Christmas Time 2023

[possessor]

it's 18 celsius today where i live
i hate this goddam stupid weather

[LazyPooky]

The idea of snow at Christmas is kind of a weird, Northern European/Northern United States thing anyway. If you are a Christian, you know the star of the show was in the Middle East and there certainly wasn't any snow there at the time, or any time.

I think it's two/three different things.

The Christmas story in the Bible
Summery: Mary gave birth to Jesus and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger (see Luke 2:7). An angel appeared to nearby shepherds with “good tidings of great joy.” The angel told them the Son of God had been born, and they hurried to find their newborn Savior (see Luke 2:8–16).

The experience of the Christmas days
It's usually cold during those days if you live in the Northern hemisphere, from NY and up (USA) or Italy and up (Europe), and there is snow every few years or most of that time in the mountains like in Austria and Switzerland.

How commerce want you to see Christmas.
Santa with Reindeer flying through the sky, coming from the North pole, lot's of snow, Christmas tree, Mistletoe, Turkey, Presents, Christmas songs etc.

[chuft]

Note the Bible does not say what season Jesus was born in. The holiday ("holy day") was set in late December by the early European Church to replace the customary pagan Winter Solstice celebration. Easter is similarly calendared to replace the spring fertility festival (Easter was a Germanic fertility goddess), thus the symbology of things have to do with fertility, like eggs (obvious reproductive reference) and rabbits (who breed very rapidly) - the "Easter bunny" and "Easter eggs" obviously have nothing to do with anything in the Bible, any more than "Christmas trees" (a Germanic winter tradition) do.

[LazyPooky]

Note the Bible does not say what season Jesus was born in. The holiday ("holy day") was set in late December by the early European Church to replace the customary pagan Winter Solstice celebration. Easter is similarly calendared to replace the spring fertility festival (Easter was a Germanic fertility goddess), thus the symbology of things have to do with fertility, like eggs (obvious reproductive reference) and rabbits (who breed very rapidly) - the "Easter bunny" and "Easter eggs" obviously have nothing to do with anything in the Bible, any more than "Christmas trees" (a Germanic winter tradition) do.

Many things have been made up for all kinds of holidays, often coming from the trade to sell more products.

For Christmas, I don't know how it happened, but we celebrate Santa Claus (Sinterklaas) bringing us presents here on December 5. It may have been mixed in the US when people from the Netherlands and England were brought together centuries ago, and then mainly celebrated Christmas with Santa Claus in mind. Funny.

[chuft]

I'm not sure how and when the gift-giving became such a central feature, but it's not just Santa Claus. It applies to adults too. This O'Henry story from 1905 is rather famous about the pressure to buy an expensive present for one's partner.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gift_of_the_Magi

[GlanniMan]

I'm not sure how and when the gift-giving became such a central feature, but it's not just Santa Claus.

The origin of gift-giving came from the 3 wise men who gave Jesus the most valuable items in the land as gifts to the Son of God. These gifts were gold representing kingship, frankincense representing worship to the Lord as frankincense was used to make sacrifices to God, and myrrh representing the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[possessor]

Note the Bible does not say what season Jesus was born in. The holiday ("holy day") was set in late December by the early European Church to replace the customary pagan Winter Solstice celebration. Easter is similarly calendared to replace the spring fertility festival (Easter was a Germanic fertility goddess), thus the symbology of things have to do with fertility, like eggs (obvious reproductive reference) and rabbits (who breed very rapidly) - the "Easter bunny" and "Easter eggs" obviously have nothing to do with anything in the Bible, any more than "Christmas trees" (a Germanic winter tradition) do.

I think Easter Bunny was made for the non-Christians. It'd be annoying to have everyone celebrating THREE holidays a year and you weren't even in their religion.

I think they decided he was born near the end of the year to symbolize something new for the better (a new year is a chance to improve yourself) Because in like 20 years Jesus was gonna be saving lifes.

[LazyPooky]

Giving presents at Christmas was never a tradition here, but it came up when Europe heard about it from the US in the last century. December 5 is always the dominant day when it comes to giving presents, mostly with (young) children though. Adults tend to celebrate with presents more at Christmas these days.

Seems like it's also on Wikipedia, so who am I to argue with that 😋
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas

Sinterklaas as a source for Santa Claus
Sinterklaas is the basis for the North American figure of Santa Claus. It is often claimed that during the American War of Independence, the inhabitants of New York City, a former Dutch colonial town (New Amsterdam), reinvented their Sinterklaas tradition, as Saint Nicholas was a symbol of the city's non-English past.. etc.

[possessor]

IIIIIIIIT'S ALMOST TIIIIIIIMEEEEEEEEE

[possessor]

It's Christmas Eve where I live. We're staying at a hotel with a beautiful view next to a beach tommorow. Super excited (except for the fact it MIGHT rain which MIGHT sucked because we spent a lot on beach equipment, and we have to open our presents at 12 am so we're not late)

I'm hoping to get Die Hard & "Big Nate On The Top".

Merry Christmas to all

[possessor]

Merry Christmas! It's 12 am right now

[chuft]

Merry Christmas to you. It's 10 AM on Christmas Eve here.

[GlanniMan]

It's still Christmas Eve for me here.

[GlanniMan]

Merry Christmas Everybody!

[possessor]

Merry christmas to everyone else