Who needs Christmas ?

Paddy20

Personally, I believe that Christmas has become nothing more than a nightmare. It is commercial, and people feel trapped in to celebrating something they do not really give a damn about.

I believe it has become a farce, and I could live very happily without it.

Am I alone, or doe's Christmas mean something special to you ?..

P.:ninja:

quank

Here, Here!

god, its lost all the magical meaning it once used to have

its gotten worse because of many things...
main reason:
shops and their advertisements in halloween of buying presents and other ball-crap

i could enjoy the whole year without a christmas tbh
wouldnt do any harm to me

Funky

I need it, its a couple of weeks off school...

ixoy

Bah humbug!!!

Seriously, I like Christmas. It's not just time off, it's just time I like spending at home with the family, doing stuff like watching a movie together with a nice crackling fire, or attempting the Irish Times crossword. It means nice meals to me and waking up in the morning [still] and examining your presents. Mostly I use it to spend quality family time because I can drink anytime of the year.

I still like it, you load of Ebeneezers....

embee

Bah humbug indeed.

So its commercial ... so what?

To me it isnt some Christian time for celebration. To me its a time when my whole family get together and spend quality time eating, drinking and generally being merry. Its getting up on xmas day in ur pyjamas and traipsing downstairs to open presents sitting in front of a lovely big fire, watching crap on telly, helping out with the dinner, sitting down to eat, going to visit my nan in the evening, having a snooze after the meal, watching the xmas specials on television with the folks and spoiling the cat with a dinner of turkey breast soaked in gravy.

There are birthdays in my family on Christmas Eve, December 28th, New Years Eve, January 2nd and 3rd.

Yes, its commercial. In the run up to it theres a lot of mayhem and spending etc., but you tend to forget it when Christmas actually arrives.

The Beer Baron

It's also a good time to get drunk without having to be in work. (which is a real pain)

Ok so it makes me nauscious, the music in shops makes me go all Michael Douglas in Falling Down and well, at least I get to tell kids Santa Claus is really Michael Jackson. There's all those traditions like turning all the lights off and hiding from your aunts on Christmas Eve, passing out drunk as a loon in front of Willy Wonka. Oh and my family buy me new socks!

...Bah ****ING humbug.

To answer your question Paddy- I don;'t need it, you don;t need it, anyone with half a brain doesn't need it. Who needs it? Mattel needs it, Bandai, Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Disney, Hallmark, HMV, Clery's, Tesco, local publicans...

Otherwise it'd just be another regular winter season for those poowar widdul corporations and sundry greedy capatalist scum. So forget about Santa Claus and the other fella- whatshis face the hippy...Jesus that's the fella- the true spirit of xmas is The Ghost of Materialistic Idolatory- and don't you forget it!

Agent Smith

Originally posted by Funky
I need it, its a couple of weeks off school...

it's true.....

ur mentor

I love Christnmas. If it wasn't here someone would have to invent it.
It great as it breaks up the winter. Imagine going from October to March with damp wet cold dark weather and not having any break or source of cheer.
The family bit can be embarrassing, challenging, comforting- depending on the circumstances. It is a tradition long may it last.

gurramok

Hate xmas !
Family get togethers and the plans for them always end up in fierce arguments that creates more damage than was there before.
People pretending to be nice to each other around xmas is so 'false'.

Giving\receiving of presents should be banned !
Some people get upset at their presents being awful, it creates divisions.

Apart from wicked commercialism, the torture xmas songs playing constantly in shops, only good thing is those compulsory days off from work

simu

I just like the break.

People around me insist on putting up decorations and having parties and so on. I join in a bit but I don't make much effort myself. Anybody eho makes a big deal about getting fancy presents and all that - I tell them to get lost.

Alpha Male

This may make me sound a bit like Michael Jackson but here it goes.....

Because it makes children happy and gives them something to look forward to.

And all the lit up houses and streets break the dull, wet, cold and grey monotony of winter.

