Starise
 
The day is historically jaded.At one time it was a long drunken Roman orgy with human sacrifice... Then the Catholic church came along and decided to use the day for themselves calling it Christ-MASS. Then at some point the Protestants adopted it. Somehow over the years it has evolved , or maybe more accurately devolved into what it is now. A catholic saint became St Nicholas and evolved into Santa Claus...and he is the guy most kids resonate with lol. Merchants saw a money making opportunity and this was the catalyst for what Christmas has become.
 
 

Not trying to turn this into a religious debate, but historically speaking, the above italicized statement is incorrect. 
 
http://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/e031rp_PaganOrigins.html

I wouldn't say grinch, just kind of sad. I didn't bother with a tree because there is honestly nothing to put under.  Not throwing a pity party because I'm not very materialistic,  but it does feel weird at times.

I deleted a long post to just say...
 
 
BAH HUMBUG!
 
 

Mesh
Not trying to turn this into a religious debate, but historically speaking, the above italicized statement is incorrect. 
...

I claim, surrealistically speaking, that Luis is the cause of all these indignations! A picture of _____ laughing ... what kind of ______ would do that to a _________?

Mesh

Starise
 
The day is historically jaded.At one time it was a long drunken Roman orgy with human sacrifice... Then the Catholic church came along and decided to use the day for themselves calling it Christ-MASS. Then at some point the Protestants adopted it. Somehow over the years it has evolved , or maybe more accurately devolved into what it is now. A catholic saint became St Nicholas and evolved into Santa Claus...and he is the guy most kids resonate with lol. Merchants saw a money making opportunity and this was the catalyst for what Christmas has become.
 
 

Not trying to turn this into a religious debate, but historically speaking, the above italicized statement is incorrect. 
 
http://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/e031rp_PaganOrigins.html

Well the last thing I would ever want to do is get into any kind of a debate, especially with my friend Mesh....interesting info Mesh. I can certainly be wrong about how or why since I was going by the history as I read it. 
The fact that this time of year has so many holidays  can get confusing. I realize that Wikipedia isn't always correct
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas
 According to it, religious people started to use the same times that "pagans" used to honor Christs birth. This would have made sense because apparently the pagan festivals were already in place.  I can't really say how this went down exactly but I can say that a lot of things are and were happening at that same time of year. So I can see how someone might have thought the Catholics hijacked the day. 
This is the thing about history...the further back we go the harder it can be to really know how it went down, since we can only go by what we read and hope it was written correctly.
 
I personally think that some seen the day as an opportunity for their cause. You might say that they are two independent events, and this may be true, but then why is everything so intertwined? Christmas can be everything from christmas trees (pagan origins) to Santa, to Christ birth...we don't tend to separate those things. Even Christians put up trees and do all of those pagan things that everyone else does. I realize "Christians" is a blanket statement, since not all Christians do all of that. 
The fact that the time is a focus on Christ is a good thing IMHO. Yet I think  most of this is very superficial. How many 10 year olds do you know that think of Christ on Christmas morning? 
 
Man I remember Christmas and Easter when I was younger. I couldn't see past the easter eggs, candy and the gifts. The adults just want to get it all over with. If the "church" wants people to focus on Christ, then Christmas looks very counter productive to me.JMHO,YMMV...my .0000000002

I agree with a lot of what you've said there Tim......yes, the 'true' meaning has turned into something very superficial & artificial (very evident in what we see out there today).
 
I have 4 small children (9, 7, 5, & 2) and am trying to do my best to teach them about the true meaning of Christmas (of course from the Faith perspective)....and not following what the outside world is doing......a difficult task to go against current, but children are much more intelligent than we give them credit. They're very thankful/appreciative of the little things they have (like just spending time with them etc..) and understand it's not all about the gifts they get.
Anyway, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!!    

jbow
Thank you! (BTW, you have friends.. here)
 
Julien

When I said 'no family, no friends' I guess what I should have said is that I do have family and friends - I just let them do their thing and don't interfere.
Some families are nice and good to be around - and some are not.
 
But I'm not a hermit or a living-under-the-bridge kind of troll - although I must admit, I've thought about that as an attractive option at times. LOL  

Actually it has been a good Christmas. One of the best ever.
 
I guess the Grinch has come down to Whoville and become a Who...
 
AS far as where Christmas and Easter came from, I couldn't care less. It isn't what it was 3k years ago, it isn't what it was 1k years ago.. it isn't what it was 75 years ago. I refuse to mix religion and Santa Clause and in reality, unless you live alone or you really are a Grinch... you are never going to get Santa out of Christmas. Here. it is a family holiday where we get together, exchange gifts, show love for each other, and eat.
I am comfortable with it. Sometimes I let it become overwhelming but I really shouldn't. It isn't about me, it is about others.
As far as religion... that is every day or no day. I just wish people would leave other people alone about it and realize everyone has to live their own life and should be allowed that right, YMMV...
 
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
 
J

My granddaughter (pictured in my avatar, now 12, will be 13 next month) did something very unique for Christmas this year. Our church is hosting 'Safe Nights' this week. The churches in the local association rotate hosting folks who are homeless at night for a week at a time. In the morning, they feed them breakfast, they leave during the day, then return in the evening for a dinner meal and a safe place to sleep. Most of these folks are close to getting back on their feet, and some just need a place to land before getting back and moving on.
 
On Christmas Eve, and again this morning on Christmas Day, she got up at 4 am and went down to the church to help serve breakfast. She also helped pass out gifts to these folks. The church family had worked on creating blankets, got hats, scarves and gloves, plus a bunch of gift cards (in fact, we raised enough money to take these folks to a viewing of Star Wars as a special gift). My granddaughter talked to a number of these folks this morning. I can see where it has had an effect on her, most definitely for the positive.
 
No one talked her into doing this - in fact she came and told us she was going to do it. Don't know many kids that would get up that early on Christmas morning to do something other than to tear into their own gifts.
 
I am so very proud of her.

Yeah , Christmas can sure be a tough one to get through .
The external influences pressed on all the folks of this world (myself included ) sometimes feels like a well planed marketing bombardment where all the key players in the machine have on their all star jerseys with the full intent bringing their A Game out on to the field when the ball goes into play  ...
 
It is tough not to become an emotional target when it is coming in from all angles ...
Just over here trying to do the best I can and when this time of year rolls around it can kick up a lot of stuff ....
It Kicks up all the feelings of the people I miss , the people that don't want to see me ever again and the people that don' t care one way or another ...
Oh well , this has been a quiet one for me and the pooch ...I did go buy some wood and fire up the fireplace ..
When I was a boy scout I knew how to start a fire with a couple of sticks w string , a magnifying glass w the Sun , or a flint with some tinder  ..
Holly Crap . this thing brought me into the Championship Rounds of The fight when it came to starting  a fire and getting the logs to burn .It was sure nice while it lasted ...anyway it knocked me out so bad , I decided to just go with The TV Yule Log for today .lol
 
Merry Christmas  All
 
Kenny