Opinions on Christmas (NEW Poll!)?

[Aadhiris]

Well, as you may or may not have noticed, it's December, which means that Christmas is just around the corner. But what exactly is Christmas? Well, if you've somehow been living under a rock for all your life and actually don't know what it is, according to Wikipedia, Christmas is "an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25th as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world." There's lots of different ways to celebrate Christmas across many different cultures. Some of the things we do here in the USA include decorating Christmas trees, singing Christmas carols, and exchanging gifts. There are also many myths and legendary figures surrounding Christmas, including Santa Claus and his many different variants, such as Father Christmas in England, Sinterklaas in the Netherlands, and Père Noël in France (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong about any of this).

Of course, with Christmas being celebrated all throughout the world, it begs a few questions... can people other than Christians celebrate Christmas, with how disconnected the holiday is from its origin in the modern day? When does the holiday season even start? Is Christmas even worth celebrating, or is it meaningless? Does the "Christmas spirit" actually exist? What even is the "Christmas spirit?"
Silly bonus question: Could Santa Claus ever actually exist in real life? How would the whole "living in the North Pole and delivering gifts to all the worlds' children all in one night" thing work?

• Personally, I think that nobody should be forced to celebrate Christmas if they don't want to, but everyone is able and should be allowed to celebrate it regardless of religion (especially with how it's basically just become Capitalism Day in the US). I no longer identify with any forms of Christianity and yet I still like and celebrate Christmas and the holiday season as a whole, and rarely ever think of it as Jesus's birthday or whatever.
• In my opinion, anything Christmas-related shouldn't start or even be mentioned until at least December 1st.
• I don't really think that Christmas is this #1-must-celebrate-every-year holiday, but it's fine and definitely not meaningless, and you do get lots of gifts. I hate having to "act happy" for the camera/facetime or whatever though, I'm not one who openly expresses joy and acts obnoxiously like most.

A few additional questions that I have for people that live outside of the US:
How different is your version of Christmas/the holidays from what's typically celebrated in the US? What is your favorite Christmas/holiday tradition? What's your favorite holiday song and/or movie?
(People who live in the US can answer these too, if they want!)

That's all the questions I have, now go discuss Christmas or something.

---

Welp, I'm bloody tired. Sleep debt is real, gang.

All I want for Christmas is ✨ sleeeeeep- ✨

[Wisterian Kaiserreich]

Christmas, I believe, is truly the most wonderful time of the year!

[Nikolei iz Vashingtona]

Christmas, I believe, is truly the most wonderful time of the year!

Agreed, definitely.

[Cyptopir]

Christmas isn't about about Jesus or christianity anymore, just buying things. I hereby put forward a proposal to rename it "Capitalism Day" or "Consumerism Day".

[Northern Woods]

At this point Christmas is so commercialized that it's not really a religious holiday anymore.

[Newer Puppet of Potatopelago]

Christmas is christmas-y, and is definitely celebrated too early (Please limit it until after november that's just how it makes sense)
also
uh
there's uh
yeah I forgot
crimmas is cool

[Nandaek]

Tbh, I like Christmas. All of the lights and the meals, my favourite part is probably the plastic tree decorated beyond compare, and if you’re wondering why I’m saying decorated beyond compare is because I usually slap on some cool decorations I found on eBay and see how it does because you know what they say the more the merrier

[Arelont]

Christmas isn't about about Jesus or christianity anymore, just buying things. I hereby put forward a proposal to rename it "Capitalism Day" or "Consumerism Day".

it's about spending time with family.

not capitalism.

the memories I have had on Christmas are amazing, I don't know why people think it's about buying

[Bouncepot]

I only care about the presents lol (I can't believe I'm actually touching the forums)

[Northern Woods]

Tbh, I like Christmas. All of the lights and the meals, my favourite part is probably the plastic tree decorated beyond compare, and if you’re wondering why I’m saying decorated beyond compare is because I usually slap on some cool decorations I found on eBay and see how it does because you know what they say the more the merrier

pla- plastic tree??? you monster!

[Wisterian Kaiserreich]

Christmas isn't about about Jesus or christianity anymore, just buying things. I hereby put forward a proposal to rename it "Capitalism Day" or "Consumerism Day".

Ah, the inevitable complainer.
Sure it's commercialized, but that doesn't mean that our traditions are gone.

Christmas isn't about about Jesus or christianity anymore, just buying things. I hereby put forward a proposal to rename it "Capitalism Day" or "Consumerism Day".

it's about spending time with family.

not capitalism.

the memories I have had on Christmas are amazing, I don't know why people think it's about buying

Exactly!

[Unmet Player]

Christmas isn't about about Jesus or christianity anymore, just buying things. I hereby put forward a proposal to rename it "Capitalism Day" or "Consumerism Day".

