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Personally I don't celebrate Christmas, I celebrate the winter solstice on December 21, it is a tradition that we have celebrated for many thousands of years in this land, it is a celebration marking the end of the year and the beginning of a new year.
Fortunately we have the freedom (today) to celebrate whatever we wish and have it be respected, ptsum. We might have reached that status a lot sooner if your spiritual traditions had prevailed instead of the intolerant Fundamentalist Christians. C'est la vie.
I am a believer, but do not celebrate this time of the year as the birth of Christ.
I love the season, the excitement of the children, the baking aroma's from the kitchen, the decorations, the music and the general once a year friendliness of so many people....
One thing though really bothers me..Why can't people be as generous to the underpriviledged, the homeless, the hungry every day except only at ChristmastimeAnd why do so many organizations call a full camera crew in to take photos and videos of the homeless eating a meal or the children receiving gifts from an organization.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday, Happy Wednesday all are accepted if it comes from your heart
Miss Blue, many organizations do work year-round. I work with non-profits and have several relatives and friends in social service organizations (shelters, referral services, advocacy groups, and the like). They take advantage of the holidays as sort of their "pledge drive". But they're ALWAYS working, and they're not flush with government cash as is often popularly believed.
Hi Bungee. I also work with a local charity organization and a homeless shelter year round. we struggle every month to remain open but have many donations just before Christmas..One in particular that I work for makes sure that the people are not humiliated /embarrassed by our inviting the local tv station to film them eating, receiving gifts or being asked embarrassing questions on the spot about their situation..There are many proud underprivileged people here who turn down help because they do not wish to have it broadcast on Tv , newspapers.
I was just saying that I wish the vast majority of the public were as generous year round as they are at Christmas time..Sometimes my words do not exactly convey my thoughts
Hi Bungee. I also work with a local charity organization and a homeless shelter year round. we struggle every month to remain open but have many donations just before Christmas..One in particular that I work for makes sure that the people are not humiliated /embarrassed by our inviting the local tv station to film them eating, receiving gifts or being asked embarrassing questions on the spot about their situation..There are many proud underprivileged people here who turn down help because they do not wish to have it broadcast on Tv , newspapers.
I was just saying that I wish the vast majority of the public were as generous year round as they are at Christmas time..Sometimes my words do not exactly convey my thoughts
My niece works with battered women and men, so I understand the camera crew caution! I didn't read any cynicism in your post, but the commercialization of holiday charity tends to create general cynicism about charity itself. Still, charitable work has to take opportunities where it finds them. It finds them at Christmastime.
Of course, we should always be generous. But I don't have a problem with a ritualized season of giving. We do Spring cleaning. We shake hands. We do a lot of things reflexively, even thoughtlessly, but these things still have meaning and worth. And, hey, if people feel a holiday donation is worthless then they should worthlessly donate anyway and let someone else find the meaning in it!
As someone who doesn't happen to be a Christian, every year I'm fascinated when that term, "the meaning of Christmas," resurfaces. As far as I can tell, it means acting nicer than you ordinarily would for the other 364 days of the year. If there is more to it, you can't prove that by humanity.
Christmas? I don't celebrate that commercialized garbage. The fact that it's a religious holiday (celebrating the birth of Republican Baby Jesus and good-old-fashioned American Greed) just makes it worse.
The ones that really get to me are the fundamentalist Christians who complain that all the other religious/spiritual traditions are merely "copying Christmas"...
Yeah, right. Never mind documented history. Never mind that the celebration of Chanukah significantly predates the birth of Christ. Never mind the Council of Nicea. Never mind that Winter Solstice rituals and celebrations far, far predate the birth of Christ (which, by the way, was not on December 25th). Never mind that many (maybe most) of the "traditional Christmas" symbols and traditions have been co-opted from far older religions and spiritual traditions...
I know what Christmas means to me. I also know and respect what other celebrations that occur around the 25th of December mean to other religions and spiritual traditions. If anyone chooses to take exception to that, all ya gotta do is take a number and stand in line. I will get to all of you eventually...
-- Nighteyes (who follows the teachings of Christ as he understands them)
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