I hate the Christmas season. I think it's way to commercialized. Everyone's going nuts trying to get the "hottest Christmas gift" or getting pictures with Santa and sh*t. It really annoys me. What's worse is my family. If it were just my parents, my brothers and me, Christmas would be cooler. I love my sisters, but they ruin it. They're always trying to dictate who opens what and whenever my parents (usually my dad) suggest otherwise or make things go smoother, mad tension builds and arguements ensue. We've got twenty years of Christmas on tape, so I have proof. It really annoys the piss out of me. Then comes Christmas dinner. My annoying-ass extended family comes over and cooks. My little sister and my little cousin run around like chickens with no heads. My dad, uncles, brothers, granddad and I try to find refuge from everyone. Then during dinner, I'm served food I don't like and get to have my grandmama tell me what to do in order to not be a complete failure. I just bite my lip and wait for it to be over hating every minute of it.

The moral of the story: Christmas sucks.

Christmas is a magical time for me, and there are many things I hate... Christmas shopping being on the top of the list. But, I don't know... there's just something about the time of year and all that. I love Christmas for the magical moments I find. Like at the 11pm church service when the lights are off and everyone's holding a lit candle and singing "Silent Night". And seeing the Trans-Siberian Orchestra live during the Christmas season... the two TSO shows I've been to have been the happiest nights of my life. Also, I love winter in general.

i like x-mas for the fact that im out of school... and my family has to be nicer to me then usual.... other then that... its just another day....

Growing up, my family did Christmas because we were Christians and that was what Christians did, not because it was of any meaning. My father did not do "Christmas Spirit", my mother was always stressed to the max about having my meddling and picky grandparents over for dinner (they would make rude comments about an unclean house or substandard cooking... jerks), my sister was, at first, too young, and then later too involved in gymnastics to ever be around except on the holiday itself... and that left me. And I, being close to my mother, grew up dreading the holiday.

Now that my parents are split, Christmas sucks for different reasons. Christmas with the mother and the stepfather is fine enough, but we don't have any money, really, so I always feel terrible about accepting gifts. My sister's a real killjoy, too; her distanced-from-the-family gymnastics upbringing has left her utterly incapable of really "doing" family holidays or events.

My father's Christmas is miserable, as he doesn't care for the holiday anyway and I still have to deal with the same intolerable set of grandparents. My sister, once again, brings no joy to the table. The upside to this is that my father lets me drink.

I don't hate Christmas. It's got its magical moments - I love Mannheim Steamroller music and lights down on the City Plaza. But most of the time... Bah. F**king. Humbug.

Mannheim Steamroller's pretty cool. THat's about it.

I don't love it, or hate it really, I was raised in the Holy Roman Catholic Apostolic Church pretty much most of my life. So, I was trained to love it as a kid.

I thought it was THE greatest thing on on the planet , Santa Clause and all, later I as my life and circumstances changed and the superficiality made it a little less appealing I suppose.

But, I still love the christmas songs, I was in choir so it kinda stuck.

Tonight, I will have lasagna and pie and play with the Gamecube with a couple friends. Simple.


I agree about Manheim Steamroller, but also our local guys from San Antonio Texas.... The Transiberian Orchestra. THey are awesome. Ever hear guitars sing christmas songs????

Give me TSO over Mannheim anyday...

I'm trying to, so hard to smile and have some fun these past couple of days, and it's just not working. All I see is a this frenzy of products, and I haven't heard anything or nothing at all about Jesus so far. Christmas has just become and excuse to buy and sell things, and like the rest of you, i'm utterly sick of it.

I quite like it, but I could do without the stress of it all... This crimbo has been especially tense fer me, what with the triple whammy of moving house, suddenly becomin a father an gettin a divorce thrown in fer good measure.

*sigh* Roll on January...

I understand where Righteous is coming from, what with all of the downsides of Christmas, but to me it's still more of a religious thing. I'm traditionally Christian, and I go to church on Christmas Eve etc. etc. (or I will be tonight... How coincidental... ) so I'm celebrating the birth of Christ, not the arrival of Santa Clause or anything like that. I love carols, I love the feeling of the holidays usually, but you're also right in saying how gift-focused the holidays have become.

