The What Did You Get for Christmas Thead

[Anthony]

I don't think non-religious people are consciously following a pre-Christian tradition. I think they give gifts simply because it's just the thing to do at this time of year (and I think in our society it's because of the influence of Religion). Hence "Christ" mas gift.

[RickMatz]

I got a sweater. What I wanted was a screamer.

[David Jamieson]

I got a sweater. What I wanted was a screamer.

bwahahahaha

[WinterPalm]

I don't think non-religious people are consciously following a pre-Christian tradition. I think they give gifts simply because it's just the thing to do at this time of year (and I think in our society it's because of the influence of Religion). Hence "Christ" mas gift.

Yeah, I agree.

It's also interesting how people will attach a new label to an event such as Christmas and call it a pre-christian celebration when they have no attachment to that ancient culture and no continuity with it. That said, I still think the 'holiday' has more to do with buying stuff than the actual reasons for it.

[Judge Pen]

An onkyo surround sound receiver.

[Drake]

My wife and I took a trip to Berlin in November and called it our X-Mas gift to each other. Other than that... nothin'.

[Shaolinlueb]

i um, got a gift card to the mall, which i spent on the british office series, and masters of the universe and contra 4.

[Becca]

a coffee mug from one son, a pair of ear rings from the other. About $60 worth of Sarbucks cards (4 cards totalling that amount)... and I bought myself the click-clack futon I'd been eyeing for a while when the local furnature outlet did thier after Christmas sale. It still counts as a christmas present, I think.

And, from my dad, help towing my stupid truck back to town when the water pump seized on Christmas Eve.

[MSphinx]

My wife and I took a trip to Berlin in November and called it our X-Mas gift to each other. Other than that... nothin'.

I went to Nuremberg. It was fun.

[banditshaw]

My Girl got me a Sony HD AV receiver to go with the 40'' bravia hd tv I got for myself.

I also got a PS3 with the Fifa 2008 game.
''Gonzo'' the Hunter Thompson Bio
A sweater
some shell toe adidas
a wet/dry razor.

Made out pretty good this year.

[Anthony]

"It's also interesting how people will attach a new label to an event such as Christmas and call it a pre-christian celebration when they have no attachment to that ancient culture and no continuity with it. "

Well said.


"I still think the 'holiday' has more to do with buying stuff than the actual reasons for it. "

I think so too. At least in our "consumer" society. Other cultures are not as bad but, who knows, they might be if their economies were better. But so far, I know that meaning behind it is much more popular even with young people in Europe than here- it's almost trendy. You see so many young people in chuch, even the hooligans...lol.

It's hard to detatch yourself from the insanity and celabrate in a low-key way. But the fact that the gift-returning days are almost as crazy as "Black Friday" tells you how pointless so much of it has gotten. I feel like I have nothing to say to people when they start telling me about all the people they're buying for and how much they're spending....I feel like the crazy one for not getting swept up in it.

My point with all this was that some non-religious people like point the finger at others for going along with "the opiate of the masses," when we all can sometimes blindly (without question of why) follow the customs of society. In other words, society tells you it has to be a "diamond" engagement ring, you better get a diamond. Other countries don't do the whole "diamond" thing. That's just one example.

Not that it's a bad thing to give a Mother's Day card on "Mother's Day" rather than any other day. I guess it gives us a way to organize our lives to make us stop and think of the people in our lives.

[David Jamieson]

living in melting pot societies or multicultural societies and spouting off about how christmas is just about jesus is rude. It's a holiday for everyone in north america and holding jesus above someone else as making you more spiritual or more on track is actual making you just as un-christian as a pagan.

dogmatic thinking is for dogs, not people.

[Anthony]

I don't think anyone is "spouting off," so be fair. I'm simply noticing the non-religious "I'm too smart for religion" people who "spout off" (with much bitterness and rudeness mind you) about how religious people are brainwashed, etc., who then turn around and go Christmas shopping. I find it personally amusing.

I don't have a problem with how anyone else celebrates anything (to each their own).....but, If youre one of those people who's going to tell a religious person they are blindly "going along with the herd" then look at yourself first. That's my point.

[1bad65]

It's also interesting how people will attach a new label to an event such as Christmas...

We had a family of Jehovah's Witnesses on the street I grew up on. This is exactly what they did.

[sanjuro_ronin]

We had a family of Jehovah's Witnesses on the street I grew up on. This is exactly what they did.

What exactly did they do? since JW's don't follow any Christmas tradition, the whole "jesus wasn't born in on December 25th" thing.