How Christian is your Christmas?

grandMattie

I go to all the services - Carol, crib, midnight and definitely the Christmas morning one.
My family always used to go to them and we have all carried on.
Photos of one of my knitted cribs.

GrandMattie I've been struggling with them for years!
Retrieved them from the under stairs cupboard yesterday and started a bit more sewing up. So many fiddly bits.

grandMattie

I go to all the services - Carol, crib, midnight and definitely the Christmas morning one.
My family always used to go to them and we have all carried on.
Photos of one of my knitted cribs.

Ps Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus are finished.

My sheep looks more like a pig.

You mean like this?

What a lovely thread! Thankyou Daddima for starting it. As A Roman Catholic still I do observe Christmas as religious festival.

I read a great book last year called A History of Christmas but I can't remember the author I'm sorry.

It was a great book which demonstrated the survival of this festival and how even when it has tried to be banned in various times and places it is still a robust and popular time for families and loved ones to get together for whatever reason.

It no longer bothers me too much that is seems to have lost its original meaning for many, it is still a time of year that brings us together to remind ourselves of what is important and I think this shows in the messages here.

pascal30

jocork

The Christian aspect of Christmas is very important to me as a Christian and regular churchgoer. My DiL is a vicar so DS and family will be celebrating at church. This year I spent many weeks making a hand sewn nativity scene with characters that velcro onto a background. All the pieces have been packed up in an empty advent calendar box that once had toiletries in, so the children will open a little box every day in December. I'm hoping that this will make the Christmas story exciting for them, although some of the boxes do have a chocolate treat inside as well. Hopefully my DS and DiL will bring the story alive for them as they open up a new item each day.

This is absolutely gorgeous Jocork.. I especially like the cow and the camel..

Thank you. I enjoyed making it and hope it becomes a family heirloom to be got out every year.

grandMattie

I go to all the services - Carol, crib, midnight and definitely the Christmas morning one.
My family always used to go to them and we have all carried on.
Photos of one of my knitted cribs.

Those are fab. I can't knit so mine had to be sewn in felt.

Milliedog

The above was my comment on a post saying that there would be no Christmas if it wasn't for Jesus.....

There would be a winter festival on or about the winter solstice, even without Jesus. It would be a festival of joyousness and renewal, with the knowledge that the darkest day is over and the shorter days and spring are on their way.

Almost every main religion, Christianity, Judaeism, Islam, Hinduism and many of the so called 'pagan' religions, all celebrate the winter solstice in one way or the other.

Christian clebrations are focussed on the way people in the northern hemisphere have always celebrated the solstice with fire, with greenery, and with general jollifications and, like Christmas, was broadly centred around home, family and community. All this would happen whether the celebration was called Christmas and associated with christianity or not.

There are so many layers in how to celebrate Christmas. From our own 1950/60s nostalgia, and the magic of Santa. From much earlier, we remember the medieval hyms and traditions with the holly, ivy and decking the halls, and mulled wine. Vikings gave us mistletoe. Further north, the idea of someone coming into the home through a hole in the roof. Romans gave us the date, 25th of December, for Mithras. Winter Soltice promised the return of the sun and hope for the future. Then we have all of the Victorian re-juvination, Christmas trees, crackers, cards. We are so lucky to have the chance now to join in the winter celebrations from other cultures, and their choice to join us in ours.
May you enjoy Christmas in your own individual way.

MOnica.. great minds!

Spot on as usual MOnica 😀
I’m a humanist but love the carols and Christmas celebrations, but nothing to do with a saviour’s birth for me. I’m glad families come together at this time, but I also feel for those for whom it’s a time of sadness. It’s sad also that it’s such a commercial spend fest, which is what I do dislike.

Milliedog

@grandMattie ......I just love those knitted figures! Could you possibly send a link to the knitting patterns? TIA.

Sorry, can’t. I was sent the instructions by a WI me,her some years ago!

Santa and presents both giving them were a big part of my childhood Christmas, but we were never in any doubt that we were celebrating Jesus being born and why God became Man.

To me Christmas is primarily a Christian festival - if others want to celebrate it with no religious content, that is up to them. I would not dream of stopping them, nor of complaining if members of other faiths publicly celebrate their festivals.

When I assuredly would and have complained is if other complain about my way of celebrating Christmas, Easter and Whitsun. Live and let live is a sound principle, also with regards to religion.

Maremia

There are so many layers in how to celebrate Christmas. From our own 1950/60s nostalgia, and the magic of Santa. From much earlier, we remember the medieval hyms and traditions with the holly, ivy and decking the halls, and mulled wine. Vikings gave us mistletoe. Further north, the idea of someone coming into the home through a hole in the roof. Romans gave us the date, 25th of December, for Mithras. Winter Soltice promised the return of the sun and hope for the future. Then we have all of the Victorian re-juvination, Christmas trees, crackers, cards. We are so lucky to have the chance now to join in the winter celebrations from other cultures, and their choice to join us in ours.
May you enjoy Christmas in your own individual way.

* Exactly, Maremia!! Thank you for your comment.

Allira

grandMattie

I go to all the services - Carol, crib, midnight and definitely the Christmas morning one.
My family always used to go to them and we have all carried on.
Photos of one of my knitted cribs.

Ps Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus are finished.

My sheep looks more like a pig.

Do post a pic when it’s finished! Is it from a Jean Greenhowe pattern by any chance? I’ve made several of those, but used to sew up as I went along - too daunting a task otherwise!

Witz, I don’t remember but I don’t think so.