It's unfortunate, yet it's wound up happening... The holidays are more and more stressful, and centered around material things, which was never the original intent. Of course, I'm sure I haven't even felt the full impact yet seeing as that I'm only 14 and still allowed and "excused" to not get gifts and such, so I can't say much about what I haven't felt yet.

I prefer new years eve really.. christmas means nothing to me. I'm not religious, I'm with my family all the time anyway and I dont care much for the presents/food. I've got my playstation2/dance mats early so christmas is no longer neccesary

Most christmas songs make me want to kill someone

I love christmas. I mean.... why not? Even if it is a religious festival far too commercialised, it's still a nice time. Plus, can you imagine december without it? You'd go crazy not having anything to look forward to! Roll on the mince pies!

I've been watching the History Channel do all these birth of Jesus things.

Some say he was born in November, some in April, some in May, some in December.

I remember thinking...WHO CARES!

They say the church made christmas Dec 25 so it would overlap a roman holiday of the winter solstace. Apparently that holiday has an orgy. So this way the romans could pray in chapel and then have the orgy, it was a way of getting new converts.

It makes no diference to me.

Happy Christmas people, but I answer carolers with a shotgun so don't dare try it.

You think I'm kidding about the shotgun.

I'm not

dont worry people, hes just kidding about the shotgun.

thats a cap gun.

I love Christmas...although, I'm not a Christian, so I don't celebrate that religious aspect of it. Basically for me it's just a time to eat lots of good food, spend time with my family, and give and receive presents. I still call it Christmas though. *shrug* Old habit, I suppose. There is a spiritual aspect for me as well...but it's different and I won't go into the very long and rambling explanation..lol. I'm really excited about it this year...as I am most years. I never got over that whole not being able to sleep on Christmas Eve thing. It's not as great this year as it is most years, for understandable reasons...but I'm still excited.

When I was a kid, we only spent Christmas Eve with my extended family (which was always at least a little annoying), but Christmas itself was always just for our immediate family -- and it still is (though our nearest extended family lives 300 miles away now, so no more Christmas Eves).

I love how Main Street in my town looks, with all the old shops. One thing that is always shameful is the town tree. They somehow can't ever manage to decorate it properly -- but it's something we can laugh about at least. Then there's the Twilight Parade, which is always freezing cold, but really pretty. I didn't get to go this year since I'd just gotten out of the hospital. I did get to go to Vespers though, which is the annual Christmas concert that the school choirs put on. I always see a lot of my old friends from high school that are in town for the holidays at Vespers. Somehow going to that always relaxes me. This year it was really nice.

I get kind of sick of people who constantly complain about how Christmas has become so commercial and are just a pain to be around at this time of year, then they go out and buy a ton of gifts as well! If they're so against it, why are they participating? Sheesh. I personally like giving gifts...especially when I know I've found something that the person will really love. I see nothing wrong with that.

I hate the christmas season. Since everyone in my family is Christian only officially, including me, it has no special meaning to any of us. The only 'christmas spirit' that gets into me is vodka. The whole farse seems just like any other time of year apart from the temperature and the inescapable reminders that we all have to be good happy people and get in debt for the sake of some (to most) irrelevant myth. All I see is a corporate whore-house market and the feeding frenzy of a indocrinated drones. Christmas songs (with the exception of that Darkness song) create the urge to plant a boot up the arse of the nearest person singing them, so I hide from the carol singers (no-one wants to see me get mad). And to top that off, my mum always gets stressed a couple of days before, even if she isn't hosting for the family this year.

Then again, I don't actually mind Christmas Day and Boxing Day that much. Everyone is cheery, and my mum and my aunt (they cook depending on who's turn it is to 'do' christmas) are excellent cooks. As long as the TV stays miraculously 'broken' , everything goes swimmingly. I'm not sure it's worth it though. An excuse to eat and drink unhealthy amounts and give and recieve a few presents seems like an anticlimax after a month (3 months if the shops have their way) of stress, carol singer dodging and brainwashing.

i dont like the religious aspect of it, even though it is kind of a cool story, i'm completely agnostic.

