidays
like the Saturnalia or the birth of Mithras which also falls on the same date.

I mean it's kind of hard to erase old Pagan habits and traditions so instead of
taking it away they just repackaged and relabeled everything.

[Undreamt]

Also Coke is responsible for making santa red and white

[shymeeee]

AFter reading the other posts, I'm sure this one is out of place but here goes. I love Christmas. Whether or not Jesus, as portrayed in the Bible and the Christian faith, really existed does not matter. It's the Spriit of the season, which has nothing to do with the Northerners or the retails industry.
Since nobody knows a whole lot about life, let alone spirituality and the universe, I leave myself open to the possibllity that extraordinary happenings are the norm (just like meteor strikes) rather than the exception.
In closing, I wish all of you Peace and the best of whatever is required to make us better people.
Merry Christmas?

[Ekwarph]

Also Coke is responsible for making santa red and white

A guy wearing red, supposed to give presents to each children in the whole world, whatever rich or poor is the biggest symbol of capitalism, I find it somehow ironic

[MisterLove]

The only thing I hate about Christmas is the weight gain. I put on 2 kgs this year (which really isn't much, considering the gargantuan amount of bad food I ingested) and my total body weight is now 74 kgs.

[Geminize]

Shymeeee, your post is not out of place, and I agree with you. There are still 5 minutes left before midnight here, Christmas night. I have had a fantastic day with family. We share a gift exchange where everyone brings one gift. The gifts may be serious, useful, or playful. We have a game where the gifts are chosen, traded, and "stolen". Eventually the game ends with each person having one gift. Some of us share personal gifts, as well, but there is no pressure or sense of obligation. This year I bought a grand total of 3 gifts. I gave many more, but made the rest in my kitchen. They cost me days of work, but little money.

Some in my family are quite religious. I am not. I can't remember the last time we discussed religion. I hosted this year (no small accomplishment a week after neck surgery). The only religious symbol in my home is a framed photo of a statue of the Buddha. I have few images of Santa Claus. I have nothing against the Santa story, it's just not my focus for the holiday.

My point is that I keep Christmas as a special time to share with my family and friends. We travel many miles to be together, cook, eat, play, laugh and celebrate together. I will not battle in line at a mall or spend money on credit to give gifts. I don't care that it's a Christian holy day, tangled with pagan traditions. In fact, I think that's pretty cool. I don't like the commercialism, but I don't get caught up in it either. My family's Christmas traditions have changed over time, and we have intentionally tried to let go of the stress and expense so common in the season. We celebrate each other, our shared past, and our hopes.

I know the holidays can be hard for people feeling lonely or depressed. I struggle with some of those feelings myself. Some days I am more interested in celebrating than others. I prefer to focus on the positive, whether it's Christmas or any old Monday.

So Merry Christmas. We made it through another one.