I'm afraid I have veered away from the church and organized religion, but am still Christian at heart. I do have a nativity scene in porcelain that in front and centre on my cabinet (no fireplace mantle), so the grandchildren have some understanding of the reason for the celebration.

Although my children were baptized and confirmed in the Catholic church, none of the grandchildren are.

Christ is definitely central in this family Christmas. To celebrate his birth with family and friends is a wonderful thing for us. We are well aware that the actual date was not accurately recorded but that December 25th is as good a date as any other. Others who prefer to celebrate it as a winter festival are perfectly free to do so and I love to see families getting together. I wouldn't dream of ridiculing their belief and I would always hope that they would respect mine.

Not christian so its not big in our day.Christmas wasn;,t a public holiday when I was wee,my dad worked that day just as he did other days.New year was always the big celebration in Scotland we had all the family round a table at Hogmanay not on christmas day.We certainly never ate turkey or christmas pudding until well into the 1960's and it was Steak pie and trifle at new year,and still is traditional for many.

We are regular church going Catholics, so Christ is part of my daily life and we erect a very old, handmade crib (over 50 years old) during advent along with attendance at advent and Christmas services and masses. None of my children however practice their faith and live secular lives, believing in the American Santa and the materialism and overindulgence of the season.

It’s been all about Jesus for me at Christmas since I became a Christian over 30 years ago. The Christmas story just gets more significant to me as the years go by.

I sing in the choir at our church’s carol service and go to church on Christmas morning.

madalene

It seems unlikely to me. Is it the person replying who actually said it?
DH has just asked if that means anyone who puts lights outside their house is racist, or is it just a tree?

Somehow I don’t think Yvette Cooper would have said that.

Somehow I don’t think Yvette Cooper would have said that.

She didn't.

"Fact Check" explains.

A screenshot has been shared across the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, purporting to show an opinion article written by Yvette Cooper, headlined: “People who have Christmas trees in their living room may be far right. Please be vigilant as the festive season approaches.”

Evaluation

The screenshot is fake. Although it matches the correct typeface and the same byline image of Ms Cooper as used by The Guardian, there is no evidence it was ever published online. The image was first distributed by a social media user who has previously posted a different fake editorial article

... X, formerly Twitter...

It is really worrying that people are so ready to believe what they read on social media sites - don't bother to check the veracity of it, and further spread the misinformation until it gathers speed and then causes serious trouble.

Like the recent riots which were the result of exactly the same kind of fake news being spread around.

I did actually say that somehow I don’t think Yvette Cooper would have said that and you acknowledged that!

I don’t do X/Twitter or whatever it likes to call itself. I never have, despite being urged on this very platform on more than one occasion that I could learn something there. That was some time ago. My opinion of X/Twitter couldn’t be published and so I’ll simply say that I have no time for it.

madalene

I did actually say that somehow I don’t think Yvette Cooper would have said that and you acknowledged that!

I don’t do X/Twitter or whatever it likes to call itself. I never have, despite being urged on this very platform on more than one occasion that I could learn something there. That was some time ago. My opinion of X/Twitter couldn’t be published and so I’ll simply say that I have no time for it.

I was confirming your disbelief that YC would have said anything so archly provocative (and frankly, stupid)!

The way it was posted originally on here - slipped in like it were a truth, is what I was condemning.

As for X/Twitter, I did, but no longer do, post on or read it. I think actually I've learned far more on GN than I ever did on Twitter - about all kinds of things!

Fleurpepper

Not very- as we are not religious. Christmas was highjacked from Celtic culture, and as we live on an ancient Celtic site, this is more what I feel personally. We do have a tree, nothing Christian about this however, as said above.

Meloni in Italy has just passed a Law forcing all schools to have a traditional Nativity Scene in all schools. Does she realise Joseph and mary looked quite dark. The she was an unmarried mother- and what about the wise men?

It most probably wasn’t hijacked from Celtic, or other, culture.

Atheist historian Tim O’Neill refutes this idea on his blog, History for Atheists.
'Pagan Christmas'
historyforatheists.com/2020/12/pagan-christmas/

Excerpt:

//Classics scholars Peter Gainsford and Spencer Alexander McDaniel have both written several articles showing how almost all of the “pagan Christmas” claims … are mostly nonsense. …
'Just How Pagan is Christmas Really?'
talesoftimesforgotten.com/2019/12/08/just-how-pagan-is-christmas-really/

Given that the claim that Christmas is essentially just the Roman festival of Saturnalia rebadged, McDaniel has recently added another useful article detailing what we know about Saturnalia and highlighting that it had little influence on Christmas:
'How Was Saturnalia Celebrated in Ancient Rome?'
talesoftimesforgotten.com/2020/12/18/how-was-saturnalia-celebrated-in-ancient-rome/

This X/Twitter thread gives a shorter version:
'The annual "Christmas IS pagan" festival...'
x.com/timoneill007/status/1599181223397847040?s=46&t=VdUfE0uEBG3i5K_HhzIGqw

Tim O’Neill also writes this answer to a comment on his X thread:

//Q. How can I as a layperson know which blog or site is valid and which are just pop history (since you didn't link to an academic journal)?

A. Sources. The crappy pop history articles make assertions but don't back them up with reference to primary source material [writings from the time in question] that substantiates their claims and supports their arguments. The articles l've linked to do that.//

I like to have a Christian Christmas as I no longer prepare the traditional dinner and spend too much time in the kitchen trying to please everyone .I'm spending part of it with atheist friends though I think that the mother is a lapsed Catholic .
I've been making Christmas decorations for our church and more to do today .