Secular Christmas

[Ro-bear]

I know the word "Christmas" is not secular.  Neither is the word "holiday" if you're a stickler.  Nonetheless, that is what I call my solstice revelry, because my parents called it that and my changes to their observation of it have been minimal.

 

All I did was remove Jesus.

 

You'd be surprised how much Christmas is left when you leave out the annoying baby and wise men and talking animals.  Food, lights, music, tree, candy, holly. mistletoe, Santa elves, reindeer, presents, parties...one could go on and on.  We really keep Christmas at my house.  We go to a tree farm to get a tree and decorate it on Thanksgiving weekend.  We have rituals.  And a person entering my home might not even notice the absence of a manger scene or the way we handle the music: all sacred carols are instrumentals; secular Christmas songs can be either instrumental or vocal. 

 

My wife and I go to see "A Christmas Carol" at the university every year.  I take my daughters, nieces, and nephews to "Nutcracker on Ice" every year.  You can accuse me of being an atheist, but you can't call me a Scrooge.

 

Anyway, if you have read this far, you have an interest in the subject.  I'd be interested to know how you do Christmas or whatever you call it.

 

P.S.:  Umm, hello by the way.  I used to come here a lot years ago.

[TheRedneckProfessor]

I give gifts to my sons and use the holiday to reflect upon peace on earth and how i can improve myself as a person.  It is a "spritual" time for me (for lack of a better word).

[Orbit]

We have a tree, give presents, and cook good food. To me, it's a folk holiday based on winter solstice, and it's really easy to leave the religious stuff out of it.

[♦ Fuego ♦]

Some of my neighbors decorate vigorously in a secular fashion, but we tend to do nothing. No tree or ornaments since we got cats (apx 20 years now). We also decided not to travel and spend $3K going to visit family who don't really give a damn. So a quiet and probably working Christmas week for us.

 

I did think about getting large Scrooge and Grinch dolls and putting them in rocking chairs on our porch, looking out at the neighbor's decorations... Still might. I'll post pics if I do. 

[TEG]

I have already started saying “happy solstice” to people.  (“Happy Yule” sounds funny.)  Winter solstice festivals predate christianity, so enjoy that tree, the singing, the candles (to light up those long nights), the glasses of “cheer” . . . .  It’s Saturday, December 21, at 11:19 p.m. EST in case you were wondering.

[MOHO]

18 minutes ago, Fuego said:

I did think about getting large Scrooge and Grinch dolls and putting them in rocking chairs on our porch, looking out at the neighbor's decorations... Still might. I'll post pics if I do. 

Do it!

Do it!

Do it!

Do it!

[★ Citsonga ★]

4 minutes ago, TEG said:

I have already started saying “happy solstice” to people.

 

You evil, vile, terrible soldier in the war on Christmas! 

 

[MOHO]

I get the peace on Earth, good will toward men thing and would embrace it vigorously.

But, my hopelessly indoctrinated fams would drag out the "remember the TRUE meaning of Christmas!" mantra and ruin the whole thing for me.

[★ Citsonga ★]

[Ro-bear]

9 hours ago, Fuego said:

 No tree or ornaments since we got cats (apx 20 years now).

 

 

Fortunately, my current cat is not a psycho climber cat.  But she does enjoy drinking the tree water, as does my old beagle.

[buffettphan]

9 hours ago, Fuego said:

 

I did think about getting large Scrooge and Grinch dolls and putting them in rocking chairs on our porch, looking out at the neighbor's decorations... Still might. I'll post pics if I do. 

 

For many years I used to put a Grinch and an Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street under the tree or on the mantle.  They were leftover stuffed animals from my kids' childhood.  Then I switched to tropical decorations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[knightcore]

The only real reason I decorate or do Christmas stuff other than presents is my girlfriend, but even then we have a pretty non traditional tree and decorations. When I visit my family the only thing I really enjoy is the advent wreath, and for me that's more the reflection and meditation with candles as symbolism rather than preparing for Christ. Every year though I'm infinitely thankful my family wasn't like some of the missionary families we knew who put up stern and minimalist nativities instead of trees and used the whole season to beat the True Meaning Of Christmas  into everyone's brains. No presents or joy, just baby jesus.

[older]

Fortunately, wifey doesn't force me to put up the outside lights any more. No matter how you stow them away, the light fairy comes in July and tangles them up mercilessly, and blows out at least 1/4 of the bulbs. So now we're done with that. Ditto the tree. For a couple of years I had to put lights on a potted plant by the dining room window, but she's backed off on that, too. But no matter how hard I try, she won't let me sleep in late as we have to get across town to the grandkids' house. They're fundies, but they don't push it off on us and we all get along great. We watch the kids open and play with their new stuff and we eat too much.