Jim

i don't particulary like christmas, i find the whole day very boring and the run up to it irritating for the most part.

but,
it brings a sort of variety to the rest of the year, helps to break the routine of work/school up, which is always welcome to me

Raz

I have friends and family. And I actually like them. I like giving them presents and seeing their reactions and I like receiving from them and seeing what they'd think I'd like.
I think families who end up warring over christmas have issues. If you complain about getting a gift, no matter how rubbish, then you didn't deserve even the crappiest of gifts. If someone spends the time to chose a gift for you then you should damn well appreciate that fact at the very least.
I have to say I don't mind the commercialism too much. They may be trying to sell their wares but they usually do it by showing images of people having a nice time and being nice to each other and that's an image we don't see enough of in the year.
The christmas decorations, although extremely tacky in cases, bring a change to the normal everyday appearence of the world and a change can always break the monotony of life. Even if it's just for a month or two.

So ... Christmas ....?
Definitely.... every year....
hah bumhug!!!!!

BlitzKrieg

i like christmas cause most of the year my family are all over the place. My Dad is in Kosovo myself england my sister new york and my mom ireland. I like having us together and all the stuff everyone said above (except the crosswords) but i dont like the commericial side of xms which makes out that xmas is about the presents and that coca cola and playstation are the meanings of xmas.

Understandable to children it does add something special to the year but xmas has become so fixated around this that it lacks anything for the older people who's only joy now is watching the young enjoy. What about us in the middle old enough to see past commericialism there seems little in xmas to celebrate

tba

I enjoy the social aspect of the holiday, howver being a devout non Christian I have to say that the savage use of tacky tinsle, gaudy gifts and commerical crap riuins any kind of spirtual or moral grounds for Christmas. The whole thing needs to be taken down a notch.

I will

never tell my kids there is a Santa Claus, such a Lie

is the kind of rickity foundations that this holiday is built upon. Fine if you want to buy each other presents and such, but dont ask for something thats not a present, thats commericalism at its worst.

DriftingRain

For me I love decorating the tree and the joy it brings to little childern, but for me...I've always hated it. My parents divorced when I was like 7 years old. Since then I've never had a steady Christmas where I can be at one place long enough to really enjoy it. Being Pulled around families and feeling like you've not got to spend enough time with one side of the family sucks, So Do I hate this season....Yes I Do!

gobby

im not gonna like it much this year. have exams on jan 12th and have to study my a$$ off over the hollidays.

Korg

I like chrimbo for all the positive reasons said above. You can either enjoy the whole thing & feel good for the season, or bemoan the commercialism, xmas music etc & not feel so good for the season.

Havelock

I like parts of Christmas, others I avoid others like botulism.

What I do like:
Tons of Good Food
Fine wine and port
Left overs on the 26th, 27th etc
Chocolate
Misltoe (I was a shy child)
Fairy Lights
The total joy it brings out in some people
Giving nice meaningful gifts to people I love (Hard to do)
Reseving the above from the same
Girls with flushed cheeks from cold walks
Hot chocolate, christmas movies and a blanket, with the wind beating outside
The air of romance

What I avoid:
Family dinner (Stess on Sliver platters)
Ex's
Christmas cards (Non-recycled paper, grrr, what a waste)
Gaudy usless gifts (Prefere not to get anything that something pointless)
This year because I'm single, I will avoid couples and romantic Christmas comedies
Henry St *Shudders*

You know what I miss, the Switzers window display, now its just maniquins

eirebhoy

When people are talking about Christmas I assume you are talking about Christmas, Stephen's Day, New Years, etc. I think Christmas day is only a bit boring because nowhere is open but it is not a big family occasion for me. I give and take presents and have dinner with the family than I go to a mates house and we drink, eat, watch TV all night and have a laugh with the kid's games.

The day's after Chrismas we usually drink some more and eat Turkey sambo's. Then New Years is just great, another reason for a big house party and pulling the girls 10 seconds before 12.00.

Taking Christmas away would be like Saturday nights away, it would be an awful lot more depressing without it.

gurramok

Another annoying thing about xmas is those carol singers that popup unexpectedly on your doorstep.

They do be so out of tune that they expect money in return.(not for charity)

Surely the purpose of carol singing is to rejoice this supposedly season of joy and not begging for singing awful songs ?

Hypocrites