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Old 11-02-2012, 02:45 PM   #1
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Christmas

Anyone thinking about plans for Christmas?

I do not usually celebrate, thinking about going to Area 51. It is probably a bad idea. Even on the last Saturday of the month, usually dead. It might not even be open. Everything in town closes for Christmas. I've been to another club that's supposed to be really popular and hardly anyone was there. Most people reserve the time to spend with family. If it isn't Christmas it is another holiday that coincides with the holiday, so I am extremely curious.
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Old 11-02-2012, 06:56 PM   #2
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I don't know how xmas is going to go for us, things have been a little weird between my s/o coming out and my dad dying.
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Old 11-03-2012, 04:15 AM   #3
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I'm probably going to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas and play some christmas tunes on my guitar for my family.
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Old 11-03-2012, 06:30 PM   #4
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I don't know how xmas is going to go for us, things have been a little weird between my s/o coming out and my dad dying.
Your parents didn't know you are gay? I have a cousin that just hasn't gotten married forever and everyone thinks he's gay. Oh well, I could tell you were gay from just the avatar.

Sounds fun timeless.
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Old 11-03-2012, 08:34 PM   #5
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I don't celebrate Christmas, and it upsets my family. I just don't believe in Christianity, God, etc. I also believe that most people are just selfish and want gifts and use religion as an excuse to do so.
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Old 11-04-2012, 04:24 AM   #6
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Gilgamesh: That is a bit selfish of you. Christmas doesn't nescessarily have to be about religion - despite the origins and actual meaning. I am a full-fledged atheist. I celebrate Christmas for the sake of my family.
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Old 11-04-2012, 09:31 AM   #7
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I can't sacrifice my beliefs for the sake of my family - my family is also the type that is extremely religious and are the type to tell you go to hell for disagreeing. So yes while it may be selfish (as is human nature), at least I am not being entirely ignorant. I refuse to participate in Christmas because it is based around something I do not believe in - THAT is not selfish, that is sticking to your beliefs. And I'm sorry, but Christmas is a religious holiday. To say otherwise is plain ignorance.
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Old 11-04-2012, 09:55 AM   #8
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Christmas is an amalgamation of a Roman holiday and other pagan traditions as Christianity expanded. When one converts or leave a religion, you still have a sort of religious/cultural baggage with you, and seeing that reflected in Christian traditions made pagans more likely to embrace Christianity. Saturnalia, which Christmas was originally based on, had the gift giving and was one of the few holidays all of Rome would celebrate together, it was a religious holiday but it was also a celebration of unification.

When I converted to Buddhism I thought I wouldn't celebrate Christmas, and it really hurt my family. My mother is Catholic and not the fire and brimstone kind (and now I know no Catholic can rightfully claim that you go to hell, mwahahaha) but I think now that she was concerned I wasn't only losing a religion, but losing the cultural ties that come with it. And that's why I still celebrate it now, Christmas while religious in origin is also very much a cultural phenomenon that can absolutely be celebrated without being Christian. Plus I've participated in religious holidays/ceremonies in the past that aren't Christian or Buddhist, and while I don't believe in it I really appreciated being invited into that and view it as cultural exchange.

And while gift giving may be selfish for some people (definitely for children who are too young to really buy or make anything), I know from my family we nearly kill ourselves trying to buy/make the perfect gift while we're a little loathe to say what we want because we don't want to trouble the other people. I'm reaaaally looking forward to giving mom the rosary I made her because I'm really proud of it and I hope she likes it.
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Old 11-04-2012, 10:11 AM   #9
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I understand Gilgamesh and I could spend all day thinking about reasons as to why Christmas is in ways problematic for different reasons.

But... it is a cultural thing which religions tend to engender for generations. It's not really something you have to divorce yourself from. The west's culture of individualism does allow one to experiment with establishments. So Christmas doesn't have to be religious or even traditionally cultural for Gilgamesh. It can be something totally different.

I can also see how Gilgamesh's feelings on the matter can be an expression of respect. He sees it as a religious thing and therefore does not participate in it because he's not of that religion.
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Old 11-04-2012, 11:09 AM   #10
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I can also see how Gilgamesh's feelings on the matter can be an expression of respect. He sees it as a religious thing and therefore does not participate in it because he's not of that religion.
Not necessarily, I did passover with a friend who moved from BC and had no one to celebrate with, I felt it would be way more disrespectful to say "NO OUT OF RESPECT FROM JUDAISM YOU CAN STAY HOME AND CRY".