Christmas is and always will be about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the overall degradation of society doesn't change that

[Haider Abd al-Karim]

Given the current trends in Western society, I trust that Ramadan will not be the next cultural or religious tradition to be exploited for commercial gain.

[Nandaek]

Tbh, I like Christmas. All of the lights and the meals, my favourite part is probably the plastic tree decorated beyond compare, and if you’re wondering why I’m saying decorated beyond compare is because I usually slap on some cool decorations I found on eBay and see how it does because you know what they say the more the merrier

pla- plastic tree??? you monster!

Well it goes both ways, either you chop down a tree to use for like 20 days then watch it degrade and rot, or just use a plastic tree your whole life and reuse it over and over again and just don’t chuck it in the ocean.

[Kostane]

Modern Christmas is completely and utterly disconnected from its Christian beginnings. Religiously, it is supposed to be a day of preparation for the Lord's Second Coming. This is not what Christmas looks like in its modern form. It is a day for decadence and blatant commercialism. However, that is not all modern Christmas has to be. Christmas is worth celebrating (although not for the "Spirit of Christmas" --- another blatant attempt at commercialism that you should give other people material gifts to express your love). Christmas is worth celebrating because it can bring family and community together to celebrate our shared bonds. Because of this, I think that things that are Christmas-related shouldn't ever necessary start / stop. The commercialist things can start whenever but I don't think they should be considered to have anything to actually do with Christmas as a holiday. Ideally, the spirit of Christmas and actually trying to be decent people and having loved ones would be a year-round thing. In reality, that's probably not likely to happen because people are self-interested and will rarely care about other people without a reason.

As for the bonus question, no. In Physics class one time, my teacher had us calculate the speed that Santa would have to go. If I remember correctly, it would be faster than the speed of light. I'm not 100% sure --- but it was definitely too fast to go and not catch on fire in a sleigh without a roof.

[Nikolei iz Vashingtona]

Christmas isn't about about Jesus or christianity anymore, just buying things. I hereby put forward a proposal to rename it "Capitalism Day" or "Consumerism Day".

Christmas is and always will be about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the overall degradation of society doesn't change that

Even those who do not believe still have their own traditions.
Buying and consumerism are not anywhere near being the point of Christmas. It only seems that way if you just watch the commercials.

[Untecna]

I am personally a fan of the secular Christmas.

[The Huskar Social Union]

For me Christmas is mostly about spending time with my family, we all get together and have a nice meal, drink together etc and its a really fun time, look forward to it every year, same as new years. Not as fussed on presents as much as i was when i was younger, usually i just say what i want lol and appreciate getting new clothes more as ive gotten older. Couldnt give a damn about the religious aspect, never have.

[Valentine Z]

Hyper capitalized, like with a lot of the holidays. Very unfortunate though.

With that said, while I don't celebrate it (being Buddhist and all), you could say that I do appreciate it a little bit as a holiday, and to share the festivities with my other friends and all that.

I don't exactly do or expect gifts nowadays, I give presents to my circle of friends and family members on their birthdays more often than on Christmas itself.

For me Christmas is mostly about spending time with my family, we all get together and have a nice meal, drink together etc and its a really fun time, look forward to it every year, same as new years. Not as fussed on presents as much as i was when i was younger, usually i just say what i want lol and appreciate getting new clothes more as ive gotten older. Couldnt give a damn about the religious aspect, never have.

I do love that bit about presents that you said, and yeah I agree! As we grow older, I don't really need or expect gifts, just something nice at the end of the month (and year) to spend on as bonus from work and stuff like that.

I will settle for a good family dinner too, absolutely. ♥

[Mettaton-EX]

i firmly believe that there should be as many festivals with lots of lights in winter as possible

[Washington-Columbia]

Kind of appreciate Christmas for celebrations and charity for the season, and all that stuff, but it's far from my favorite holiday.

[Kostane]

Christmas is and always will be about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the overall degradation of society doesn't change that

Even those who do not believe still have their own traditions.
Buying and consumerism are not anywhere near being the point of Christmas. It only seems that way if you just watch the commercials.

Perceptions shape reality. When the media is inundated with portrayals of Christmas in a certain way, eventually trends will shift to match that. And regardless, the practice of gift-giving will always lead Christmas towards consumerism. Even if it's not the point.

[Kostane]

Hyper capitalized, like with a lot of the holidays. Very unfortunate though.

Too true... there's way too many people calling it CHRISTMAS nowadays instead of Christmas. Those who call it XMAS or XMas suffer from this problem too.

[Cyptopir]

i firmly believe that there should be as many festivals with lots of lights in winter as possible

As long as they're not flashing. My eyes can't handle that.

[Valentine Z]

Hyper capitalized, like with a lot of the holidays. Very unfortunate though.

Too true... there's way too many people calling it CHRISTMAS nowadays instead of Christmas. Those who call it XMAS or XMas suffer from this problem too.

Hah, you got me there... I appreciate a good pun.