what is the big deal with Christmas?

I enjoy Christmas but I barely even notice it lol. So doesn't really seem like such a big deal to me. Just like all the other holidays and I guess it's just a state of mind as to whether or not you actually want to pay attention to certain themes.

I am obviously a non-believer, still I celebrate the holidays as the birth of the sun. It doesn't matter to me how others celebrate and their reasons for doing so - unless they are trouncing upon other belief systems.I don't tolerate the anger behind the insistance of the use of Merry Christmas movement at the expense of others.

If you say Merry Christmas to me I find that kind of you. But, if you get your shirt in a knot because I respond with "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings" I find that ironic; how un-Christian of you to act that way.

The whole "merry christmas" thing combined with annual freakout about Starbucks cups and "it's WAR ON CHRISTMAS" is annoying.

Like, if there IS war on Christmas, than Christmas is winning bit time and Americans should worry about it as much as they should worry about suprise military attack from Lichtenstein.

I understand how Christmas can be so annoying/upsetting to some people. It's so "in your face"--everywhere you goes there it is.

I read this somewhere and thought it good...

Don't forget that Mary and Joseph were a non-Christian middle eastern refugee family desperately looking for a safe place to stay.

I typed a lengthy reply to this off line and my computer ate it. Am going to try again.

I'm going to confess I've been all over the place regarding my feelings about Christmas. Let me start off by saying that while I was raised in a Christian faith I no longer believe what I was taught as a kid.

That said, I empathize with almost everything that's been posted in this thread.

The fact that Christmas is shoved down our throats by the media and society starting before Halloween this year annoys the snot out of me. That's just plain commercialism. Stores would find some other reason to encourage us to spend, spend, SPEND if Christmas did not exist.

While we can all choose to celebrate, or not, in whatever way suits us we are slammed with messages about what we ought to be feeling. I loved the season as a teen and young adult, but was still sad/depressed/stressed that the media showed Christmas as some Hallmark special, while the reality at our house was more like some nightmare. A friend of mine and I once decided that a "good" holiday was when no one got too drunk and no one got in a fight. Not quite what the media would have us believe it should be.

This year I find myself struggling a bit. All the messages shoved down our throats stress that this is a family holiday. I have no family left. For some reason this year I am really missing all those people who are gone. It's not depression. It's grief. Grief is a nasty b@stard who sneaks up and bites us on the butt with no warning. It is chomping on my butt this year.

On the flip side, the fact that there's no one to try and force me to do anything this holiday I get to do what I want. I put up some outside decorations after Turkey Day because I enjoy looking at them. I decorated my office at work because I wanted to. Haven't decided yet if I am going to put my tree up. I enjoy putting it up and hate taking it down, not to mention the cats try to climb it. I may compromise with a tabletop tree and try to put it where the beasts can't reach it.

A friend has invited me to her house for Christmas. Weather permitting, I plan on going. For those wondering how the weather in Florida could impact me going, it's prone to freezing here this time of year. If there is a freeze I have to stay to take care of the farm and the critters.

I just don't get why it has to be so long. It really pissed me off when I went to get a fall wreath before Thanksgiving and they were all gone and replaced with Christmas stuff... I would enjoy it a lot more if it wasn't so drawn out. I'm not religious but I celebrate it for the idea of spending time with loved ones. It just sucks that it's so commercialized too, it shouldn't be able how much money you spend. My husband and I are poor this year so we bought everyone else presents but not each other, instead of giving each other gifts we're writing notes to each other every day and will read them on Christmas. I'm honestly way happier doing this than I would be getting a bunch of stuff I don't need from him.

It's interesting to hear from others here who are also alone on Christmas.

Also, I agree with all of you about the bombardment of commercialism. I really hate going into stores and seeing all the "stuff" people don't need.

The pressure of gift-giving is pervasive. I have learned to abstain from most of it.

Christmas should be a time for family and friends to share their appreciation for each other.

I don't think people should go poor over holiday spending!

I am really valuing these contributions.

My heaart goes out to those alone or with difficult memories. I grew up despising the Holiday. I resented Christmas as a youngster. You see, my father is a minister meaning the holidays for us was about working. Oh I understood and felt the meaning of giving but I resented that Christmastime took my father away from us. I was aware other families and peers experienced joy. My mother, who was mentally and verbally abusive, doubled her efforts to be mean as my dad was not there to protect us.

Fast forward to adult and parenthood. The resentment described above turned me away from the church.

However, I was determined to make traditions of my own - baking with my son (we continue to do so even though he is an adult now), entertaining those who would be alone, volunteering, etc.

Who says your holiday needs to be of the classic Norman Rockwell kind? I say this not to look down at people experiencing difficulty rather as way to point out that it is possible to take back the holiday. I hope that some who are alone or disgruntled can find a way to make the period of December their own.

What gives me joy? Ringing sleigh bells over a Salvation Army kettle and helping in a soup kitchen.

I'm having fun with my virtual party!

Justafriend, what you said is what I came to decide for myself a few years ago. We can make the season mean what works for ourselves.

I understand the meaning but anymore, it is just another day for me. I will get pleasure out of watching my grandkids open their gifts but that is not what Christmas is about.