anyway, i think my favorite part about christmas is going out shopping. i get all wintery looking and wrap my neck in a rainbow scarf and get in a big sexy fleece coat and go downtown to neiman marcus and nordstrom and all those sexy glamorous places that we all love and i wander the streets carrying all my bags and being filled with holiday cheer

i'm so gay

i shot santa clause............ when i was seven

well, actualy i kicked him in the nuts and told him to take his fat a$$ back to the north pole...

i dont like christmas but i dont hate it.... hate is way to strong of a word.... i dont ike it cuz its just an excuse to waist your money on people, and then go in debt because u spend way to much.... i like getting off of skewl, and i like going to my aunts and being with my family.....*shurgs* the only thing bad about my aunts on christmas... is i have to sing... >_< every year

If you get into debt because of Christmas spending, you really might wanna consider the possibility that you need some help managing your finances.

I'm poor and Christmas shopping doesn't harm my wallet at all. I can't get some of the gifts that I really want to get for people, but that doesn't matter because I do put a lot of thought into the gifts I end up buying. I'm not going to buy someone something I really can't afford...that'd just be really bad money mangagement.

It has nothing to do with the season. People who spend money like it's nothing are likely to do that year round. So to dislike Christmas for that reason just seems a bit odd to me.

And I'm sorry, but kicking someone because they're in a Santa outfit is nothing to be proud of. Even if you were only seven. Especially if you really did curse. Those are the kind of kids who live in my building and I would love to see thrown out of here.

I lurve crimbo (and for the english amoung us, piss off i used that word well before that tossing song!) aaanyway, it turned christmas about 50 minutes ago here and i spent a considerable time bouncing about like a little 5 year old loonatic because....well its christmas, i still get a stocking to open at 3 am so i don't get really impatient and go and wake everyone else up (well my mum this year), its hard, but i'm 19 now, i've learnt to restrain myself

my mum actually suggested i come online so i would stop bouncing about the house....i think thats a first....hmm....nice

I used to enjoy Christmas to some extent. The time off was always nice and all that jazz.


And then Walmart came along.

Now I'm the Grinch. Christmas....HUMBUG!

I'm fully prepared to suffer the lynching this post might earn me.....

Christmas for me is, frankly, bulls**t. First of all, Christmas in the Christian sense is simply a holiday that the Church invented to bring non-Christians into the noose. Christ was not born in the winter. The Church needed a holiday to take over from the pagan holiday of Yule. Most of the traditions of Christmas were adapted from Yule: the feasting, the decorating of a tree, the parties, the caroling....all these things were already performed (feasting, decorating trees around your house, gatherings in homes and in fields, group singing and dancing) when the non-Christians celebrated Yule. It's the season of sloughing off the old and preparing the way for the new; when animals and plants hibernate and lose their summer growth of hair or leaves, presenting themselves pure and bare to Nature.

In other words, it was a sacred communion of people with Nature that got turned into a mass-mock-piety celebration where people can claim goodness once a year, despite spending the other 364 (or so) days mostly in self-centered pursuits.

Even more recently, Christmas has undergone a second, and much more disgusting, metamorphosis. It has long been a practice to give gifts to loved ones during the Christmas season. I'm sure it probably started as an extension of the "they've invited us to a fancy get-together; we should thank them with a present" gift, since many people only see certain friends and loved ones during the holidays. But it has escalated into a season which is centered around consumerism and greed. Commercials, billboards, and advertisements prey on people's greed and feelings of guilt to convince them to spend more. "Wouldn't Mom love this for Christmas?" "Show him how much you care by giving him this!" "Your family member is getting you something great for Christmas this year; what are you going to give them in return?" "Your parents raised you, loved you, cared for you. Thank them by buying them expensive merchandise!" It's disgusting. I know people who are so shocked by the idea that family members might not exchange gifts for Christmas that they'll call the person an a$$hole for claiming it. I know families that don't see each other all year, hardly ever call or write, and barely know the dates of their nieces' and nephews' birthdays, who get angered if those relatives don't buy them pricey gifts when they show up for Christmas. Why? "Because Christmas is when you give people presents!! What, don't they love me???"

