For this year, Christmas will be an hour dinner. That's it for me. Anybody that's gonna skip, or you know, just not really celebrate Christmas this year?
Also, just to add a little more substance for potential discussion, rather than several posts of "Yes" or "No", anybody else that have a gripe about Christmas?

I refer you to Foamy for my gripes... I'm one of these so called Humbuggers... The only reason I celebrate this holiday at all is for my kids... I don't feel that they should be deprived just because I don't care for what the holiday has become... Don't get me wrong, I know the Christmas Spirit still exists but it's just so rare these days that I find the holiday isn't what it's supposed to be anymore... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_YuqNMoavpA

Well, there'll be the traditional christmas eve family dinner for me tomorrow, but apart from that i there's nothing special in it for me. I even have no decorations up.

I guess i have grown old

Why scratch out Christ from the satrt of Christmas, if you don't believe in the religious event just use xmas
Can't skip it, how else would I get to the 26th of December Forever trapped on the 24th

Normal stuff, open my presents that get less and less each year, have the grandparents over, have family dinner with them - apart from my dads mum, thats just too much for us to handle on a day like that.

I am gonna pull a Batman. I haven't celebrated Christmas ever since I was eight.

In the future, I will probably try to make my own house filled with a very jolly aura, but this year? Just another day off of school.

No skipping christmas for me, my girlfriend loves it too much to let me do that. Anyway I'd miss the food

The X represents the Greek character chi, and stands for Christ.

But there's still the Solstice, Yule, Saturnella, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Festivus etc.

I never knew thats what it stood for but, thanks.
I said it because it usually accomades for people who celebrate the event but not for the religious reason.
The Catholic would say Christmas while the Atheist would say Xmas - if even recognising the event at all.

Those all sound very....Scandinavian

I'm a bit of a scrooge to be honest. The day itself is really kind of boring past 2-3pm (after dinner) and we just seem to sit around and watch boring TV.
Howwever it doesn't mean that I wont celebrate it - I just wish it was different. Things like having to wait till Christmas to open presents is just silly. They are much cheaper in January and I'd rather have things when I need them than on one day of the year.

Can't miss the food though, it makes the whole thing worth it.

I don't have a choice. Like every Christmas ever I don't have a choice to celebrate or not.

One day I'll be where I won't have to do it. No useless crap to give to people who don't care, no expensive decorations, no silly WAY too expensive food.

Relatives. Hate relatives. Hate children. Hate sleeping on the couch to make room for relatives.

The whole thing is silly. Celebrate the supposed birth of some religious figure 2,000 years ago (even though we don't know the actual supposed day) by cutting down a tree and sticking it in your living room like some crazed barbarian. Then we get to carefully, meticulously recreate baby boomer's childhoods by replaying the same few christmas songs and cartoons over and over and over again every year.

Hey Mr. Grinch! Those same old Christmas songs are all apart of the Christmas spirit you should be having! It's been a consumerist holiday for a long time now and that's something you gotta ignore or else it can spoil everything. I think giving gifts is a good thing, most of the time people forget why they give them. It's to warm the soul of the person you give them too, to see that smile on their face. But most people don't look at it that way anymore. And relatives, well sure a lot of them can be a big pain as well as the children..but you only see them so often. I just try to make the best of it, I really like to see my relatives though..even if they can be annoying. I rather have annoying relatives than none at all. Religious reasons aside (which is the MAIN reason my family celebrates it), it's all supposed to be about family getting together and seeing each other again..catching up and enjoying the company of your loved ones because you never know when they might not be there. Something you should be doing all the time of course, but that can't always happen. That and the religious reasons behind it are what made it a staple, corporations came and made it a staple you'll never get rid of because there is too much money to be made off silly (I agree with you there) people. But regardless I have fun..and wish you could have it as well.

I know how you feel, but try to look past it. I got older so I don't really get many gifts anymore, but I like giving them and I like spending time with my family celebrating something we believe in. I try to take in the non consumeristic (not a word!) parts of the seasons. The weather, the decorations, the overall feeling it brings me. To keep that alive, you gotta try to keep it inside you as well! Then it becomes a little bit less rare.


