Post a controversial opinion

There are other countries in the world than America, believe it or not.

^ controversial opinion

nah

Ppl worried abt what other ppl do or don't do vis-a-vis Christmas prob could use another hobby

I've been an atheist since I was 12 but I have a Christmas tree every year and occasionally go to midnight Catholic mass on Christmas eve, I still feel culturally connected to catholicism tho, which might seem weird to some but whatevs.

It's the least weird thing in the world imo, I'm exactly the same tho so

more agnostic than athiest but p much the same

christmas is too much fun to be christian, most of the best elements are unrelated

my wife got a "rented" tree this year that will be replanted after the 25th, people come pick it up. pretty cool idea. I only celebrated the Solstice for many years, but my wife is from a Catholic family so I kinda stand by bemusedly while cookies and packages fly everywhere.

I dunno. It just makes me feel weird every year, how overwhelmingly Christmas everything is, and how not Christian I am, and how often I come across people claiming oh it's just a secular seasonal decoration. Meanwhile, even my kids get really self-conscious about their otherness this time of year.

― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, December 13, 2015 2:45 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Did you grow up with a tree? My family is not religious but we always celebrate christmas, idk

oh nvm, awkward

are there any christmas movies with jesus in them?

Thread prompted me to look up other winter festivals, obviously there's Hanukkah and Kwanzaa,

Kwanzaa was devised explicitly as an alternative to Christmas, but Hanukkah isn't a winter festival, per se. It just typically occurs around Christmas. Often well before. Last year - year before? - it started on (American) Thanksgiving.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Christmas lights and stuff. They're pretty and brighten things up. But sure, yeah, in the States I still think of them as Christmas lights, sorry, and when someone has a tree in their house the last thing I imagine is they're just brightening up their winters. I have family in both England and Australia, where Christmas-y stuff apparently prevails yet where they insist it's totally secular and that "everyone does it." Which may be true, to an extent, but it makes me uneasy when the "secular" celebrations that "everyone" does just happens to coincide with longstanding traditions explicitly associated with a specific religion (however rooted in Paganism or non-Christianity many of the traditions may be). Just because I can sing a dozen Christmas songs does not make them secular, it means that I'm the product of decades of more or less innocent indoctrination.

I don't know, man. I guess I'd be more cool with it if it wasn't called Christmas.

are there any christmas movies with jesus in them?

Good question! I'm not sure, to be honest, but scenes set in churches and nativity decorations abound, so I guess he's sort of implicit?

As my wife just pointed out, Christmas celebrates birthday, so there aren't a lot of narrative roles for newborn Jesus to play.

Jesus's birthday, sorry. (Just in case anyone was confused.)

yeah, it was honestly just an aside that hadn't occurred to me until now. i respect your opinion

thought there might be a film where jesus showed up in 1930s london or something and teaches everyone the true meaning of blah blah blah

time traveling jesus

sorry if this offends anybody

the tree isn't about indoctrination though, no more than the gravy or presents. it all works with or without the divine baby shower

mayonnaise is the third best wet condiment behind hot sauce and mustard

on behalf of ketchup, f u

To be more specific, the ranking goes: sriracha, Dijon mustard, Caribbean hot sauce, aioli, chutney, tahini, salsa, prepared horseradish, harissa, yellow mustard, mayonnaise, Tabasco, honey mustard, Barbecue sauce, Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, ranch dressing, and then ketchup.

fp all of u

whoa, have we really never had a condiments poll?

Lifetime ketchup fan, but I've since come around to the evils of ketchup, categorizing it somewhere alongside soda as sweet things kids like that adults should not be consuming. It's basically all sugar, and having kids who disgustingly request it on everything has really made me reconsider my misplaced allegiance. I mean, I still eat it, especially on fries and burgers, but my slow re-education usually includes mixing it with at least mustard. It'll be a long road, but I think I can do it, with the help of my friends and family. Definitely an assist that Chicago as a whole almost irrationally hates ketchup. So there's that.

Dude hates Christmas and ketchup I'm off to lay a cheeky tenner on him kicking at least three puppies this week

why do we cast aspersions upon those poor souls who can't enjoy ketchup, mayo, etc, they/we deserve our/your sympathy

Mushy appeasement

i feel awful for people who are capable of enjoying mayo because they are broken

^ evidence of bodhisattva-like compassion in industrial quantities

i am a malthusian. there are too many people using too much oil on the planet, now. we cannot sustain this. i would be willing to vote for a candidate that would institute a two-child policy in the u.s., or any other western state.

i'm kind of okay with a little bit of fascism.

I recently heard that Christmas was originally in the summer but a pope moved it to win over converts. Do any Christians still do it in summer?

australians iirc

fascism is bad monster mash. you might just mean like authoritarianism i think but that kinda sucks too :( regardless you probably have much to look forward to.

Anyone who celebrates xmas in the southern hemisphere celebrates it at midsummer, basically

People who are otherwise not religious or especially not Christian putting up Christmas trees are weird.

My family does this, I participate and (usually) enjoy it, and I agree with you.

― EveningStar (Sund4r), Sunday, 13 December 2015 23:55 (Yesterday) Permalink

I like blinking lights so there.

Should only Christians eat Easter Eggs?

Christians have so much fun, yay Christians!

I thought Christmas Trees was a pagan thing, anyway.

Go on, where in the nativity does a tree have a particularly important role?

Frankincense and (I have no idea how to spell) Mhyrr come from trees

Myrrh.

But anyway,

Christians have so much fun, yay Christians!

― Anyway, it's not a three, it's a yogh. (Tom D.), Monday, 14 December 2015 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

We should adopt whatev religion affords us more time off work. Do Hindus have more holidays?

Frankincense and (I have no idea how to spell) Mhyrr come from trees

can probably add the manger to this list

the gold prob came from an alluvial deposit but you don't see too much tarted up alluvium in december; no consistency.

I wasn't raised with any religious affiliation whatsoever but my family has always celebrated X-Mas. I love the decorations and the spirit of the thing so I've maintained the celebration (with entirely secular decorations). My Jewish girlfriend was into it to a limited extent in previous years but she really pushed to kick the decorating up a notch this year. We also have a menorah. Ours is an inclusive household.

I totally get being weirded out by the pervasiveness, though, as someone who's never had any connection to the reason for the season. Butthurt Christians doubling down on their insistence that no one ever wantonly make reference to HOLIDAY festivities just makes it weirder.

it makes me uneasy when the "secular" celebrations that "everyone" does just happens to coincide with longstanding traditions explicitly associated with a specific religion (however rooted in Paganism or non-Christianity many of the traditions may be). Just because I can sing a dozen Christmas songs does not make them secular, it means that I'm the product of decades of more or less innocent indoctrination.

This is basically OTM. I don't find it that odd when non-believers who have a Christian background celebrate Christmas in a secular sort of way but I think it is a bit funny that my Hindu family celebrates it, although I'm not religious at all myself. I couldn't even tell you when any Hindu holidays are. (I think Deepawali was about a month ago? I got some emails iirc.)

'secular'

While we're on Christian hegemony, Catholicism and Protestantism should not be considered different religions, at least no more so than Saivite Hinduism and Vaishnavite Hinduism.

rum romanism and rebellion imo