... you don't want to spoil them now .. it's become traditional to go down to her mum's each year, as do her siblings and their kids and it's all fabulous chaos on Christmas day morning when everyone opens their presents in front of the stone fireplace by the tree etc ... ... in terms of our own presents, my other half and me tend to minimise for each other whilst maximising for the kids ... she likes a bottle of her favourite perfume whilst I get a blowy ... admittedly that can be a bit of a distraction for the rest of the family whilst they are opening their presents
I've been visiting the Netherlands for about 15 years now, at first I wasn't leaving Amsterdam. I then remembered how I used to watch a film with my Granda all the time called 'A Bridge Too Far', it's about the 2nd world war and the battle of Arnhem was a big feature of that, so I thought I'd pop along to the town to see the Arnhem bridge. When I was there I fell in love with the place and went back a couple of months later and watched a game. Bony was playing for them at the time and scored a hat-trick. I've been going to see them ever since, I've got mates over there now and enjoy a beer and joint with them before the games. Atmosphere is fantastic and I can see myself living over there sometime in the future. Kom op Vitesse!
Fair play mate we played them in the Europa League a couple of years back and their away support is top class.
Yeah, I know mate. I still haven't been to an away game, I keep telling them I'm going to. I was going to go to the Ajax away game this season, but I had the house to concentrate on. They beat them as well, it would have been a class day out. I should be supporting Feyenoord like every other Sunderland supporter because of our affiliation with them, but you can't help who you fall in love with.
Lots of non xians celebrate Xmas. I'm agnostic leaning atheist and I've celebrated Xmas my whole life. Xmas predates xianity. It's based on celebrations of the winter solstice. When monks and priests tried spreading religion to various places they found it easier to repurpose existing holidays than to get people to stop celebrating. The whole Xmas tree thing comes from bringing an evergreen indoors to keep life going during the winter as a good luck charm that life will continue when spring returns. Actually, in the Bible, it specifically forbids bringing evergreen trees into the house (like the pagans do). Most of the traditions around Xmas have nothing to do with religion. It's perfectly possible to separate religion from Xmas, it really is a secular holiday... And that's not new.
True...but it will always be a time of the year associated with Christianity with the main man Brother Jesus at the centre of it.
Honestly, Jesus never crossed my mind once during Xmas. Although I suppose it is probably easier to separate the religion out of it when you don't have one of your own rather than being from a different religion.
Mrs luv is a Christian and goes to church n' stuff but she doesn't really go on about it at Christmas. Easter seems to be more about Christianity to her. Either way they are both an excuse to chill and have some beers.
My wife is Southern American (and thus religious... Very religious background but over time she is becoming less and less so)... She never mentions religion during the Xmas season. Like yours Easter is more religious to her. (Although that too is a pagan holiday adopted to fit a religious role).
I'm a Muslim but I've always associated it with Christianity...always found it a bit of a rip off though with it being steeped in Pagan traditions. However I do think the Jehovah's witnesses have it right about Jesus and Xmas time is just a big excuse for a piss up so it's all a bit weird...but I talk as someone who doesn't get the intentions of his festivals mixed up...until it's evening time and I'm looking for sex and drugs.
It's a family thing for me, I've adapted it to suit my life. Wasn't close to my family when I was young so have made sure that at Christmas it's all about being together, eating together and forgetting about all the outside influences that make life difficult.
