by eyeslice 9 Replies latest jw friends
Me? Neither.
I have no affinity at all to the commercial Christmas. I do, however, think that the religious celebration is not as wicked as the society has made out. OK, it maybe at the wrong time of the year but it is clear that the birth of Christ was something to celebrate at the time and is still worth remembering today.
Neither of them, I celebrate the Solstice.
Ada
xmas = just giving gifts and hanging out with friends and family
Festivus; it's for the rest of us.
i am with ada....
solstice is my rationale
for the lights on the house!
I'm celebrating Xmas, not CHRISTmas. I love the tree decorated, the sweet smell of the pine needles, the cookies baking,family and friends who know the meaning of unconditional love. That's how my first Xmas was about ten years ago. Because of certain circumstances, I've had to skip it various years, but this year its all about love and acceptance (and hoping the elders dont pop by unannounced).
I still don't celebrate xmas. Having grown up without those traditions, I have no real affection for the season. I also don't feel the need to try to celebrate just to fit in.
But that doesn't mean that I go around raining on other people's parades and making a spectacle of myself in trying to not celebrate. Actually I'm somewhere in the middle. I go to parties, I wish people Merry Xmas, I enjoy the music and the movies. I'll join in the company xmas party and I'll buy lunch and drinks for my department even. I enjoy the aspects of the holidays that I l like. I don't decorate the house, I care nothing about killing a tree in honor of the legendary and mythical savior, I am irritated by the "keep Christ in xmas" bunch of fundies.
To JWs who might see me during the season, they would think that I've "returned to the vomit" of the world by partaking in certain aspects of the holidays. To my neighbors and non-JW friends...they're confused as to why I don't go to the lengths they do at xmas. To them it's weird to come in my house in December and not see xmas decorations. I kinda enjoy not fitting into anyone's pre-conceived notions of what I should or should not be doing. I do what I want and don't do what I don't want.
I still don't celebrate xmas. Having grown up without those traditions, I have no real affection for the season.
That's pretty much my view, as well. I'll take part in work functions that pertain to Christmas(parties, etc.), but that's pretty much the extent of it. I never celebrated as a kid, and it really means nothing to me now that I'm an adult.
http://www.christmastree.org/debate.cfm I just wanted to point out that Christmas trees are actually very good for the environment, and they can be recycled when you are finished with them
This is the first year I'm really getting into the spirit of things, and I have to admit it feels really nice. Before I wasn't a scrooge by any means, but it wasn't really a big deal to me. But this will be the first xmas (NO Christ) with my fiance. We wanted to start some family traditions so we're having xmas at our house, and our very good friends (the husband is going to be my best man) and their 11 month old will be coming over to share it with us. The house is decorated and looks great, I've had a blast picking out personal gifts for my fiance and overall it's a very joyous time right now, having nothing to do with religion, the jebus (yes, with a "b") or anything at all other than a pure celebration of love and friendship.
Which even the lovely dubs do themselves, just not on Dec 25th. My parents alreadys treated their wedding anniversary like xmas, we all got gifts and would go out for something like a play, or bowling, or some kind of activity that was a splurge (which wasn't hard because we were so poor). But essentially, it was Christmas JW style....though they never decorated. AND, ironically, it was two days after my birthday because their anniversary is on the 19th, and my b-day is on the 17th.
And if I was to be perfectly honest....there's definitely a part of me that likes getting into xmas because it's kind of like giving the finger to the organization and its paranoid pagan dellusions of grandeur.
*gasp* you....you mean all these old traditions, in some way or fashion, can be compared to what pagans did? ahhh!
umm......yeah hi, the majority of the population in the world was pagan before this one god one devil thing caught on, because previous to that there was no christianity. so....LOTS of things will be "pagan" because A LOT of people were pagan. I bet pagans pooped too, should we be afraid of that as well?
