collapse

* Recent Posts

"Christ Is King" by Altair
[Today at 01:09:34 am]


Re: Cill Shift Schedule by SunflowerP
[Yesterday at 11:04:57 pm]


Re: Stellar Bling: The Good, the Bad, the OMG! by SunflowerP
[March 21, 2024, 11:21:37 pm]


Re: Spring Has Sprung! 2024 Edition by SunflowerP
[March 21, 2024, 10:24:10 pm]


Stellar Bling: The Good, the Bad, the OMG! by Altair
[March 21, 2024, 02:52:34 pm]

Author Topic: is it possible to NOT celebrate Christmas?  (Read 10579 times)

Queen of Wands

  • Journeyman
  • *****
  • Join Date: Jun 2012
  • Posts: 233
  • Total likes: 0
    • View Profile
    • http://theatreartistarcana.blogspot.com/
is it possible to NOT celebrate Christmas?
« on: December 19, 2014, 09:36:46 pm »
- I feel the need to preface this with the notice that I have been drinking a bit of wine tonight. My post may not be entirely sensible or sense-making. Read with caution, or with your own wine.


Perhaps this is only because I live in predominantly assumed Christian/Christmas small town America. There's Christmas songs on the radio, the looming specter of Santa Claus everywhere, the assumptions to wish someone a Merry Christmas instead of the alternatives.

I LOVED Christmas. Some of my best childhood memories revolve around Santa. This holiday is a beloved big deal in my family. If it was just me to consider, I'd only do the Solstice. But I'd hate to give up Santa (what does he have to do with baby Jesus, anyways?) and Rudolph and the Grinch(!). Some of my best childhood memories revolve around Santa. I LOVED Christmas...but I loathe the implied religious/commercialism/American aspects of Christmas. The holiday season is only adding on to my reluctance to consider the possibility of ever having kids someday*.


I ask, with probable ignorance and utter sincerity: how does one get about in America, in 2014 and not celebrate Christmas?

To my Jewish friends, I ponder, how do you ignore everyone else's urges to put up your nativity set when you already have a holiday to celebrate?

To my friends who don't celebrate anything at all this time of year, how do you tune it all out?

To my friends of many, other faiths, and to those in similar situations, how do you manage?



*To be completely fair, I had long since ruled out any interest in having kids long before December. Okay, like maybe a 2% chance of adoption, but not likely. Still - if I were to ever even consider a fetus growth, there would be a stocking and Santa hat waiting for it.

RandallS

  • Site Admin
  • *
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Location: NE Ohio
  • Posts: 10311
  • Country: us
  • Total likes: 296
    • View Profile
  • Religion: Hellenic Pagan
Re: is it possible to NOT celebrate Christmas?
« Reply #1 on: December 19, 2014, 09:41:32 pm »
Quote from: Queen of Wands;167648
I LOVED Christmas. Some of my best childhood memories revolve around Santa. This holiday is a beloved big deal in my family. If it was just me to consider, I'd only do the Solstice. But I'd hate to give up Santa (what does he have to do with baby Jesus, anyways?) and Rudolph and the Grinch(!). Some of my best childhood memories revolve around Santa. I LOVED Christmas...but I loathe the implied religious/commercialism/American aspects of Christmas.

I can't be much help. Lyric and I are big secular Christmas celebrators. :)  We just ignore the religious and overly commercial aspects.
Randall
RetroRoleplaying [Blog]: Microlite74/75/78/81, BX Advanced, and Other Old School Tabletop RPGs
Microlite20: Lots of Rules Lite Tabletop RPGs -- Many Free

NiDara

  • Master Member
  • ******
  • Join Date: Feb 2012
  • Posts: 260
  • Country: 00
  • Total likes: 9
    • View Profile
  • Religion: Gaelic Polytheism, Clann Bhride
  • Preferred Pronouns: she/her they/them
Re: is it possible to NOT celebrate Christmas?
« Reply #2 on: December 19, 2014, 09:53:20 pm »
Quote from: Queen of Wands;167648
- I feel the need to preface this with the notice that I have been drinking a bit of wine tonight. My post may not be entirely sensible or sense-making. Read with caution, or with your own wine.


Perhaps this is only because I live in predominantly assumed Christian/Christmas small town America. There's Christmas songs on the radio, the looming specter of Santa Claus everywhere, the assumptions to wish someone a Merry Christmas instead of the alternatives.