Plus when you're from that religion originally, its not appropriation. Its in your heritage that you cannot really shed.
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Old 11-04-2012, 11:47 AM   #11
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I'mma chill with this year which is cool because I get to see my sister again and I haven't seen her for more than 24 hours in about a year and a half. Plus I don't have to pay for food which is amazeballs.
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Old 11-04-2012, 11:58 AM   #12
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Having two Christmas days this year. One with my boyfriend and his family on the 25th and then one with my family on the 26th. Double dinner!!!!!!!!!!!
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Old 11-04-2012, 01:59 PM   #13
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Not necessarily, I did passover with a friend who moved from BC and had no one to celebrate with, I felt it would be way more disrespectful to say "NO OUT OF RESPECT FROM JUDAISM YOU CAN STAY HOME AND CRY".
Well that's you. Perhaps Gilgamesh doesn't participate in religious holidays because he doesn't necessarily like to FAKE sincerity for the sake of pageantry out of respect for those that actually take it seriously.

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Plus when you're from that religion originally, its not appropriation. Its in your heritage that you cannot really shed.
Not too sure why this part is relevant, but okay.
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Old 11-04-2012, 04:39 PM   #14
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Well true, if you don't have any respect for a person or their heritage/beliefs, and fight to roll your eyes every time a contrary belief is presented, yeah its more honest to say that you can't tolerate it.
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Old 11-04-2012, 05:18 PM   #15
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I don't really do Christmas, or many other holidays.. as I tend to just think of them as arbitrary days on which people choose to think about others. I'd prefer to do that all of the time.

I celebrated Christmas last year, because I was in the US staying with my best friend.. and he wanted to get a tree and do the whole thing, which was actually a lot of fun. I think that the fun was more to do with spending it all with him than anything to do with the actual holiday.

Although, I did get to see reindeer. THAT was fascinating. He was surprised at how obsessed with them I was, but it would be like him seeing a kangaroo for the first time. Reindeer are weird.. they are sort of this strange cross between a cow/horse/goat. With antlers. Weird. Very weird.
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Old 11-04-2012, 07:29 PM   #16
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Are there no deer of any type in Australia?
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Old 11-04-2012, 08:55 PM   #17
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Well true, if you don't have any respect for a person or their heritage/beliefs, and fight to roll your eyes every time a contrary belief is presented, yeah its more honest to say that you can't tolerate it.
Saya. People CAN abstain from participating in religious practices if they don't believe in them without being petulant and they can also make it understood why they do.

Holy shit.
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Old 11-04-2012, 09:18 PM   #18
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Well that's you. Perhaps Gilgamesh doesn't participate in religious holidays because he doesn't necessarily like to FAKE sincerity for the sake of pageantry out of respect for those that actually take it seriously.
Yes, this is exactly it. My family happens to view Christmas as extremely religious and that's what Christmas is. That's how it is viewed nearly everywhere in the world. There may be other variations of it etc, but none of them fall into my beliefs. You posted the origins of Christmas - more things that I don't necessarily believe in to the full extent in which they're intended. I don't participate because I won't be something I'm not, plain and simple and I won't try and hide it. If family and friends want to get together during winter for something that's not christmas, that's fine.
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Old 11-04-2012, 09:23 PM   #19
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That's how it is viewed nearly everywhere in the world.
Nah, it isn't, bro.
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Old 11-04-2012, 09:24 PM   #20
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kay then you're the expert
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Old 11-04-2012, 09:26 PM   #21
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Are you? blacktext
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Old 11-04-2012, 09:31 PM   #22
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Yes, this is exactly it. My family happens to view Christmas as extremely religious and that's what Christmas is. That's how it is viewed nearly everywhere in the world. There may be other variations of it etc, but none of them fall into my beliefs. You posted the origins of Christmas - more things that I don't necessarily believe in to the full extent in which they're intended. I don't participate because I won't be something I'm not, plain and simple and I won't try and hide it. If family and friends want to get together during winter for something that's not christmas, that's fine.
The institution of Christmas WAS religious at one time, this is true.

But dude... Christmas HAS changed and the individualist culture has penetrated the sacred and turned Christmas into more of a secular thing.

For YOUR family, yes. It's the celebration of Jesus' birth. I can understand if you don't celebrate it with them because you're not really a spiritual person and obviously if they know that, they may find it at LEAST "unfortunate" that you don't share in the celebration of the virgin birth.

But seriously... don't make the mistake thinking that Christmas IS totally a religious holiday. It so isn't.
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Old 11-04-2012, 10:18 PM   #23
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In some parts of the world, like Japan, it is even common for devout practitioners of other religions to celebrate Christmas with Santa, reindeer, Christmas trees, gifts, and everything we may associate with Christmas except Jesus. This view of the day isn't as common in the Western world but it is starting to be embraced. Just like everything else Christmas is evolving, many people don't realize just how quickly it is happening.
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Old 11-04-2012, 10:25 PM   #24
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We have some deer here, but I'm pretty sure that they are all introduced species. The couple that I've seen haven't been as big as the reindeer that I saw, and I didn't see them as close up as I saw these.
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Old 11-04-2012, 10:36 PM   #25
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Watching deer would be fun.

The only people who can get me to celebrate Christmas are my parents. It isn't a big ordeal. They ask and let's go eat some turkey.
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