Thursday 22 November 2012

Why I hate Christmas

I hate this cliché phrase but I'll say it anyway. It's that time of year again. The time when everywhere I go the streets are flooded with green and red decorations, ridiculously overused carols that have been sung every year for I'm sure about 100 years. stores have huge blowout sales, people everywhere wish you a "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" . The city isn't lined with Christmas. It's overflowing with it to a point of nausea. The worst part is not that I am being demanded to explain my 'unusual' behaviour in denying such a 'wonderful' holiday, but that they don't even listen to my explanation because they are too busy gaping at my choice and saying why Christmas is 'the best time of the year'
I am fed up with trying to explain my theories to sheep. So I've decided to post it on my blog instead. If they truly want to know why, I'll send them here.

My dear people who actually care:

I am an agnostic individual that likes questioning things. However, were I still the closed minded Christian I used to be, I still wouldn't celebrate this atrocity of a holiday.Why, you ask? Well here's why:

1. First of all, Christmas, despite the name, has absolutely NOTHING to do with Christianity or the birth of Jesus. Jesus's birthdate is unknown but calculated to be around spring. I know, right? shocking. In fact, Christmas isn't even mentioned in the bible. 

so then why do people do all those celebrations with the tree and the gift giving?

2. Most people don't even know what the traditions even mean.Christmas's traditions are based on several different religions. Mostly it's a knockoff Pagan holiday- The winter solstice celebration, mixed with a million different traditions. 
for example, the Christmas tree is actually a German tradition, the mistletoe comes from a Scandenavian goddess, the gift giving comes from a Roman festival called Kalends...and there are so many other traditions that we don't even know how they originated or why we do them..which brings me to point three.

3. I don't want to follow traditions for the sake of following them. I believe that everything you do should have a reasoning behind it. I don't want to end up like the allegory of the 12 monkeys (http://briankeaney.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/the-allegory-of-the-12-monkeys/), it can result in danger. We could one day we will end up killing someone every Thursday because of some ancient sacrifice that was performed to the Gods to bring rain down on our land, but now, we just do it because we were taught to and that's what's done every Thursday. Innocent lives would be destroyed due to an ancient rule that no longer applies. Sure, you might think, "Giving gifts on the 25th of December is not killing anyone." I agree, but I still think that we should do things because we believe in them, not because it's what the family has done for generations. If you are pagan and you want to celebrate the winter solstice, and decide that you like putting a tree with ornaments to remind you that spring will soon come, and maybe sing some carols about and to your pagan god, be my guest!But know why you are doing it.

4. Christmas is driven by commercialism and greed.
This holiday has just destroyed any sanctity left in the crazy holiday. Ads urge you to buy something for everyone you know. the pressure to buy, buy, buy is on. It is seen as a disgrace if you don't buy a family member or a spouse or a friend a present. I think this just proves how terribly greedy we all are. In Christmas people are urged to buy bigger and bigger. Someone who is in terrible debt goes even more in debt because of our consumerist country forcing us to think this way. I refuse to spend my money on someone because I have to, even if I truly love them, I don't want it to be a need. I want to spend my money on that person because I want to and because it comes from the heart. 

I'm not asking you to stop celebrating, I'm not telling you that it's bad. I'm just saying to look around. \
Question things. 
Always, always ask 'Why?'