I see the family I'm going to be seeing on Christmas-eve, all the time. I see the family I'll be seeing on Christmas day a few times a year. But both sets of family (well half of them are the same from Christmas-eve) all have a different' attitude at this time of year and most of them are a lot more joyful and it's basically like a gathering you'd have every weekend..except since I see them so few times (well except my immediates) there's a lot more to talk about than if I saw them all the time. That's part of what makes it special for me too. I see my grandparents quite often..usually once a week though sometimes once every other week..but seeing them during Christmas is a bit different for a reason I can't explain. There's just a different attitude flowing.

But yeah I'll stop being a devoted fan now and don't take me too personally Steampunk I'm not trying to get on your case or anything.

X-mas isn't a Christian holiday. It's probably the most multicultural holiday out there, it takes from like 10 different religious groups everywhere from Christians to Druids and even then it also simply takes from traditions that have nothing to do with faith but rather celebrations of the middle or end (really depends on the area) of winter.

I'm atheist and I celebrate X-mas and I quite like it. I don't expect anything of anyone nor do I try to tell people to be festive but as long as you're not giving into the gift hype which is only a small part of X-mas and focus on simply celebrating the time of year with some relaxation, fun and spending time with your family, then I don't really see the harm.

There's always something that drags down any event, just try to avoid those parts of the event and indulge yourself mostly if not only in those parts of the even that you in particular enjoy.

It is still a Christian holiday, every church still has there Christmas mass, and celebrate Jesus' birth. It just isn't solely Christian, recently it has really become about giving and family which allows other people to celebrate it also.

Congrats, that's already more you've planned there than I have. And I love what you did there to the word.

No, I only celebrate this feast in a way that makes it worthy of its name jul or yule for the anglophones (and I did). My personal gripes? It's consumerist, too cheesy, all the flickering lights blind me whenever I go into a town and I hear the same songs repeated ad nauseam, it replaces the feast it should have been although some languages have not forgetten what the feast really used to be called.

I'm an atheist and don't attribute any religious belief towards anything, but I play along with the Christmas thing for the gift and completely consumerist, non-religious side... although I still have to be painfully dragged to a church for an hour for some Christmas service. The same Christmas songs and crap really need to give it a rest, though. Every year, it's nothing but Christmas songs for a month.

As an atheist, I don't celebrate or even acknowledge any of the religious side of it. I do give gifts, put up a tree and do the whole turkey dinner thing. As far as I'm concerned none of these things have anything to do with the Christian side. The tree originated from the original pagan celebration of Saturnalia, presents are awesome and I like turkey. That's good enough for me.

This. No need to be all high and mighty/a miserable [censored] for no good reason.

It's hard to be miserable when I have 8 days off work and enough beer in the fridge to make pre-sober Zakk Wylde weep.

if you don't believe in God fine. but how dare you take the Christ out of my Christmas.

I enjoy Christmas and the time of year in general, can't see myself ever skipping it. It's never been a religious thing for my family, we don't put up decorations and lights (haven't even put up lights this year) because we feel obligated to and all the relatives haven't been together for it since my grandparents passed away 15 years ago. Everyone just kind of does their own thing now, so that may be what's kept it bearable.

Oops.

Well then it'd really drive you crazy because I start listening to them in November! And yes, I do hear the same ones on a daily basis..but I like it that way. Then again, I listen to the radio only when in the car or when I need some music at home (isn't often) so that's probably why it doesn't drive me crazy.

I hear that.

Nope. I spent hours putting up lights on the house, tomorrow I'm going crabbing to catch Christmas eve dinner with about 30 people, then opening presents with family Christmas day, and Christmas dinner at our house with about 18 people.

Yeah pretty much this. It's nice to have everyone get together for the holidays for some fun too. Could do without most of the overplayed holiday music though.