Those are the "impersonal" reasons. My personal reasons for not giving a whit for Christmas are that Christmas is supposed to be a time for families and good friends to get together, enjoy each others' company, and relax in an environment of love and fellowship. I haven't been to a Christmas with my family in over 5 years, because my family either didn't care enough to help me get there, or outright told me I couldn't come, because I wanted to bring a significant other with me. And the Christmases I did attend....well, once I stopped being "such a darling little girl", Christmases became a time of guilt trips ("What are you getting for your relatives for Christmas? You know they always get you something!"), stress, fear ("you behave yourself around your relatives, young lady! Speak when you're spoken to! Children are to be seen, not heard!"), and depression. This year, I finally broke all ties with those members of my family, because their attitudes didn't just stop with Christmas. But it has meant that my Christmases have been spent either alone, with a significant other, or with whichever friends aren't celebrating with their families. While these can be fun, it's never really more than "Hey, we have the day off! Let's watch some movies, make a nice dinner, and say "merry christmas" to each other."

Christmas is a holiday. It gives me a day off from work. I don't begrudge anyone else their enjoyment of the holiday; I'm sure that many people really do enjoy it, or feel a real spiritual tie to it, or have great times with their families. I don't go around telling people "Bah Humbug." Just don't expect me to throw a big, cheerful "Merry Christmas!!!" and flash a toothy grin back at someone.


/rant


*sits in her pit and waits for the stones*

THANK YOU

rattgirl just worded it way way better than i ever could.

I have mixed feelings about christmas. I like some of it because I get together with my family, have time off from school, decorate the house and get a break from the winter bleahs. Every other year we've gone to Alberta to visit my moms side of the family for christmas but unfortunately we didn't get the chance to do that this year and we'll be going there for New Years. Oh well.

I hate the excess of Christmas. There's too much food, too much drink, and way too much emphasis put on buying things to make people happy. Things don't make you happy. I'm happier when I'm planning and scheming about what I want to get other people then what i'm going to get. I have to grit my teeth when present opening comes around most years. It's a very hollow, excessive and I think it damages your soul. Yeah, that sounds fruity, but if you think about it, it does.

I would be much happier with Christmas if it were more like Easter or Thanksgiving. Getting together, decorating the house, having some large chunk of meat or small animal on the table and so on. No presents. Too much stress for both the giver and the receiver...

Does anyone else really hate getting presents? They hold so much promise when they're wrapped up, and then you open them and they're always a huge disappointment. This year I asked for money, books or CDs only - specifically to avoid the disappointment.

yeah, I stopped asking for presents when I was 15. I just told everyone to give me either money, or a gift certificate to Target or Wal-Mart or something. When you're trying to get presents for people you hardly ever spend any time around, how the heck are you supposed to know what they'd love?

I "get" presents for my dad...usually either film (he's a photographer) or I make a mix cd of music because he and I like to share newly-discovered music with each other. I get presents for my significant other, although usually they're less purchased gifts and more things like a full body massage or a really really good dinner.

That's about it.

Christmas...To be honest, I like Halloween and summer better, but there is something to be said for Christmas.

I don't celebrate the Christian aspect of it (not being Christian and all...) the way the rest of my family does, but I do enjoy the food, and the tree, and giving my friends/family presents. (I like getting gifts too, but that's not as exciting for me.) I know, my celebrations seem pretty commercial, but they are really just tradition for me, as we've always ate a lot and decorated and exchanged gifts. *shrug*

Oh well. I was glad to see it come. I am glad to see it go. Bring on spring, baby...I'm freezing.

I have mixed feelings about the holiday season for various reasons. I do like some parts of it -- I love winter and cold weather, I like the way reds and greens look together, and I like it for some of the sentimental reasons. I'd like to have a more "regular christmas" this year, but I won't be able to go home to visit my family this year because I can't afford it, so I think I've been latching on to some of the christmas traditions more than usual this year. I miss having a christmas tree to look at and admire, I miss eating lefse with every meal around the holidays, I miss just spending time with some of my family and being able to see everybody. I miss the snow too, since we don't really get that here in California (not in this part of the state anyway). And I wish it were colder here too. I miss the cold. I love it when it's so cold that it hurts your lungs to breathe in the icy air, and my glasses fogging up every time I enter a building. It never gets that cold here.

