What are your views on the Holidays.

[Vibe]

So honestly what do you think of the Holidays?
For me I get a bit depressed around the holidays, because of my beliefs.
I hate that I use to adore all the lights, the spirit etc. And now I cannot get into the Holiday cheer. I try to isolate myself from all of it. I'm young why don't I like the holidays. I just hope it doesn't get worse as I get older.;)

[WashingtonBay]

Well phoooey on you ;) Bah humbug! :D. Seriously... I hope you can learn to enjoy it!

I love Christmas. You don't have to be religious to enjoy the beautiful lights and the decorations and the spirit of good will.

In years past, after losing my mom and grandma, I used to get a depressed because those women were the foundation that made Christmas happen, it seemed. Without them, much of the extended family has drifted apart, we no longer have the big multi family get-togethers at Christmas.

But it's still a good season... just different and smaller now, mostly my immediate family, brother and my dad... and my husband.

[FatSpottedAppy]

I enjoy the holidays.. I don't get as excited as I did when I was just a little, little one(5..10..), but I still really do love them. It's great to see everyone happy, excited, and cheerful. :)

This Christmas may be a little different though seeing how my Dad is in Utah and I wont be seeing him.

[Horserider]

I love the holidays. Spending time with my family, all the pretty decorations, of course the time of school and the presents.

My mom hates the holidays. I'm guessing it's the added stress of buying presents and the fact that my grandpa won't get off her back about going christmas shopping and getting the house cleaned up so we can put up his tree in our house :rolleyes:. He can get a little annoying sometimes, but if she'd just do it... Her hating the holidays usually gets me down a little bit.

[sugarsgirl]

I love the holidays. I love being able to get together with my extended family and jsut spending time with each other. And I also love to give, so its a perfect time for me to do that :)

[cheval]

I like the lights, giving gifts. Some years I'm not really in to it all. I think a lot of times it's the last big blowout of the year and a sort of reflection of the entire year. If you've had a crappy year, it might not be such a great time.

[oursarge]

I don't enjoy them like I used to. I don't know why I just don't. I have been very depressed this year but so many things have gone on that are depressing it's hard to be cheery. I have to push myself to do everything and this year it just seems worse.

One thing that bothers me is how they start putting the trees up etc. in Sept. When I was little you couldn't wait 'til Thanksgiving night because that's when they'd turn the lights on and you'd start celebrating for Christmas. It seemed like more of a build up. I just liked things better when I was younger. I guess I'm just an old Scrooge and I'll be visited by the ghosts of Christmases Past Present and Future soon!

I think it's this time of year when I miss my grandparents and Aunts & Uncles and animals who have died the most. Thanksgiving used to be a very special time, now it's just a day. I'm very happy I still have my parents and my man and the animals I have now but when my grandparents were alive it was a huge feast, grandma would make Ravioli and set up huge tables between the rooms to fit everyone. For Christmas my father's mother would have a huge village under the tree, 1/2 the furniture was moved out of the room so the village would fit. It was magical. I guess I miss all of that, I'm glad I had it but I miss it even more because it's gone and I don't even have a picture of how it used to be. I'm not sure why nobody took pictures.

[Vibe]

:( I'm sorry WB oursarge and FSA!! Yea I would love to get together with all my family(not just my immediate family.) And do something. But they are all to wrapped up in drugs and all that stuff...I just try to stay far away from them.. I love all the decorations etc.. But I think allot of people just want the money, gifts. They don't really know what Christmas is about.
Don't kill me for saying this but I don't belive in any religion so I don't think I should get gifts etc..
I see it as since I don't belive in "God" or a higher power I don't really deserve anything. I mean its a holiday all about religion right..

[cheval]

It's not really a holiday about religion anymore. I think some people still celebrate it that way - but you can celebrate it in any manner you choose. With religion or without. I celebrate it as Yule.

Make it your own thing and enjoy it that way. Your celebration of it doesn't have to be based on what others do. So you can be creative.

And you are deserving of people giving you things - even though it may not feel that way. :)

[alittleoffkey]

I think I enjoy the holidays a bit more every year. :cowboy: I absolutely adore Christmas lights (as Will can attest) and I love being around my whole family at once. As we've gotten older, it's gotten harder to get us all together at once, but the holidays are something we don't compromise on.

It's really hectic for Will and me - we go to Nana's and his Aunt's on Christmas eve, spend the night at his Mom/sister's house so we wake up Christmas morning and open presents and have breakfast with his niece, then drive to my parents' house and have Christmas with them, then to my Dad's parents' house, then usually to another of his relative's house... while we complain about the miles, we really love it. :)

I also love the spirit of 'good' that runs rampant around the holidays - I wish it was so common throughout the year, but it's just not.

[WashingtonBay]

Well, the thing about free will is you can make the holiday be about whatever you want it to be about :)

But I can see how family stress can make it a lot less meaningful, and I'm sorry. Just try to find your own joy somehow. Yes, it's a religious holiday, but I think there's a lot of ways for people to find peace in the concepts and sentiments expressed in it.

And the giving of gifts and the receiving of them... well that has very little to do with the religious aspects. It's about giving to the people that you love. I don't think it's lying to give or receive a present... that's a bit of a modern secular invention anyhow.

[cheval]

Actually the giving of presents has to do with the 3 wise men giving Jesus gifts.

[WashingtonBay]

Oh I know.... but I hardly think that's what most people are thinking... They're thinking about Santa Claus...

