I'm not the biggest fan of Christmas, but I'm also not bitterly opposed to it either. Notwithstanding commercial exploitation, I think the gift giving and emphasis on helping others and making ethical choices is a clear positive which is only good for society. That to me, is the spirit of Christmas, and I see Santa Claus as the embodiment of that.
However, I am of the opinion that an annual and almost internationally ubiquitous Christmas is a bit exorbitant. They say you can never have too much of a good thing, but Christmas isn't all good. For one, it can be expensive. Just as you feel like you've gotten on top of your finances, the Jingle Bells toll again. There are also other negative aspects to it such as incessant Christmas music in the mall or on the radio, overcrowded malls, unsolicited religious proselytization both from Christians trying to guilt secular participants into acknowledging what it "really means" as well as from opposing religions trying to convince others why it is all wrong. Not to mention family disputes occurring, having to spend time with relatives one doesn't particularly get along with, unwanted gifts or even food poisoning. The list goes on and on.
So I propose an idea to be discussed. Instead of everyone having Christmas every year, why don't we make it more like the Olympic Games or the World Cup in the sense that they are quadrennial events and occur only in one city or country. Every city which wants to host Christmas bids for the chance. The winner is drawn and that city then spends a few years planning for the big event and Christmas occurs every 4 years in and only in a particular city which is different every time.
I agree with the exploitation aspect however there are more effective measures we need to take to getting down to zero emissions. To start we should be researching more on alternatives to non renewables that are less harmful and ideally ecologically ethical. We could also invest on biodegradable wrapping paper, or replantable life trees. Etc
Since I cut cable and started having groceries ready for pick-up two years ago I’ve not been overwhelmed this season or last. It really is just slamming you in ads and in stores. They no longer have power over me. Mwahaha.
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Anonymous
(25-29)
+1 y
I'll say okay but let the entire economy bill you personally for loss of earning/income how many billions a year will you have to pay
Kill everyone and Christmas need never happen again if you really want
Come on dude, Christmas hasn't been about that since before your grandparents were born and every serious historian acknowledges the the date was definitely not Jesus Christ's birthday either.
Oh it has been like that in our community and family. Maybe not in your community. And traditionally it is dated from the date of Annunciation. It doesn't matter if it is not the exact date. What it represents is what matters. That is Christmas. People like to secularise it. But a tree doesn't become a ball no matter how many or how often you say it you know...🙂
Things evolve. The Christian's adopted Christmas from pagan traditions as it is. You're not going to sit there and tell me it still exactly and only means what it did before the Roman's decided it was suddenly Christian.
Christmas is secular now. Nobody needs to be Christian or attend mass to celebrate it. Things change. Life moves on.
Except what you fail to realize, is by your own logic, it never even was Christian. It was adopted from other traditions and remained about those for centuries until this very day. In fact, the 25th of December was purposely chosen by Pope Julius I to absorb already established traditions and attempt to boost the popularity of christianity by association. That worked for a while, but once commercialism caught on, that went straight out the window. Ask any kid outside a church what Christmas is to them and it's the day Santa comes. Ask them what it has to do with Jesus and they probably don't know.
Depending on the path you trace it back on, Christmas has been mostly associated with the winter solstice and agricultural dependency resulting in superstitious traditions around the time of year before spring in the northern hemisphere. But now, it is a commercial event driven by capitalism and an event geared toward a particular religion is not as commercially viable as one which is all inclusive and centered around a jolly cartoon character who likes cookies and rides on a flying sleigh powered by magic. Sorry dude, but Christmas doesn't belong to the Christian's anymore. It's owned by the retail industry.
Like I said. To Christians, it remains the same. The majority can call a rat a dog. It won't become one. 🙂 You're free to not celebrate it. No one forces you to.