I LOVED Christmas. Some of my best childhood memories revolve around Santa. This holiday is a beloved big deal in my family. If it was just me to consider, I'd only do the Solstice. But I'd hate to give up Santa (what does he have to do with baby Jesus, anyways?) and Rudolph and the Grinch(!). Some of my best childhood memories revolve around Santa. I LOVED Christmas...but I loathe the implied religious/commercialism/American aspects of Christmas. The holiday season is only adding on to my reluctance to consider the possibility of ever having kids someday*.


I ask, with probable ignorance and utter sincerity: how does one get about in America, in 2014 and not celebrate Christmas?

To my Jewish friends, I ponder, how do you ignore everyone else's urges to put up your nativity set when you already have a holiday to celebrate?

To my friends who don't celebrate anything at all this time of year, how do you tune it all out?

To my friends of many, other faiths, and to those in similar situations, how do you manage?



*To be completely fair, I had long since ruled out any interest in having kids long before December. Okay, like maybe a 2% chance of adoption, but not likely. Still - if I were to ever even consider a fetus growth, there would be a stocking and Santa hat waiting for it.


I can relate. I've shifted away from celebrating Christmas and celebrate the Winter Solstice. Thankfully, my immediate family has done likewise for our own personal reasons. On the other hand, I live in a VERY Christian area, so Christmas is in full swing here. I just try to accept the sights, sounds, commercialism, and other associated sensations as part of the background. After New Year's comes and goes, it's gone.

You can still enjoy the solstice, even if it's just on a private, individual basis. The decorations are pretty similar. If you feel like it, decorate a tree with stars, lights, and wintery ornaments. No need for Christian influence on your holiday tree. As for Santa, he's a cultural amalgamation of many things. St. Nicholas, Odin, and so on... He can still be very much a pagan mainstay of the holidays. Just put your own twist on him and have fun if there ever is a little one in your life, even if it's just the children of friends.

Nyktelios

  • Sr. Master Member
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jul 2011
  • Posts: 562
  • Total likes: 2
    • View Profile
Re: is it possible to NOT celebrate Christmas?
« Reply #3 on: December 20, 2014, 01:55:20 am »
Quote from: Queen of Wands;167648
- I feel the need to preface this with the notice that I have been drinking a bit of wine tonight. My post may not be entirely sensible or sense-making. Read with caution, or with your own wine.

[...]

I ask, with probable ignorance and utter sincerity: how does one get about in America, in 2014 and not celebrate Christmas?

To my Jewish friends, I ponder, how do you ignore everyone else's urges to put up your nativity set when you already have a holiday to celebrate?

To my friends who don't celebrate anything at all this time of year, how do you tune it all out?

To my friends of many, other faiths, and to those in similar situations, how do you manage?

 
Hehe wine makes everything better.

When I was more purely and rigidly Hellenic, I did not want to have anything to do with Christmas. Except for family obligations, I barely even acknowledged. The ancient Greeks didn't really have anything equivalent. There were a few festivals celebrated generally around the winter solstice, but nothing very similar to Christmas. I just thought of Christmas as the holiday of a foreign culture of which I didn't belong, and carried on. I did get hostile walking through malls and having the commercialized version of the dominant religion's holiday shoved in my face, but you can't really avoid that if you go out in public.

This is probably not a very helpful post even though I unfortunately have not had any wine, however, it is 2am, so I'm a bit drowsy. Basically, it's all mental. You just have to disassociate yourself with Christmas in your mind, and it will be easier to avoid it. I do celebrate Christmas now, so I don't know how useful my advice will be in the long run :p

Pix

  • Apprentice
  • ***
  • Join Date: Jun 2014
  • Posts: 45
  • Total likes: 0
    • View Profile
Re: is it possible to NOT celebrate Christmas?
« Reply #4 on: December 20, 2014, 03:44:58 am »
Quote from: Queen of Wands;167648
- I feel the need to preface this with the notice that I have been drinking a bit of wine tonight. My post may not be entirely sensible or sense-making. Read with caution, or with your own wine.


Perhaps this is only because I live in predominantly assumed Christian/Christmas small town America. There's Christmas songs on the radio, the looming specter of Santa Claus everywhere, the assumptions to wish someone a Merry Christmas instead of the alternatives.

