Do you like it I don,t
I love it 💕 🌲 💝
I don't like the xmas spelling since that is not a holiday listed on a calendar, I don't like the fascination of an old guy who breaks into people's homes, I don't like that he seems to know everything which is delicate info police will need, I don't like that people keep offering him milk and cookies like as if trying to lure in something to catch like, "Here kitty, kitty...", and so on.
Now I do like the family time. Too much jiggling and bells ringing in songs can get annoying though.
Christmas is the next time of the year! The songs, the family time, the message!
I wish it had focus. Celebrate a deity? Giving gifts? Family time? Over the top festive celebration? I just think regardless, people overextend themselves in all areas and are usually more miserable for trying than they like to admit.
Not a fan of the material focus of the holidays, the stress of planning things, the traveling headache it brings. I don’t like how it can sometimes makes people without a significant other or friends/family feel left out
I really like the focus on friends and family as well as giving. As well as all the cheery decorations and food
I like the idea of it for the festiveness and the good cheer (in thought at least, actual mileage may vary), although it's not as magical as it used to be for me.
I adore Christmas. 🎄 And it's stressful and sadly commercialized. 😖
~ Sunset Snuggles
🦄 Enthusiast 🏞 Travel Fiend 🐘 Animal Lover
🎄 Merry Christmas to my homies! ☃️
@Amortentia Hahaha! That was awesome. The History channel has a new one on those topics exactly only they don't think it is. Its like a tribute to how people commercialized Christmas. I refuse to do Christmas present lists I try to think about the gifts. I don't believe the thought behind it is bad at all. So I'm not knocking the holiday only its evolution into a consumer holiday.
I celebrate Yule/Solstice as my main holiday so to everyone else who did yesterday Blessed Solstice. AND Merry Christmas to those who celebrate that. Happy Holidays... lets get it all covered.
It's not so much Christmas as it is December. I don't like the cold 🥶
Not a fan, but more, "meh" about it. It's just another day of the year like all the rest.
It's not so much Christmas as it is December. I don't like the cold
Yeah. Between the cold, the short days and being the one holiday that seems like it’s compulsory Christmas is not a favorite holiday. However it is a great time for opportunities to volunteer. My daughter and I are working at two homeless shelters Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I do not make her volunteer, we just enjoy it.
The one Christmasy thing we are doing is going to the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra who will be showing A Nightmare Before Christmas and playing the score live in sync with the movie. This is her one concession to Christmas because she loves everything Burton.
The traditions are fun. Decorating trees. Looking at lights. Eating delicious cookies. Watching Christmas movies. 2 months of non-stop Christmas displays. 2 months of fake sales. 1 month of non-stop Christmas music. Warning bratty kids about the judgmental jolly fat guy. Pretend celebrating with obnoxious family you avoid for 364 days. Spike the Christmas punch. Swear next year you won’t spend so much.
This will be the first Christmas as an adult I haven't spent alone or with a mentally/financially abusive partner, so I honestly haven't been a fan of the holiday in more recent years. Getting on Facebook and seeing friends posting about their gifts or their family dinners, while you sit at home alone is super depressing.
This trip to my sister's is super last minute, she suggested it Thursday and I rescheduled my entire upcoming week, yesterday. So, even this year has been pretty "meh"
Hopefully next year will be better 🤞🏻
@4630 once upon a time I rather dreaded Christmas. It seemed to be too stressful to be worth it. But over the course of a few years I observed what I liked and didn't like, and what stressed me out. In my particular case, it was the buying of presents that caused absurd amounts of anxiety. So, one year, I just announed that I didn't give Christmas presents any more and as a consequence did not expect to receive any, but I reserved the right to give a present at a random point in the year if a really good one came to me. Nobody in my family seemed to mind. I still do receive a couple of presents, for which I am very grateful, but I do not feel guilty about not reciprocating because I've made it very clear that I don't expect anything.
As a consequence Christmas has become a much happier occasion for me. A number of other changes in the family and its dynamics, predominently beyond my control, have come along as well, and by choosing my response to those changes carefully the whole thing has been further improved. Now, overall, I quite like it.
So, what is it precisely that you don't like? I'm curious.
I love Xmas. I am kind of a weirdo in that my favorite season by far is winter because I really enjoy the cold and snow. 5C to 10C is great for me. The lights and the trees all being put up are charming and pleasant in my eyes. The togetherness whether it be with friends, family, or random strangers at the nearby pub are all attractive things to me. Plus, I am very popular with my light-up sweater and elf hat. People really reciprocate the festive spirit if you put the energy into it, and my hyperactivity which is usually perceived as obnoxious becomes more endeared.
@hey_nikky Well congrats on being out of that relationship, and may your Christmases to come be merrier and brighter 🌟
As days go, it’s definitely one of them
Just looking forward to the dr who xmas special
I love it, although I don't like the hyper-commercialization of it.
But I think I enjoy putting on Christmas for my kid even more than I enjoyed it as a kid, myself--and I really loved it as a kid.
A historical sidebar: the "X" in Xmas is actually the Greek letter χ (pronounced "ki", as in kite).
χ is the first letter of the word Christ in the Greek χριστός (chrīstós).