What I don't like about this time of year -- consumerism runs rampant and drives everyone insane. I just can't stand how everyone decides that they must do more shopping than usual just because it's now come to the time of year known as "December." This means that I have trouble doing just my regular shopping. Yesterday was christmas eve, a big shopping day for everyone. I had just realized that we only had one garbage bag left, and then we accidentally broke our soapdish in the bathroom. We went to Target to try to pick up these minor items, but the place was a madhouse so we left without even going inside. Tried the grocery store instead, but it was just as bad there, so we ended up not accomplishing anything. And damnit, all I wanted was a frickin' soapdish and garbage bags. I just think it's ridiculous that people can be so easily trained to be at this place on this particular day to do this particular thing (it's December 24th, therefore you MUST be out shopping for your relatives! Buy buy buy!). Oh, and the other day I had to deposit a check at the bank, but our bank is practically across the street from the mall, so we had to wade through buttloads of traffic just to deposit a check at the bank. Stupid people. *grumble mumble*



I work at a Bath & Body Works store, where they constantly play the same collection of christmas songs over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over throughout the entire fucking day!!!! I swear I'm going to take my box cutter and start sawing at a customer's neck one of these days if I have to listen to anymore of that chipper crap!!!! And I can't stand when someone decides to play a classic christmas song as if it's never been done before. Like "I can make this song sound better and more innovative than it's ever been done before!" NO YOU FUCKING CAN'T!!!! Every other musician has released the same song 50 times each year, and you think you can do it better!!???

Then there's this one very bad song with a poorly done, tacky synth riff and everyone singing, "Simply! Having! A wonderful christmas time!!" over and over again, I swear I'm going to murder someone if I have to listen to that damn song one more time. grrrrrrrrrrr.

I have more to say, but I'll finish this later or something, I have to give the computer over to my sweetie now.

I'm not much for it.

ESPECIALLY this year, because I had the worst Christmas ever in my life, for a number of reasons I don't feel like sharing.

I like Christmas, I just wish it wasn't so commercialized. Some people think that if your friend doesn't get you a present, then they aren't a true friend. I don't think that is right because your friend might not have the money...

I like christmas for my kids, watching them opening their pressies is priceless.
I do agree christmas is very Commercialised now and there is a pressure to buy for other family members even if you can't afford it. Then the guilt sets in.

Hubby and I concentrate on giving our kids a great day, because for us christmas is for them.

I get the rant ... but I'd say that



aint that bad. About as close to that warm feeling as circumstances need to make it. I choose to take my luck where I find it. That's all that christmas really needs, if you weed out the contradictions and the bad vibes ...

*nods emphatically until her head practically falls off*

oh BOY do I know what you mean! Various places I've worked (grocery store, JC Penney's, mall security) have the same thing, and it's been all I could do to not go insane and start running around screaming, especially since it seems like they pick the ABSOLUTE WORST songs possible. I'm just lucky that this year I work at Jimmy Johns, and we have Muzak CDs. They sent us a Christmas CD....it was beyond horrible. We listened to it once and burned it. Every other song was a.......a TERRIBLE rock christmas song....I do mean the most sickening, stupid, trashy rock christmas songs imaginable...the other songs were mostly bad hair bands or pseudo-pop. I'm so happy that we at least get to choose which Muzak cd to play, although that's not saying much.....

...and I know exactly which song you're talking about...it should be banned from airwaves and shipped to torture chambers to make prisoners talk

Christmas for me is great....until i go home.
I love spending the days upto christmas with my friends but at home its the same as usual. mother gets stressed cooking, my stepdads just a dick as usualy, they try to install something without reading the instructions, get pissed off, then finally fix it after 3 hrs of ranting.

of course theres the guilt as well, when you dont buy for someone who buys for you, for whatever reason, and they decide your not a friend or a disgrace to the family.


christmas wouldnt be christmas without an argument or seven.

so yeah, i usually hate it, as i have to celebrate catholism as well.

but this year was great. i didnt have to go church because my mum finally decided that theres no point going as we never go during the year anyway (and she was too hungover....) and i didnt have to stay at home coz i could escape off to my sisters and actually have fun for once.

the 25th is also my birthday.
I hate it all... so much phoniness... and commercialism... hate it.

but I do like to see my family.