I'm not one of those scrooges who feels the need to annually complain around this point about how fake, commercialised, etc. Christmas is. But it's a consideration, and I don't dismiss it out of hand; I just tend to ignore it and have fun.
I love Christmas, I'll clarify that first. Many have particular reasons why they don't: something that happened to them on the day; bad luck on Christmas day; or for religious/irreligious reasons (which is rather odd as I've seen both sides complaining "It's a religious thing" and "It's becoming secularised".)
But the ones that I see more often are the ones from people who don't like how much businesses are cashing in on Christmas, how it gets earlier every year with people putting up decorations in September, how everyone makes a big deal about it, and how people feel "forced" to spend some time with loved ones, "forced" to feel happy.
The idea is that you should spend time with your loved ones all around the year, not just do so because the national festival demands it; that you shouldn't be made to feel happy. My argument here is that noone is. I briefly mentioned the varying complaints about the religious aspect of Christmas, but the thing is, Christmas doesn't have to be a Christian festival. It doesn't have to be a secular celebration. It doesn't have to be Pagan worship.
Christmas is whatever you want it to be. If that's to spend time in a church with your family and praying, that's fine. If it's to have some good food and fun with friends, that's great. If it's a low-key occasion where you set aside a relaxed day for yourself and everyone else, awesome! If you don't want to celebrate it at all, also fine.
When you get down to the specifics of what Christmas is and should be, you rob yourself of the right to enjoy it how you want to. I'm an atheist, I don't believe in Jesus or God, my Christian friends and family know this and they don't expect me to come to church with them. They enjoy the religious part of Christmas, and let me have fun the secular way, without pushing it on me. I know a few people who hate Christmas for reasons I've mentioned and reasons I haven't; I don't nag them about it, I wish them the best and hope they have a good time regardless.
Sure, every greedy business cashes in on the happy holidays these days. But I'm content to ignore that and go with the flow. I like Christmas, it's a fun occasion. If it's not for you, then that's fine. If it is for you, then let people celebrate it how they like - so long as ritual slaughter of animals isn't involved!
This has been Leonidas. An early Merry Christmas to y'all <3.
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P.S. If you haven't noticed, there's a new Comic section up. I'll post a new comic there every Tuesday, hopefully, so stay tuned. At present, I'm unable to configure anything on the Design menu, so I can't put a link to the comic on the homepage. I'll figure it out.
I love Christmas, I'll clarify that first. Many have particular reasons why they don't: something that happened to them on the day; bad luck on Christmas day; or for religious/irreligious reasons (which is rather odd as I've seen both sides complaining "It's a religious thing" and "It's becoming secularised".)
But the ones that I see more often are the ones from people who don't like how much businesses are cashing in on Christmas, how it gets earlier every year with people putting up decorations in September, how everyone makes a big deal about it, and how people feel "forced" to spend some time with loved ones, "forced" to feel happy.
The idea is that you should spend time with your loved ones all around the year, not just do so because the national festival demands it; that you shouldn't be made to feel happy. My argument here is that noone is. I briefly mentioned the varying complaints about the religious aspect of Christmas, but the thing is, Christmas doesn't have to be a Christian festival. It doesn't have to be a secular celebration. It doesn't have to be Pagan worship.
Christmas is whatever you want it to be. If that's to spend time in a church with your family and praying, that's fine. If it's to have some good food and fun with friends, that's great. If it's a low-key occasion where you set aside a relaxed day for yourself and everyone else, awesome! If you don't want to celebrate it at all, also fine.
When you get down to the specifics of what Christmas is and should be, you rob yourself of the right to enjoy it how you want to. I'm an atheist, I don't believe in Jesus or God, my Christian friends and family know this and they don't expect me to come to church with them. They enjoy the religious part of Christmas, and let me have fun the secular way, without pushing it on me. I know a few people who hate Christmas for reasons I've mentioned and reasons I haven't; I don't nag them about it, I wish them the best and hope they have a good time regardless.
Sure, every greedy business cashes in on the happy holidays these days. But I'm content to ignore that and go with the flow. I like Christmas, it's a fun occasion. If it's not for you, then that's fine. If it is for you, then let people celebrate it how they like - so long as ritual slaughter of animals isn't involved!
This has been Leonidas. An early Merry Christmas to y'all <3.
---
P.S. If you haven't noticed, there's a new Comic section up. I'll post a new comic there every Tuesday, hopefully, so stay tuned. At present, I'm unable to configure anything on the Design menu, so I can't put a link to the comic on the homepage. I'll figure it out.
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