Countdown to Christmas......

by individuals wife 18 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  safe4kids

  Hey IW!!

  Yup, I'm looking forward to Christmas again this year...it's not my first but i LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!!!

  I grew up a JW and never had a xmas...but i remember that it always seemed a magical time to me. I have no religious interest in Christmas, I do it coz it's fun!! And it brings my family closer together. Going out and buying the tree...bringing it home and me snorting and moaning trying to get it in the house with the kids' 'help' of course!! And then we usually turn on Christmas music while we decorate the tree....ahhhh, it's a warm and loving time here. One of our traditions is that every year, my son, who is 10, and I go to a Barney's coffee shop and buy some Santa's White Christmas coffee...I make it for him with lots of milk added and we enjoy a cup together. For some reason, such a small thing is a big deal to him and ya know what? it's a big deal to me too!
  And ohhh! their faces on Christmas morning...there is nothing like it. The excitement and joy when they see all of their presents. Ok, ok...I'll be honest...I get all excited when I see MY presents too!!

  TR...hey, I think I'm gonna try your method this year! Sure would make life easier.

  (((hugs))) to all...and to all a merry (((hug)))!
  Dana

  "...I'd walk with my people if I could find them..."

  Third Eye Blind, Deep Inside of You
• 

  individuals wife

  i dont see the point in celebrating it. its a manipulative holiday. its not biblical. if you are not religious anymore, fine, but why would you do it you know its wrong

  Josephus - just the sort of things I used to tell myself when I was a loyal JW and sitting miserably at home on Dec 25 studying the latest WT article when the majority of people around me were having a blooming good time.

  Why does there have to be a point in celebrating a festival - why cant it just be a good excuse to have the family get together and enjoy each others company, have good food and drink and have a few days off to watch some good tv and spend some time playing with your kids on the floor with their new toys. To most people the religion has gone out of Christmas anyway.

  Its not biblical... rright.... I know all the arguments about the dates but what does that really matter? The point is that it is a day that is supposed to signify the birth of Jesus, it is the event that matters, not the exact date. I for one would hate to celebrate Christmas in October - not much chance of a white Christmas then is there?! Wouldnt be the same without the images of Santa Claus on snowy rooftops, robins in snowy landscapes and holly berries...

  Why would I do it if I know it is wrong? I dont think it is wrong to celebrate the birth of Jesus - it was an incredible event and deserves to have recognition. I will always remember the comment of an elders wife when we were talking about Christmas - she said that the good thing about not having it was looking at all the money she saved. Very sad. My husband was a JW as a child and never got gifts at any time, let alone Christmas. It always makes me laugh when I see that photo of the Bethelites celebrating Christmas around those tables, maybe Rutherford banned it after he got crap presents one year... or maybe he came to the realisation that money spent on crap presents was money that would be better off in the donation box.

  Anyway, I celebrate Christmas in the same way as safe4kids - just because its fun! And its a good excuse to be over-indulgent!
• 

  Tina

  Forget it newperson
  We don't pass out tracts for religious groups. Our field service days are over. And stop trying to recruit for your group here.
  No one needs you or your gods permission on how and why anything should be celebrated.'act out of a sincere desire to please god'...SNORT
  RECRUITMENT ALERT

  Carl Sagan on balancing openness to new ideas with skeptical scrutiny..."if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of skeptical sense-you cannot distinguish useful ideas from worthless ones."
• 

  closer2fine

  HMMMMM - what's there not to get?

  I love Christmas time. I've celebrated for the last 10 years.
  I love buying gifts.
  I love the smell of the tree - the way it looks all lit up.
  I love bundling up and heading out to pick it out.
  I love decorating it.
  Hanging the stockings,
  burning the "Smell of Christmas" candles,
  cooking a turkey & ham all day for company,
  egg nog,
  candy canes,
  pictures of my daughter with Santa,
  the music,
  Silent Night,
  Robert Earl Keen's Christmas song,
  the excitement of the kids when all the presents are under the tree, my excitement when all the presents are under the tree,
  my husband's special recipe for Christmas Margaritas,
  my list goes on....