I LOVED Christmas. Some of my best childhood memories revolve around Santa. This holiday is a beloved big deal in my family. If it was just me to consider, I'd only do the Solstice. But I'd hate to give up Santa (what does he have to do with baby Jesus, anyways?) and Rudolph and the Grinch(!). Some of my best childhood memories revolve around Santa. I LOVED Christmas...but I loathe the implied religious/commercialism/American aspects of Christmas. The holiday season is only adding on to my reluctance to consider the possibility of ever having kids someday*.


I ask, with probable ignorance and utter sincerity: how does one get about in America, in 2014 and not celebrate Christmas?

To my Jewish friends, I ponder, how do you ignore everyone else's urges to put up your nativity set when you already have a holiday to celebrate?

To my friends who don't celebrate anything at all this time of year, how do you tune it all out?

To my friends of many, other faiths, and to those in similar situations, how do you manage?



*To be completely fair, I had long since ruled out any interest in having kids long before December. Okay, like maybe a 2% chance of adoption, but not likely. Still - if I were to ever even consider a fetus growth, there would be a stocking and Santa hat waiting for it.

I have to quote so I'm quoting, but I'm not actually replying to this. It's just a general question that might be of interest to the OP.

Anyone recall a webcomic (used to be on electric sheep but I don't think that's around anymore) in which it started off about celebrating Christmas when a Christian finds the neighbors celebrating are pagans...and get really crazy with the sexual stag god, from the gigantic idol (with gigantic phallas) on the roof to his wife offering the freaking Christian penis shaped cookies? I'd love to see that one again.

As for me...I do what I do and don't consider others celebrating to be the same as me celebrating. I usually celebrate the holidays in a secular way and once some bigoted neighbors didn't think we had the right to since we weren't Christian (despite that our decorations were secular). I ignored them.

When a friend and I visited East Texas last month there was one town that acted like they were engaged in civil disobedience by putting up Merry Christmas everywhere at taxpayer expense among other things...to us it was just silly but it wasn't us celebrating with them just because we witnessed it. I later found out that Kirk Cameron's godawful Saving Christmas had just come out which was probably the reason for it.
« Last Edit: December 20, 2014, 03:48:12 am by Pix »
"If there is a universal mind, must it be sane?"

--Charles Fort

moongate

  • Sr. Newbie
  • **
  • Join Date: Mar 2012
  • Posts: 15
  • Total likes: 0
    • View Profile
Re: is it possible to NOT celebrate Christmas?
« Reply #5 on: December 20, 2014, 12:08:33 pm »
Quote from: Queen of Wands;167648
I ask, with probable ignorance and utter sincerity: how does one get about in America, in 2014 and not celebrate Christmas?

To my Jewish friends, I ponder, how do you ignore everyone else's urges to put up your nativity set when you already have a holiday to celebrate?

To my friends who don't celebrate anything at all this time of year, how do you tune it all out?

To my friends of many, other faiths, and to those in similar situations, how do you manage?



*To be completely fair, I had long since ruled out any interest in having kids long before December. Okay, like maybe a 2% chance of adoption, but not likely. Still - if I were to ever even consider a fetus growth, there would be a stocking and Santa hat waiting for it.

 
I look to my path at this time of year. As I embrace some (but not all) Wiccan traditions, I celebrate Yule with a ferocity and focus on my own rituals and traditions. It's also nice, because you can wish someone a Happy Yuletide and they merely assume you are talking about Christmas. This approach may not work for everyone but if you look at ignoring the commercialism and focusing on your own traditions, it can help.

Sefiru

  • Senior Staff
  • *
  • Join Date: Nov 2013
  • Location: In the walls
  • Posts: 2569
  • Country: ca
  • Total likes: 891
    • View Profile
Re: is it possible to NOT celebrate Christmas?
« Reply #6 on: December 20, 2014, 06:07:41 pm »
Quote from: Queen of Wands;167648
I LOVED Christmas...but I loathe the implied religious/commercialism/American aspects of Christmas.



To my friends who don't celebrate anything at all this time of year, how do you tune it all out?



I can't find it now, but a few years back I read a post (somewhere) which argued that "Christmas" actually refers to three separate holidays: "Christ's Mass" (the specifically Christian elements), "Yule" (the winter-festival stuff) and "Presents day" (the commecialism). There is some overlap, of course; Santa could fit in any of the three depending which version you're talking about.

