What do you all think about it? As you know I'm atheist yet still celebrate a religious festival. I don't believe in baby Jesus or any of that ****e but I still buy those I care for gifts. Does that make me a hypocrite? Anyway, are you all done buying? Got all the wrapping done? Sent all your cards out? I'm pretty much sorted.
Love it but I'm on meds and drink will be restricted No kids now all grown up but the misses and family still exchange pressies. Nice time of the year I too are not very religious now. Although we were brought up as rc. Still have great memories of the religious build up to Christmas And wonderful family Christmases
Loved it when the kids were young `uns. Went off the boil when they grew up. Got me second wind with the grandbabs.
I'll not be having much of a family Crissmuss day this year but we'll have a get together in between then & the new year which I'm really looking forward too. Just hope I can get everybody around at the same time.
Exactly the same pops trouble is the grandbairns live down south - but they were up last week and that was my xmas. Now Xmas means that everyone else gets just as pi**ed as I do the rest of the year
I like the food and drink part of the festivities, my children are getting older now so the excitement level isn't so prevalent as my youngest is now 13 - as a family we tend to celebrate Christmas Eve more so than Christmas Day on the 24th that's also when the presents get opened and a small amount of decorations go up - my missus cooks a Eastern European dish -communion wafers with honey starters then followed by a home-made soup and for the main meal it usually consist of fried or baked fish and a potato salad - I cook the Christmas day dinner we generally give Turkey a miss and on the 26th I said I'll make a Lasagne as my kids like it - throughout the Christmas Holidays onto the New Year it tends to be my favourite time to gig in the pubs as you get plied with generous amounts of alcohol as I get loads of gigs throughout the later part of December and I get my teetotal band mate to drive
many countries in Europe tend to celebrate Christmas Eve more so the 25th -especially so in the prevalent Catholic faith countries
I used to be very into Christmas. I was always the first up on Christmas day until I discovered drink. But after a bit of a rough time and living on my own I haven't bothered about it last few years and just go through the motions now
I'm pretty much on the save wavelength as you regarding this..The bairns enjoy it and it is nice to sit down together for Christmas dinner etc. However, not a religious thought will come into my head..
I never knew that mate, not a clue. If it's for religious reasons then that will by why, I haven't a clue about any religion.
It's all marketing retail bullshit to boost sales and keep economies going at a slow time of year, but aye, I enjoy it.
Wiki gives a concise break down how it's celebrated in Central and Eastern Europe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_traditions#Europe @Safc83
I should really stick my head in a bible one day and find out what all this God, Jesus and Mary story is all about. I've never been to church or learned about it. I should do really, because I don't understand half of these religious holidays
Thanks Diddles, I'm on it now First one on the list, Ethiopia... The Ethiopians fast for 40 days. I dunno how they survive after that, there's already nothing on them...
I'm pretty much the same as you, Billy. But that doesn't make us any more hypocritical than Christians. It's all about the old pagan midwinter festival. That's usually 21st December or once every four years (including this year) in the early hours of 22nd. It was considered the day when a new sun (or new year) was born. The trouble was the temple being built in Rome to celebrate that wasn't completed on time and got consecrated on 25th so 25th was deemed the Day of the Birth of the Unconquered Sun. To get Christianity accepted more easily, Christians adopted that day as their festival too. Christmas Day is, in fact, a hypocritical Christian adaptation of an inaccurate pagan celebration, i.e. a f*** up all round. But who cares? - let's all enjoy it anyway, eh.
The best bible books are the ones that aren`t in it. The excluded ones. Book of wars. Book of Jubilees. The records of Josephus. A greek historian. The Samuel Pepys of his day. Tells it as it was. The book of Enoch. Details of the fallen angels, names, what they did, their `union` with earthly women, the strange offspring they produced. Weird hybrids. Gory, graphic stuff. No wonder it wasn`t included. Scare the crap out of people. No good for control at all (hence it`s omission). There`s loads more. Much more interesting.
It's the same up here in the Nordics/Scandies. 24th is the big day, Santa drops round on the evening of the 23rd to give the kids their gifts. He's pretty smart, he couldn't do all the other countries on the 24th.