  closer

  Mean People Produce
  Little Mean People
• 

  individuals wife

  closertofine - oh, how you have whetted my appetite for the festive season.....

  the smell of hot mince pies with brandy butter...
  the smell of cinnamon and pine needles and spices...
  the sound of excited children getting up at 6 oclock in the morning, squealing with delight when they see a stocking at the end of the bed....
  hearing a knock at the door and opening it to find carol singers instead of dour JWs...
  the anticipation you feel when you receive a gift...
  the pleasure you feel when you give one back...
  the community spirit you feel when you put up the local Christmas tree...
  the magic of turning on the lights on the tree, with all the associated oohs and aahs from the children..

  oh, and dont forget Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole... Christmas would not be Christmas without them!
• 

  GentlyFeral

  Well, I started today.... Christmas shopping! I have been waiting a long time for this pleasure and I couldn't wait another day! Well, it is only 12 weeks to go!!!

  Congratulations, IndividualsWife! Starting now, you get to take your own sweet time, using your imagination to the fullest, and you won't end up going into debt on Christmas Eve buying a lot of picked-over trash that no one wants anyway (as I heard a never-been-jaydub workmate describe it).

  biggest pressie pile ever, (most probably the biggest credit card bill ever as well - but who cares!)

  Six years out, I'm still struggling with guilt over "materialism" when I see the presents pile up under our tree. I've never gone into debt over Yule gifts, though. I budget a couple hours' wages per week, starting October 1, and pay as I go.

  TR said:
  

  It wasn't the anticipation of presents, it was the general feeling of peace and good will that I remember

  If Christmas means more than presents and dinner, this must be it. "Superfine" Christians carp about the "gift exchange" being inferior to the "selfless giving" of "true Christians," but I think this is superficial piety. Christmas is about giving as well as getting, and there are few things more empowering than knowing you can give, that you will be given to -- it's kind of a mutual demonstration that we each belong in our communities. How natural to reach out to strangers at this time! Yes, Christmas is definitely about peace, good will, community, and SHINY STUFF!

  And, AMEN to shopping online; especially at eBay. Prices are good and you can find virtually everything anyone would ever think of asking for.

  anewperson, thanks for your cut-n-paste. I do want to say, however, that the symbol of the Tree of Life is older than the book of Genesis. It occurs frequently in Babylonian and Sumerian carvings. Norse paganism represents the universe as The World Tree, Yggdrasil. Joseph Campbell, in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, describes the Christmas tree as "The World Tree in its fruitful, wish-fulfilling aspect." So it's the central part of Christmas for me, a non-Christian. There's a wonderful book on this subject, called The Solstice Evergreen -- I think I'll put it on my Christmas list this year :)

  Gently Feral
• 

  alliwannadoislive

  hey IW :)

  i am with you here sister ! we've had christmas for the last two years - got loads of green stuff we wrap around the bannisters with twinkling lights hidden amongst it - disappears all the way upstairs and looks soooooo cool - elders can see it through the leaded lights on the front door but what the hell ! ...

  what i really really want to do this year is go to a very big cathedral and hear some live choral music - Handel or even better, some music i've recently discovered - Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine ... i hear Chichester Cathedral do some cool gigs ...

  thanks for conveying the excitement i am already beginning to feel too ...
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  Stephanus

  Looking forward to Christmas here too, but a Southern Hemisphere Christmas is different in some ways. Even though Christmas usually ends up being one of the hottest days of the year, we still celebrate it in the English style, with huge lumps of roasted meats, chickens, turkey, ham and Christmas pudding, with heavy sauces and gravies on everything. Sitting down to a huge hot dinner in the middle of a steaming summer's day is a strange tradition to uphold...
  Snow? Forget it! The beach is better, but after all that food it's dangerous to go swimming!
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  ashitaka

  I'm happy that you're getting out there and feeling a little normal; my favorite time of that part of year is just the family getting together, having a joyful family dinner.

  I was nervous, but I even said Merry Christmas to them all (extended, non-JW family, of course)-I think it's just the time of year. December has always felt magical to me, although I was a witness all of my life.

  Good luck to you-and enjoy yourself.

  "I pray that I may never see the desert again-hear me God."-Robert Bolt