Not everyone could write back then, so Xmas became an acceptable shorthand. It also thwarted the authorities at the time, who were persecuting Christians.
Merry Christmas, or Xmas, everyone! And Happy Yule to those folks, too.
@interalia626 thank you! I'm hoping for all holidays to be better in the future as I'm planning to leave the narcissists in 2023 and love myself more in 2024❤️
Every year I ask my family not to buy me gifts because I can’t afford to do this for them. And then, every year they buy me something anyway and I feel embarrassed and sad that I couldn’t reciprocate. I don’t know how to get them to understand and respect my wish - to me, Christmas is for the kids and not a mandatory obligation to exchange gifts with adults. I have a seven-year-old grandson and we have so much fun planning his Christmas and shopping for him. I would like to think of something else we could all do for each other. This year I am doing paintings for my adult family members. IMO Anything handmade, homemade, cookies, etc are the best gifts! Merry Christmas 🎄🤗🎄🤗🎄 everyone! And for those of you in cold climates, you should come to Texas it’s almost always warm at Christmas, It seems like. I would love some snow!!⛄️
@hey_nikky i completely understand how you feel. Especially the FB part. I hope you can make some new memories and traditions to look forward to from now on.
@carrieanne The paintings are a nice idea. I like to paint too. Would love to see them when you are finished with them! I have a book of homemade drink mixes for jars for gifts. I’d like to try that next year.
Yep. The commercialization, gift giving, and social media portrayals cast a bad light and diminish Christmas. But this forum exemplifies a good social media.
I’m all for gifts for the kids up to 16 or 18 but we are all kids aren’t we?
Volunteer, attend a service, &/or call/spend quality time with loved ones or just a friend or two. I went to breakfast alone Xmas morning - SO went on a trip and i spent day texting and calling a couple of my children. Christmas Eve with another of the children so not bad but you get to feel how older children lead their own lives - cue “Cats in the Cradle” by harry chapin.
The day is definitely getting quieter as I get older! But as mufasah or Simba or Elton John said that’s the circle of life. Not sure that’s in Luke 2 or Genesis (maybe not, lol).
@stormydaycuddle I love Christmas, but I hate the commercialization. I have really good memories of the holidays growing up as big gatherings of family with good food and cheer. Even as a child, the presents were a very minute part of the holiday.
One of my biggest issues with the commercialization is people that go out and spend way more than they can (i.e. many of my friends) and then I have to hear about how broke they are the rest of the year. I have a friend that if you gave him $100,000/year or $10 million/year he would somehow manage to live paycheck-to-paycheck.
I know the stores love it right now because this is where they make majority of their profits for the year but it really is sickening how much stuff is over priced. I purchased myself an espresso machine that I've been wanting that normally cost $1,200 but it was on sale for $600. That means they are grossly overcharging the rest of the year if they can give it for 50% off.
It's one thing if you overspent using cash that you have but many people use credit cards that charge 25% to 36% interest.
@CuddleHugs01234 We had to postpone Christmas till next weekend! So, of course, I haven’t finished the paintings. I love your idea of the drink mixes. I think I did jar cookie ingredients one year. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Day!
@carrieanne
I feel embarrassed and sad that I couldn’t reciprocate
Don't feel bad. Especially if you've made your wishes clear. I only buy my three closest friends gifts and that's only because they are like family to me. One is like a father figure and another like a brother.
My extended group of friends I take out to dinner for Christmas. That way they all get the same "gift" and I don't have to worry about them comparing what I got one over the other.
Same thing with birthdays. I don't buy gifts I take them out to lunch or dinner. That way we have an experience together, and not just a fleeting moment of exchanging physical things.
One thing I used to do that was somewhat inexpensive was buy a picture frame ornament with the year on it and put a group photo in it. You can get a really high-quality picture frame ornament off Amazon for about $5. And then print the photos for about $5 total for 20 small sized. That way has more meaning to it.
@FifthElement 100%
It may not be good for business, but I wish we would move to celebrating christmas with things we make or do for each other. And for the few that still want to do presents, do them on New Years so they should be cheaper when bought after christmas. Today, not everyone is creative, but it is something that we all could develop, using a skill that those we love would appreciate. This year I made things on my 3d printer. One year I did some research on what everyone was into and bought them each a book on the topics I know they liked. I would like to think they liked the present more than some generic gift that could have been for anyone.
@michael8219 yep, as life has changed, I make sure I get myself some gifts. I try to wrap them early enough I forget what I have. Even with change, I enjoy it still, vastly different, but still enjoyable.
@carrieanne Oh, I had read you were going to do that next year, my mistake. Have fun painting them. And I agree with @FifthElement , don’t worry about it since you’ve been clear about it. To me, they probably still just want to bless you, even though they are going against your wishes. I did something different last year for birthdays (got a large box of cat postcards from an art museum and mail them for birthdays instead of cards or gifts), so when a relative asked what I wanted for mine, I explained what I was doing and that it wasn’t necessary, she still did one but I’m not going to feel bad about it because I stated what I was doing.
And @FifthElement, I like the experience route, and the picture frame idea too. 💕