The Holidays

[purple rainx]

Who celebrates Hanukkah and who celebrates Christmas? How do YOU celebrate the holidays and what do they mean to you?....Justine :)

[mattyd]

I celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas: I am Protestant Christian but my ancestors\ relatives are Jewish. I observe Hanukkah in a Biblical, historic sense. I celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday (not the corrupt, Westernized money-making day that it has become, though).

In my view, Christianity is a Jewish religion, at least in a cultural sense: born from Judaism, thrived amongst and from Jews initially, and the Messiah was the promised, Jewish Messiah, Jesus, a Jew.

[happygeek]

As a pagan (Wiccan) I celebrate the Sabbat of Yule on December 21.

[jwenting]

For decades Christmas has been a time when the whole family would get together for a few days, topped with common lunch and dinner.
After my grandmother died and my sister got married that slowly got less and less, and this year for the first time ever we're not going to celebrate anything.
My mother is in hospital and we all decided we can't let my father have the added burden of organising things (and the rest of the family we live too far apart).

['Stein]

Christmas, although we celebrate it in the present-less state (well, except for a few).

I strongly feel, like Sharky said, that Christmas has become too corrupted by businesses.

As a pagan (Wiccan) I celebrate the Sabbat of Yule on December 21.

I still find that so cool/intersesting. :) (In a good way)

[jwenting]

like everything Christmas is what you make of it.
Yes, many have lost the meaning and stores have perverted it into another opportunity for people to show how much they love eachother by competing for the most outrageously expensive gifts (don't get me started about Valentine's day, where it's even worse).
But that doesn't mean you must do so. We've never done presents with Christmas, valueing company and good food much more. We're not Christians so we don't go to church, but for many that path to church is no more a religious statement than the tree in the living room anyway, they do it only because it's expected of them by their neighbours.

[mattyd]

like everything Christmas is what you make of it.
Yes, many have lost the meaning and stores have perverted it into another opportunity for people to show how much they love eachother by competing for the most outrageously expensive gifts (don't get me started about Valentine's day, where it's even worse).
But that doesn't mean you must do so. We've never done presents with Christmas, valueing company and good food much more. We're not Christians so we don't go to church, but for many that path to church is no more a religious statement than the tree in the living room anyway, they do it only because it's expected of them by their neighbours.

I love Valentine's Day (actually my fave Holiday), and, it IS what you make of it. It has never, here, been about gifts-- perhaps a lovely, homemade Valentine for my girl.

[Junyah]

I celebrate Christmas and New Year. I celebrate wit family by get togethers .. food, music, getting the kids gifts and white elephant for the adults. They I leave the family and try to celebrate alone and reflect on the past year. and then party like an animal - Mostly Dancing on new year. Oh! and Cookies .. I love the holiday season because people bake .. I love the snacks...

[mattyd]

I celebrate Christmas and New Year. I celebrate wit family by get togethers .. food, music, getting the kids gifts and white elephant for the adults. They I leave the family and try to celebrate alone and reflect on the past year. and then party like an animal - Mostly Dancing on new year. Oh! and Cookies .. I love the holiday season because people bake .. I love the snacks...

Yes, the cookies and snacks are most excellent: my family back in Ohio always had this pseudo-tradition regarding Christmas sweets to create what were called "buckeyes", actually, the name of our State tree, too. They are very rich and taste very good; some sort of amped-up peanut butter in dipped-chocolate. I believe it was some type of German recipe originally (one side of my family are German)

Buckeyes (but we had them without the stick) :cheesy: ;)
[IMG]http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/80299/2/istockphoto_80299_buckeyes.jpg[/IMG]

Regards,
Sharky_machine

[Nick Evan]

We've never done presents with Christmas

No, but I bet you did (in the past) give presents with 'sinterklaas'. It's a dutch holiday on the 5th of december, very similair to what Christmas is in America (Sinterklaas - SantaClaus get it?).

the corrupt, Westernized money-making day that it has become

Exactly

I love Valentine's Day

I don't. Thats because of : "the corrupt, Westernized money-making day that it is" :)

regards Niek

[Narue]

>Who celebrates Hanukkah and who celebrates Christmas? How do YOU
>celebrate the holidays and what do they mean to you?
I celebrate Christmas largely because I was raised to a Methodist family. However, due to my atheist leanings, the holiday really doesn't mean anything to me beyond a chance to spent time with family that I see rarely. My children will learn that the meaning of the holidays (whichever they choose to follow) is being with the people you love. Of course, if they want to add more meanings to that then I don't mind. :)

Then again, Wintereenmas is a holiday I can really get behind. :D

[jwenting]

No, but I bet you did (in the past) give presents with 'sinterklaas'. It's a dutch holiday on the 5th of december, very similair to what Christmas is in America (Sinterklaas - SantaClaus get it?).

We did, but unlike Christmas gifts it was never about showing off by trying to buy the most expensive gifts.
In fact (as it should be) all gifts were anonymous, you were not to know who provided which gift (of course the labels would often give that away).

[Junyah]

Oh! Now you're talking ... drrrrrrooooooooool! I haven't had buckeyes in 3 yrs. since my friend Kristin and Dave .. left the vallley. I used to call them reeese's on steroids but better.

[lol_hacker101]

I am Roman Catholic, but if it were my choice, we would celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas, because i am accepting of all religions... regardless of beliefs or disapprovals of my own church.

[WaltP]

I am Roman Catholic, but if it were my choice, we would celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas, because i am accepting of all religions... regardless of beliefs or disapprovals of my own church.

But what about buddhism, mithraism, druidism, paganism, LDS, bahai, etc. etc. Wouldn't you have to celebrate all of them to really be accepting? ;)

[Dani]

As a pagan (Wiccan) I celebrate the Sabbat of Yule on December 21.

So then why are you taking off on the 25th, per your moderator announcement?

[WaltP]

As a pagan (Wiccan) I celebrate the Sabbat of Yule on December 21.

So then why are you taking off on the 25th, per your moderator announcement?

1) Conformity
2) Too many to fight
3) Everyone else does...
:twisted:

[jwenting]

1) Conformity
2) Too many to fight
3) Everyone else does...
:twisted:

conformist...
#1 and #3 should be reasons to do something completely different.
#2 makes watching the astonished reactions and uncomprehending faces easier :D