[Remali]

I love Christmas, with all the lights and festivities, and food. Altho I have to admit the past several years have been tough, I do still try to enjoy the holidays, but it's hard because I don't have any relatives close enough to spend the holiday with, and being alone gets old after a while, altho I've got friends to spend the holidays with if I want to, it isn't the same tho. My mom passed away right before Christmas, so that is always on my mind, but my mom would be the first one to tell me to get out and enjoy myself, so I try to do that.

I love to get in the car and drive around and look at all the decorations and lights.

[alittleoffkey]

Actually the giving of presents has to do with the 3 wise men giving Jesus gifts.

Will wanted me to add that nowhere in scripture does it actually say that there were three wisemen. It just says that wisemen came bearing gifts, and it names the three specific gifts that we're familiar with. ;) I learn all kinds of nifty things in church. :D

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.... And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew - 2:1, 11

[Vibe]

Thanks cheval and WB. You guys are right. It is hard to get into the spirit when its based on something you don't really belive in though. I think I will try to make it my own. Maybe that will cheer me up about the Holidays.

[FoxFireEMT]

The last two years for me have been exceptionally hard. I have barely had 2 pennies to rub together & the holidays always seem to make it worse. There are so many people in my life that I want to "do" for & I just can't the way I want to. That makes me mad & truly upset. I know the holidays aren't about the presents but it is on way that I enjoy sharing my appreciation for the people who are imporant in my life. Despite it all, I try to keep my head above water & do what little I can do to make it extra rememberable for me & those around me. Thankful I do not have any kids that I have to buy for at the moment because I would be even more disheartening.

[jeezitsjacki]

I enjoy the holidays. I enjoy the lights and how everyone is more festive and usually happier. Plus I love going to the nutcracker, which is around the holidays

[FoxFireEMT]

My favorite thing about the holidays is being with my friends & family that I don't get to see too often the rest of the year.

[EnglishGuy]

I like the holidays. I don't like christmas shopping because I'm just not good at it. But I like getting together with family, eating good food, and having a good time. I like the lights and stuff around town.

And I like getting presents:innocent:

[Kowgirlkate]

I like the lights, the food, movies, music, the whole atmoshere of Christmas. However, I'm an activity director in a nursing home- so I'm responsible for all the Xmas activities, decorating, and going ons- which leaves me very little energy to make a big deal of it at my house :huh:. So Xmas is rather low key and we spend it with family according to schedules. The presents are fun cuz we have kids believing in Santa (not a lie cuz I believe he's real in the sense that it's about doing for others and giving of yourself, ie the Spirit of Christmas) Plus Xmas vacation is so much fun cuz we can goof off without homework and getting up early!
What I don't care for about Xmas is the commercialism and seeing Xmas stuff out before Halloween. :mad:
And the pushy-shovey crowds. And people who sneer at whatever gift they got cuz they wanted something else.

[Vibe]

Wow I love all of your answers, I guess the Holidays aren't all about gifts, & money like I thought most people think of it as.

What you mean Santa isn't real!!! :eek:


:doh::D

[John Boy]

older you get , I see more people less happy and consider it another day. :nono:

Today I was in the woods to get one of the special needs tree's.

It will be up till April 1st on the deck.

Happiness is a priority with any holiday ! :)

[WashingtonBay]

What you mean Santa isn't real!!! :eek:


:doh::D

Of course... he still comes to our house - and we haven't had a kid in it for 20 years :)

[starkitten]

I'm not super religious or anything like that. I used to be a big bah humbug around Christmas (my family called me Mr Scrooge forever ;) ) but as I have gotten older it is a wonderful time of year. I get to spend time with family whom I don't see as often as I used to :)

[Fjords <3]

Dont want to put a damper on your holiday spirit, everyone, but this is my POV.

I dont celebrate any holidays and frankly, I really dislike this time of year. In school, everyone is planning christmas parties or new years eve parties, exchanging presents, teachers are planning class christmas parties before break, assigning christmas related projects, and I cant be a part of any of it. I'm so relieved when January 2nd comes around. We stay up late New Years Eve to watch the ball drop and the performances, but we just do that as a family. At midnight, we go to bed. Sometimes I wish I celebrated the holidays, but mostly I think that it just stresses everyone out. Supposedly Christmas is supposed to be a celebration of Jesus' birth, but why arent we giving him gifts? And no one really remembers that its about Jesus; they just think of it as a time to get things for themselves. All the stress of Christmas shopping is just too much, I think. I like to take advantage of the deals, but especially after what happened to that Walmart clerk, shopping this time of year is dangerous.

[zoel_222]

I'm an athiest and I love Christmas. Giving/getting presents, good food and decking my house out in lights..... actually my the only decoration on the outside is a big ol peace sign. :D you don't need to be religious to enjoy the holidays. I think it's just about having fun, nowadays. But if you enjoy Jesus, more power to ya.

[Horserider]

YouTube - Taylor Swift - Christmas Must Be Something More

That's an awesome song for Christmas. I've really been wanting to share it for a while.

[horselvr2478]

I love the way people decorate during this time.. There is no other time of the year that has beautifull decoration...

This has always been my time of year not only is it my birthday. But I get to celebrate it with 5 other wonderfull people. I love receiving,But most of all I love giving..

This year is a little different for everyone. Freshly threw a divorce living with a great man I have to work everyday except that day. And that Sunday they go to Colorado for a week.

Cowboyup3371 got to have an early xmas present only because this one I couldnt wrap up.. My kids bought him a Betta fish and bowl..

Me Im going nuts over a gold Kay jewelers Bag in our bedroom on his dresser he says is for my bday...