[TEG]

12 hours ago, Citsonga said:

 

You evil, vile, terrible soldier in the war on Christmas! 

 

 

Working on it . . . .

                        PENDULUM

                           |

                           |

                           |
                           |
I hate all things          |           I’m still sort of
   christian!              |              a believer.
                           |
                          ---
                         |   |
                          ---

                      I’m over it.

[Tsathoggua9]

I've always felt that Christmas is such a big cultural event that you can make it as religious or secular as you want. Just concentrate on havin' a good time, dagnabbit!

[MOHO]

11 hours ago, older said:

Fortunately, wifey doesn't force me to put up the outside lights any more.

 

Me neither.

[Geezer]

How about Festivus for the rest of us?  Put up your Festivus Pole and celebrate.   

[★ Citsonga ★]

2 hours ago, Geezer said:

How about Festivus for the rest of us?  Put up your Festivus Pole and celebrate.   

 

 

[florduh]

I always hated the holiday season. Too many people, too much pressure and too much wasting money. That said, the food is often pretty good.

 

Management (as I call my wife) has always been a Christmas nut. We have three trees. She decorates the shit out of everything. Even though she is not the least bit religious she always puts out a manger scene because it's traditional Christmas decoration. I no longer do any outside decorating because I convinced her years ago that I was too old, had had an injury, and I would likely kill myself climbing ladders.

 

Though we're never there on Christmas Day we actually celebrate the holiday early in Key West with food, drink, food, drink, weird people, food, drink and drag queens.

 

Keep Christmas Weird!

[ConsiderTheSource]

On 12/8/2019 at 9:55 AM, MOHO said:

Do it!

Do it!

Do it!

Do it!

^^^^What MOHO said ^^^^

[★ Citsonga ★]

[★ Citsonga ★]

[Ellinas]

The Christian bunch with which I was associated contained quite a few who were disinclined to acknowledge Christmas anyway - too worldly, pagan and/or catholic, apparently.

It's never been a favourite of mine regardless of any doctrinal issue, or lack of it.  I'm fed up of Mrs E trying (and, generally, failing) to get me to go on a diet pre-Christmas just so I can over-eat for a couple of days, and then complaining that I "go on a diet over Christmas" - which actually means that I continue eating normally.  The reply:"but you've been telling me for weeks you don't want me to end up any heavier" seems not to compute, for some reason.

I put up with the decorations because she wants them.  My suggestion that they should be erected Christmas Eve and be put away on Boxing Day has never gained any favour.  They are very restrained by today's standards.

The main family Christmas tradition appears to have become listening to my Mother in Law complaining that there is so much food she finds it off-putting.  These days, I just tell her she said exactly the same thing last year and suggest she doesn't eat what she doesn't want.

In work, I make two contributions to office decorations.  I put a picture on the wall of a grumpy man in an old fashioned night shirt and night cap, with the words "Bah humbug" above and "Merry Christmas my arse" underneath.  I also put a coaster on my desk, which has the words "Happy fucking holidays" on it.

Good things about Christmas?  Someone usually gives me a bottle of whisky, a bottle of ouzo, and I get to buy some beer.  This year there maybe an added bonus.  News that my wife and I no longer attend church has begun to spread.  So far, we've received no cards from Christian contacts in other parts of the country.  If that (hopefully) continues, I can cross them off the mailing list.  I hate writing Christmas cards, so the fewer the better.

I can be quite cheerful, by the way.  Sometimes...   Honestly...!

[older]

12 hours ago, Ellinas said:

 

 

...

  I hate writing Christmas cards, so the fewer the better.

... 

 

Yes to that! Wifey insists we send out a bunch of them and she's computer illiterate so I am the one who gets stuck making them and running the addresses. But the main thing is she insists on sending cards to people because they sent one last year. But we never see these people. My theory is that they send us a card because we sent them one the year before, and we send them one because they sent us one. What a fucking vicious cycle! I can't get her to stop. And, of course, she writes up another of the horrible, cliche letters we all get about all the things we've done and people we've seen so all the folks who don't give a shit, which is most of them, can open the envelope, toss the letter, take a glance at the cliche family group photo as they bin it and mark us down to get another card next year. AARRRGGGGGHHHHH!

[older]