I try to avoid the Christian and commercial aspects. One thing I try to do is get any gift and ornament shopping done by the end of November, and then stay away from stores as much as possible in December aside from groceries.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Me on AO3 & Deviantart

Darkhawk

  • Senior Staff
  • *
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 5219
  • Country: us
  • Total likes: 1123
    • View Profile
    • Suns in her Branches
  • Religion: An American Werewolf in the Akhet; Kemetic; Feri; Imaginary Baltic Heathen; Discordian; UU; CoX; Etc
  • Preferred Pronouns: any of he, they, she
Re: is it possible to NOT celebrate Christmas?
« Reply #7 on: December 20, 2014, 08:13:31 pm »
Quote from: Queen of Wands;167648
I ask, with probable ignorance and utter sincerity: how does one get about in America, in 2014 and not celebrate Christmas?

 
If it were something that I cared about not doing - and that's a whole separate question* - the answer strikes me as fairly simple:

- figure out what actions comprise "celebrating Christmas"
- don't do them



* the whole separate question part might actually be more useful for you to explore.  What does "celebrating Christmas" mean when you say it?  Where on the spectrum between "attending Midnight Mass" and "decorating sugar cookies" are you pointing at when you say "celebrating Christmas"?

Further to explore: do you have issues with not-celebrating other holidays?  What are those issues, and how do you deal with them?

(... I was once given a stuffed Anubis for Purim.  Which was deemed hilarious by the people who gave it to me, because on a holiday that has Carnival upend-everything overtones they thought it just perfect to give an idol to a pagan.)

(My housemate is Jewish.  You know what I do during Passover?  I - a Kemetic - cook Passover-appropriate food from traditional Jewish recipes.  (Well, and once I bitched out Adonai for being an asshole to a different Jewish friend, during Passover, and you know that dude getting an earful from an Egyptian pagan during Passover corresponded with a sudden change in my friend's circumstances so hey.)  Latkes were made with the kids earlier this week because Hanukkah, and the kids are learning the candle-lighting song.  One of these years we'll have our shit together sufficiently to put up a sukkah and that will be awesome.)

I do not participate in other people's religious ceremonies as a person who is involved with that religion, but that is actually a very small limitation in the world, really.
as the water grinds the stone
we rise and fall
as our ashes turn to dust
we shine like stars    - Covenant, "Bullet"

carillion

  • Sr. Master Member
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jul 2014
  • Posts: 664
  • Total likes: 1
    • View Profile
Re: is it possible to NOT celebrate Christmas?
« Reply #8 on: December 20, 2014, 11:56:01 pm »
Quote from: Queen of Wands;167648
- I feel the need to preface this with the notice that I have been drinking a bit of wine tonight. My post may not be entirely sensible or sense-making. Read with caution, or with your own wine.


Perhaps this is only because I live in predominantly assumed Christian/Christmas small town America. There's Christmas songs on the radio, the looming specter of Santa Claus everywhere, the assumptions to wish someone a Merry Christmas instead of the alternatives.

I LOVED Christmas. Some of my best childhood memories revolve around Santa. This holiday is a beloved big deal in my family. If it was just me to consider, I'd only do the Solstice. But I'd hate to give up Santa (what does he have to do with baby Jesus, anyways?) and Rudolph and the Grinch(!). Some of my best childhood memories revolve around Santa. I LOVED Christmas...but I loathe the implied religious/commercialism/American aspects of Christmas. The holiday season is only adding on to my reluctance to consider the possibility of ever having kids someday*.


I ask, with probable ignorance and utter sincerity: how does one get about in America, in 2014 and not celebrate Christmas?

To my Jewish friends, I ponder, how do you ignore everyone else's urges to put up your nativity set when you already have a holiday to celebrate?

To my friends who don't celebrate anything at all this time of year, how do you tune it all out?

To my friends of many, other faiths, and to those in similar situations, how do you manage?



*To be completely fair, I had long since ruled out any interest in having kids long before December. Okay, like maybe a 2% chance of adoption, but not likely. Still - if I were to ever even consider a fetus growth, there would be a stocking and Santa hat waiting for it.





Haven't celebrated it for about 15 years and now , except for the frenetic madness around us, we don't even notice the lack.

We don't celebrate Šab-e Čella either and don't miss that ( though one of us has been invited to celebrate it this year and I'm looking forward to the pictures).

I grew up celebrating it but it was never an easy time. When I became a mother I tried my best to take some of what made it so hard away so that it was a happy time and not so emotionally draining. I was a single parent so was free to follow what my offspring enjoyed and whatever our financial situation, it worked out.

