The Meaning of Christmas
I’m not getting it. I mean, I get that Jesus was born yadda yadda yadda, but as we gear up for Christmas 2005, it seems remarkably meaningless.
I barely know anyone who celebrates Christmas in a Christian sense. And while kids obviously enjoy the whole present-giving greed orgy, I feel like Christmas involves more sacrifice than pleasure for most people these days.
Look at it this way: I am going to be spending almost all of my disposable income for the month on presents for people that I don’t necessarily actually want to buy presents for, because I have to in order to be socially acceptable. And if that wasn’t enough, I have to sacrifice my happiness and my precious time off work to spend three days with people I would never usually choose to spend more than a couple of hours with.
The pleasure I get out of Christmas is all derived from the fact that one is allowed to breakfast on chocolate coins and red wine, if one so desires, without anyone batting an eyelid. And really, that’s not much of a justification for a holiday which has lost its religious significance to the vast majority of people and therefore stands more as a monument to consumerism and greed than to any of the more virtuous attributes.
I suppose what I’m confused about is why we all celebrate Christmas when we aren’t actually Christians. I mean, you never hear someone say ‘I think I’ll join in with Ramadan this year – looks like fun!’ do you? And yet we all toddle off to Christmas dinners and family fights, and spend out a fortune on gifts we begrudge buying, and everyone gets drunk and even if you end up having a good time, why couldn’t you have that good time anyway without the excuse and expense of Christmas?
Oh, just ignore me. I’m in a selfish mood today. Bah humbug!
I barely know anyone who celebrates Christmas in a Christian sense. And while kids obviously enjoy the whole present-giving greed orgy, I feel like Christmas involves more sacrifice than pleasure for most people these days.
Look at it this way: I am going to be spending almost all of my disposable income for the month on presents for people that I don’t necessarily actually want to buy presents for, because I have to in order to be socially acceptable. And if that wasn’t enough, I have to sacrifice my happiness and my precious time off work to spend three days with people I would never usually choose to spend more than a couple of hours with.
The pleasure I get out of Christmas is all derived from the fact that one is allowed to breakfast on chocolate coins and red wine, if one so desires, without anyone batting an eyelid. And really, that’s not much of a justification for a holiday which has lost its religious significance to the vast majority of people and therefore stands more as a monument to consumerism and greed than to any of the more virtuous attributes.
I suppose what I’m confused about is why we all celebrate Christmas when we aren’t actually Christians. I mean, you never hear someone say ‘I think I’ll join in with Ramadan this year – looks like fun!’ do you? And yet we all toddle off to Christmas dinners and family fights, and spend out a fortune on gifts we begrudge buying, and everyone gets drunk and even if you end up having a good time, why couldn’t you have that good time anyway without the excuse and expense of Christmas?
Oh, just ignore me. I’m in a selfish mood today. Bah humbug!
posted by Mookmoo at 9:42 am
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