"I am all about freedom to decide what you should or should not celebrate, but there is an ongoing trend is being forced into it, simply because family, friends and loved ones enjoy it. Now, you would think people would respect your wishes in opting out of a holiday, especially Christmas but nope, they feel the need to make you feel bad. In my case, my folks make me feel bad because of my son. They expect me to celebrate, even though it goes against everything I believe in. Even the person I love (though understanding), wants to celebrate. I know people will say, "but its tradition and not that bad..." But what don't I get a choice in the matter?

Unless you live alone or have no one, not celebrating any holiday is hard. People will put you down, make you feel guilty and do the exact opposite of what most holidays stand for. For example, Christmas is suppose to be the day of Jesus's birth. It should be celebrated by Christians, but it became a consume based holiday. So, I want to opt out... I am neither Christian or a supporter of consume based holidays, therefore don't I have an option? Well, technically yes, but that also means I have to suffer through arguments, hate, guilt because of my son and possibly being kicked out simply because of my wishes.

The thing was, I wanted to create my own traditions and possibly ;do something different. Maybe, I will take my son some place and enjoy the free day.... Or maybe allow my son his happiness, and I will go on my merry way, taking another day to do something with him. Traditions don't always have to follow the same path.

We become so absorbed with holidays, we forget the important part of anything. I look at the place I work at and question why people even bother buying things that just end up in landfills. Do anyone even think beyond the normal excitement of a present? Have we become so self absorb that we forget about all the people around us suffering? Why not take that money we will spend on gifts and do something good with it.... Even for one holiday to teach the consumerism is not our lives and what the true meaning of a holiday means? Or have we forgotten that?

But then again, I will be called stupid for even stating such a thing.

I ask Christians a lot "What would Jesus do on Christmas?" And I never get an answer. I always get some strange response like its tradition.... Well, no its greed. Maybe take the greed and do something positive with it. Give to those in need and start finding ways to help others. Maybe for one x-mas people can actually do something positive. "

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Saeyra:
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[color=chocolate]I agree you should be allowed to not celebrate it if you don't want to. I myself and my family only have a small get together of just immediate family and give each other things we really need and that don't end up in the landfill. Sometimes we give each other money instead to use it for food or what we really need. Its a pain in the ass to redecorate and do all those crazy things. We usually have christmas lights all year round in our bedroom because we think its pretty. Christmas trees take up so much space so I don't particularly like them either. I don't really care what other people do at christmas haha but my christmases are really really small because thats my choice.

I don't mind that. I just see so much in retail and what people spend and do, it kind of makes me question. As a kid, I did the same thing. Granted, I do my son stuff, my folks and my boyfriend because I do care. I don't want to make them feel bad. It's my down fall.

By the way, sorry for the spelling errors. I sent the post without fixing them. lol"[/align][/color]

Yes, I get exactly what you're saying. It is neither your boyfriend nor your family's place to tell you what to do. Last I checked, you're not a kid anymore right? As for me I think that Christmas has gotten to be too big. It's one thing to start putting up stuff in November, but to do it before even Remembrance/Veterans day (idk if your guys is the same date as us but in canada we have it on the 11th).. I think that;s fucking disrespectful as shit. Even if I never do wear a poppy. In the recent years they have put out stuff for christmas EVEN BEFORE Halloween has gone by.. Fucking stop it. Halloween was a big thing when I was kid and now people do fuck all and it pisses me off. Halloween was about fun now it's like 'oh, you might get your parents to buy you a box of chocolate' and that's about it. No one decorates, No one dresses up, shit, convenience stores don't even give you candy anymore because of the 'potential to be sued'. It's all about saving your own ass and that's sad. Where did the humanity go? That's right, it's getting replaced by robot-ism. On the positie side, I do enjoy the deals you can get at christmas. For someoen like me it's a good time to buy that one thing you've been wanting for a decent price (provided you do your research and compare prices and all that..) But when it comes to buying stuff because of 'in the moment i need that' syndrome, then there's a lot of waste. :/ .. Sorry this kinda turned into a semi-rant. x__x

I'm an atheist and I love Christmas. lol It just makes me happy to buy something special for my wife an surprise her. I can understand someone not wanting to celebrate, though. Do what makes you happy. I mean, if participating makes you miserable, and other people make you feel miserable for not participating, just pick the one that makes you the least miserable, I guess.

I'm a little late to the party, with Christmas being over and all, but can I just...
I've also gotten really sick of Christmas. I'm not Christian, and knowing the history of the traditions they've appropriated and seeing how many fake stories have been made up to cover their true meaning makes me a little nauseous. I don't wanna risk offending anyone by going on a religion-fueled rant, but there's a whole lot of "this is how we do things here" goin' around this time of year. It's ubiquitous and people don't even attempt to take others into consideration by keeping public things more secular. For all the folks I see whining about the phrase "happy holidays", I have yet to actually encounter it. You go into the local Walmart, you get told "Merry Christmas!!" while some blatantly religious music plays on the radio overhead. I never thought I'd be "one of those people", but seeing it everywhere and being accused of being a "PC-brainwashed liberal" for wanting to acknowledge that not everyone is Christian, well, it offends me. I am offended. I love Santa Claus, I love tacky sweaters, and I love lights and decorations. I even love some of the songs. I love the idea of gathering with family for a holiday dinner and exchanging gifts. But I don't love feeling like I must include beliefs I don't follow in order to have those things, especially when the parts I love about them have nothing to do with said beliefs in the first place. I also don't like how there is little to no acknowledgement of other people's holidays around this time of year. "Happy holidays" isn't covering up Christmas, it's recognizing that Christians aren't the only people who have things to celebrate during the winter months. Not only are there other religious celebrations and observances going on around that time, but some of us just want to celebrate the change of the seasons. And while I've grown pretty attached to the fun traditions that come along with the Christmas I grew up with, I do wish I could just say "no" to the parts I don't agree with without being looked down on and argued with about it.
I'd like the season more if I could spend it with people I like to be around and wasn't stuck with people who expect me to participate in their version of things, all while seeing a lot of the same happening around me everywhere I go as a reminder. It would also be nice not to feel forced into the gift-giving aspect and worrying if my presents are good enough, expensive enough, etc to be counted as participation.
It's easy to say "just don't participate", but a lot harder to follow that advice when you live with people who expect it and have nowhere else to go during that time.
and yes of course I work retail.