But then we just...stopped. It was at my kids suggestion, by the way. It was just too emotionally stressful. We are surrounded by media and people who tell us we *must* be loving to those we don't even care to be around, that 'family' is the pinnacle of our hearts (even if we don't get along the rest of the year) and so forth.

And so many of the things that made it special when I was a child simply were not in play anymore. Certain foods were only available at that time of year. Christmas displays didn't go up in Novemeber, but nearer the day. These days one could eat Christmas dinner all year 'round and there certainly is enough 'stuff' for all . Also, my if ther was something needed and we had the money, my kid could have it - no need to wait for 1 special day to get something they needed or could enjoy when we could afford it.

So really, there was no point. We are not Christian, we have enough 'stuff' and since we live in such a multi-cultural city, we have all kinds of great food available to us.

The first few years were the hardest but made so by those around us. Many people just couldn't understand that not only didn't we celebrate Christmas, we didn't miss it. It seemed  incomprehensible to so many. When it was established that it wasn't a religion thing, people got all kinds of odd notions . The worst was being the objects of sympathy as if somehow we were too poor (not true) or from a 'broken' family (again, not true) so they had to force their celebrations on us. One year we actually told everyone we were going away just to be left alone.

We have fun. There's always great places to eat . We enjoy the light displays. We just don't do the gift, decoratins, emotional overload thing anymore. And as I wrote, now it doesn't even register except for the people freaking out around us.

If people were excited and frenetic in a joyous way it would be more understandable. But people bitch about having to travel ( which is reasonable as it's the worst time of the year to do so here), spending time with their relatives they don't like, all the cooking and cleaning , the expense of presents and so forth. If it's the happiest , most emotionally rewarding time, I see no sign of it.

It's more like people are getting ready for a siege.

We wish everyone the very best of the season, merry christmas, happy solstice -whatever. And genuinely hope they have a wonderful time.

But we just don't 'do' Chistmas and don't miss it.

I think as in everything that one should do things they enjoy for themselves, *not* because it's expected of them by others. Others will learn if one is sincere in their own convictions. And many is the time that other people have taken refuge with us to get away from 'the festive season' themselves :).
« Last Edit: December 21, 2014, 12:00:33 am by carillion »

sailor

  • Grand Master Member
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jul 2011
  • Posts: 1505
  • Total likes: 0
    • View Profile
Re: is it possible to NOT celebrate Christmas?
« Reply #9 on: December 21, 2014, 12:17:55 am »
Quote from: Queen of Wands;167648
-
(snip)...but I loathe the implied religious/commercialism/American aspects of Christmas. The holiday season is only adding on to my reluctance to consider the possibility of ever having kids someday*.


I ask, with probable ignorance and utter sincerity: how does one get about in America, in 2014 and not celebrate Christmas?

To my Jewish friends, I ponder, how do you ignore everyone else's urges to put up your nativity set when you already have a holiday to celebrate?

To my friends who don't celebrate anything at all this time of year, how do you tune it all out?

To my friends of many, other faiths, and to those in similar situations, how do you manage?


 
Shocking as it may seem to some, I'm going to agree with Darkhawk's comments.

I'm in Japan this year for Christmas (again).  Minority Christian nation.  Huge Christmas celebration, almost all I'd say is commercial.  To echo Darkhawk's point about breaking things down, the commercial aspect isn't a part of the Christian dominent society.

My "Christmas" celebration will probly be racist.  I'm going to try and go out for Chinese food with the Chinese crew members (And as the senior officer I'll probably pick up the tab).  

When I'm home it's always been easy to ignore Christmas, depending upon what you mean by ignore.  

Christmas carols?  Get frustrted by the all to small selection of songs even when the malls, etc play them without words.

Presents?  As a kid, I got more small ones usually earlier than my non-Jewish friends.  Advantage to me was being able to go to their houses a week to two weeks later and get to be excited (like they had) of all the new toys to share. Noting that presents during Chanukah is a post 1950s American invention, it used to be done at Purim (I think).

Nativity displays, etc?  Never bothered.  Other than the one family with the huge pine tree, nobody did much in the 1960s or 1970s in my part  Massachusetts with decorations outside the house or off church property.  The school art was popular culture Santa, reindeer, but that was coming more from the kids than the teachers.

When I was doing Druidism / Pagan stuff, I pushed to move stuff to winter Solstice for presents, tree etc.

What do you consider the American aspects of Christmas btw?

