What Does Christmas Mean To You?

[dw41552]

What Does Christmas Mean To You?

I will let you all go first. Besides I'm sure most of you can guess what it means to me. And please people let's all get along. If you can't find it in you to post without hostility, sarcasm, belittling, and respect, we do not want to hear from you. Just make one post about what Christmas means to you and please do not respond to anyone elses post here. Let's just let everyone share their thoughts and leave it at that. Thanks!

Merry Christmas and may God bless your new year.
Butch

[nurturetruth]

Christmas has become a "canvas" on which people project their own meaning it seems.

Some love to party or be with family. Others look inward.
Some celebrate the birth of Jesus, whom they consider the Messiah.
Others see it as time to feast with others , put up Christmas trees and lights and exchange a few presents while enjoying the secular mythology of Santa Claus. (for me: a pagan tradition)
And some experience Christmas as a time to show good will or to be grateful . Others make a "religion" of shopping while they look for bargains and sales. That is what some people live for.
There are no rights or wrongs to whatever you want to project on to the canvas and I too am very interested in hearing what Christmas means to others.

Maybe the meaning of Christmas is exactly what we're doing now.
We might not all know each other, and we might vary in our beliefs,feelings and attitudes, but this thread being posted had something to do with Christmas and brought us together so we could share what Christmas means to us. Maybe that's what Christmas is about. Bringing together people who are very different. (oh wait. that's thanksgiving! :wink:)

Whatever the case -- for ME, its about all of us getting a chance to express ourselves as we truly are and to experience JOY !

:xmashat:

Merrie Xmas!


What Does Christmas Mean To You?

I will let you all go first. Besides I'm sure most of you can guess what it means to me. And please people let's all get along. If you can't find it in you to post without hostility, sarcasm, belittling, and respect, we do not want to hear from you. Just make one post about what Christmas means to you and please do not respond to anyone elses post here. Let's just let everyone share their thoughts and leave it at that. Thanks!

Merry Christmas and may God bless your new year.
Butch

[metimeesthetics]

Christmas for me changes each year. Working in a mall for 13 years, it meant often seeing the ugly side of people as they fought for a parking space or tried to get the last Elmo:wink: It meant working 18 and 20 hour shifts for four weeks, and falling asleep at the dinner table Christmas night (literally, I fell asleep sitting up, and I never did get the gravy stain out of my shirt from my hand hitting my plate and splashing food down the front of me. Pretty hilarious, really.) It meant forcing Christmas cheer, coming in at 4am the day after Thanksgiving to do the window decor before opening at 7am. It meant the best day of year was December 24th at 6pm when the mall closed and we all immediately dropped everything and headed to Chevy's for food and margueritas.

It also meant a financial windfall that helped carry us through the lean months.

Later, after I left retail, the joy of it came back to me. It is the one time a year that I see the rest of my family. The neighborhoods are bright with lights and signs of goodwill. People are more forgiving, and generous with their time. For me it is a time of reflection; on the past year, on my hopes and dreams for the coming year, one what kind of person I have been, and what kind of person I want to be. It is an opportunity to reach out to those in my life and say "I love you" and "I appreciate you" and "My life is richer because you are a part of it".

Did I say I like the sparkly lights, candy canes and christmas carols?:yinyang:

[MsTerry]

It means doing the things, we are meant to do.
Like not working, but being together and being grateful for havin a warm place.

[Braggi]

What Does Christmas Mean To You?
...

Just finished putting all the presents under the Christmas tree.

We don't call it a solstice bush. :wink:

At the least, it's a time to treat the kids and to treat each other well. At best, it's a spiritually rich time of year in many traditions.

Merry Christmas, Butch, and to all!

-Jeff

[Zeno Swijtink]

Christmas means cooking a meal with people outside ones regular intimates, sitting together.

Symbolic for peace for the world, tolerance, love and compassion for all and everything.