Kylara

  • Staff
  • *
  • Join Date: Feb 2012
  • Posts: 1433
  • Country: us
  • Total likes: 319
    • View Profile
    • https://www.patreon.com/kyndryana
  • Religion: Norse Fusion Witchcraft
  • Preferred Pronouns: she/her/hers
Re: is it possible to NOT celebrate Christmas?
« Reply #10 on: December 21, 2014, 10:26:30 am »
Quote from: Queen of Wands;167648
- I feel the need to preface this with the notice that I have been drinking a bit of wine tonight. My post may not be entirely sensible or sense-making. Read with caution, or with your own wine.


Perhaps this is only because I live in predominantly assumed Christian/Christmas small town America. There's Christmas songs on the radio, the looming specter of Santa Claus everywhere, the assumptions to wish someone a Merry Christmas instead of the alternatives.

I LOVED Christmas. Some of my best childhood memories revolve around Santa. This holiday is a beloved big deal in my family. If it was just me to consider, I'd only do the Solstice. But I'd hate to give up Santa (what does he have to do with baby Jesus, anyways?) and Rudolph and the Grinch(!). Some of my best childhood memories revolve around Santa. I LOVED Christmas...but I loathe the implied religious/commercialism/American aspects of Christmas. The holiday season is only adding on to my reluctance to consider the possibility of ever having kids someday*.


I ask, with probable ignorance and utter sincerity: how does one get about in America, in 2014 and not celebrate Christmas?

To my Jewish friends, I ponder, how do you ignore everyone else's urges to put up your nativity set when you already have a holiday to celebrate?

To my friends who don't celebrate anything at all this time of year, how do you tune it all out?

To my friends of many, other faiths, and to those in similar situations, how do you manage?



*To be completely fair, I had long since ruled out any interest in having kids long before December. Okay, like maybe a 2% chance of adoption, but not likely. Still - if I were to ever even consider a fetus growth, there would be a stocking and Santa hat waiting for it.

 
I too have fond memories of childhood Christmas.  It was always a big deal at our house, we would dedicate a day to playing Christmas songs and decorating the house and tree.  We always had stockings, even well after I was old enough to know that my parents were the ones putting in the Santa gifts.

Today, I am married to an Atheist, and have a son in high school who is also a self-proclaimed Atheist.  We celebrate Christmas in our house, and I still love Christmas songs (even some of the more Christian ones).  My hubby gets a bit tired of them, so I play them to excess when he's not home and then on Christmas morning while we open presents.  I try to get some little stuff to put in stockings, even though I know my son doesn't believe in Santa any more.

For us, that works.  Hubby likes to do big Christmas, he likes to provide for his family and it makes him happy to be able to buy gifts.  I have always been of the heartfelt gift club.  I make my gifts for my friends, and if I have to buy something, I try to get something that really fits the person, not just something that fits a pricetag that I think I should be getting.  If I can get a great gift for someone for a dollar, and they love it, then I think that's a win.

As far as other people's expectations of what I should be doing over the holidays, if you don't live in my house, you don't have the right to tell me what I should be doing.  I really don't care what other people think I should put up.  We don't have a lot of traditional decorations up, we haven't even had a tree for the past couple of years.  No one has ever given me grief over it.  And if I did have a friend or family member that came over and started harassing me about not having a manger or tree or whatever, I think I would be seriously considering my relationship with that person.
Check out my Patreon for more writing and other goodies!

Chatelaine

  • Staff
  • *
  • Join Date: Jul 2011
  • Posts: 773
  • Country: gb
  • Total likes: 93
  • Metaphors be with you.
    • View Profile
    • Are We There Yet?
  • Religion: Eastern Orthodox Christian
  • Preferred Pronouns: she/her/hers
Re: is it possible to NOT celebrate Christmas?
« Reply #11 on: December 21, 2014, 01:00:29 pm »
Quote from: Queen of Wands;167648
I ask, with probable ignorance and utter sincerity: how does one get about in America, in 2014 and not celebrate Christmas?


Not in America, so I'm cheating a bit, but hey, it's all one big western world where stuff is concerned.

I've always had plenty of people around me who didn't celebrate Christmas religiously (Buddhists, Muslims, Pagans, the odd atheist, curiously no Jews until recently). None of them thought that participating in the overarching festivities was in any way objectionable. They probably didn't exchange presents at home, but had no problem with cards and Secret Santas at school or work. Special foods are always good, and for them there was no reason to reserve them for one particular day, either. That bit is growing, too; Christmas candy hit the supermarkets before the Halloween stuff this year, and the rest followed with November barely in.

The only people I've known who consciously wanted to avoid Christmas (a secular Jew and an atheist) did so by working on the 25th, so that some other colleague, who did celebrate, could have the day off.
'You created us restless, O Lord, and we find no rest until we rest in You.'
~St Augustine~
Whole blog o' nonsense: Are We There Yet?

sailor

  • Grand Master Member
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jul 2011
  • Posts: 1505
  • Total likes: 0
    • View Profile
Re: is it possible to NOT celebrate Christmas?
« Reply #12 on: December 21, 2014, 07:37:48 pm »
Quote from: Chatelaine;167721
The only people I've known who consciously wanted to avoid Christmas (a secular Jew and an atheist) did so by working on the 25th, so that some other colleague, who did celebrate, could have the day off.

 
Uh, question on the motive.  It could be politness to take a shift (especially if there is overtime pay) on a holiday that is one you don't celebrate to let others who do actively celebrate rather than an attempt to avoid Christmas.

Queen of Wands

  • Journeyman
  • *****
  • Join Date: Jun 2012
  • Posts: 233
  • Total likes: 0
    • View Profile
    • http://theatreartistarcana.blogspot.com/
Re: is it possible to NOT celebrate Christmas?
« Reply #13 on: December 21, 2014, 11:30:59 pm »
Quote from: sailor;167780
.

 

I gotta say - for a wine-fueled OP, this is turning out some good Q&A. Will respond soon - :)

Valeria Crowe

  • Master Member
  • ******
  • Join Date: Sep 2014
  • Posts: 340
  • Total likes: 0
    • View Profile
    • http://thesallowbeldam.tumblr.com/
Re: is it possible to NOT celebrate Christmas?
« Reply #14 on: December 21, 2014, 11:50:38 pm »
Quote from: Chatelaine;167721
Not in America, so I'm cheating a bit, but hey, it's all one big western world where stuff is concerned.

 
<,<

You sure you realize just how crazy Americans are about Christmas? We're talking loudly berating service personel for wishing them "Happy holidays." We're talking vandalizing houses that don't have Christmas lights lit. Heck, we're talkong about homeowners associations mandating lights. We're talking carols played in all the stores a full month before the hols.

If things are that bad where you are... I'm glad we're all mad here, and am going to watch out for the Cheshire Cat.
"This is a sorrow-spider. Which end do you hold it by? TRICK QUESTION!"

Tags:
 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
31 Replies
5452 Views
Last post August 09, 2012, 11:43:12 am
by NibbleKat
119 Replies
13478 Views
Last post May 21, 2016, 09:06:07 pm
by Doc
5 Replies
4373 Views
Last post January 05, 2017, 10:13:39 pm
by hraefngar
5 Replies
1665 Views
Last post January 02, 2018, 08:48:23 am
by savveir
5 Replies
2292 Views
Last post October 20, 2018, 06:25:39 pm
by PerditaPickle

* Who's Online

  • Dot Guests: 135
  • Dot Hidden: 0
  • Dot Users: 0

There aren't any users online.

* Please Donate!

The Cauldron's server is expensive and requires monthly payments. Please become a Bronze, Silver or Gold Donor if you can. Donations are needed every month. Without member support, we can't afford the server.

* Shop & Support TC

The links below are affiliate links. When you click on one of these links you will go to the listed shopping site with The Cauldron's affiliate code. Any purchases you make during your visit will earn TC a tiny percentage of your purchase price at no extra cost to you.

* In Memoriam

Chavi (2006)
Elspeth (2010)
Marilyn (2013)

* Cauldron Staff

Host:
Sunflower

Message Board Staff
Board Coordinator:
Darkhawk

Assistant Board Coordinator:
Aster Breo

Senior Staff:
Aisling, Allaya, Jenett, Sefiru

Staff:
Ashmire, EclecticWheel, HarpingHawke, Kylara, PerditaPickle, rocquelaire

Discord Chat Staff
Chat Coordinator:
Morag

'Up All Night' Coordinator:
Altair

Cauldron Council:
Bob, Catja, Chatelaine, Emma-Eldritch, Fausta, Jubes, Kelly, LyricFox, Phouka, Sperran, Star, Steve, Tana

Site Administrator:
Randall

SimplePortal 2.3.6 © 2008-2014, SimplePortal