Christmas and the Baby Jesus - Where's it Gone?

[The Spanish]

You could now quite easily spend the entire Christmas period in the UK and not hear any reference to the story of the birth of Jesus.

What happened to it.? Apart from people being a bit pissed up and going to midnight mass to test the Christian patience of the vicar, or attending their kids nativity, where in the media do you hear it mentioned nowadays?

Do you buy into it or is it all just Wii Fits, jumbo boxes of Heroes and Iceland Prawn Platters?

Is it now just a secular festival, as Islam becomes the true active religion of this country?

 

[Napper]

Thatchers children mate. She ruined this country and made us all the wanting little bastards we've all become

 

[Curious Orange]

You could now quite easily spend the entire Christmas period in the UK and not hear any reference to the story of the birth of Jesus.

What happened to it.? Apart from people being a bit pissed up and going to midnight mass to test the Christian patience of the vicar, or attending their kids nativity, where in the media do you hear it mentioned nowadays?

Do you buy into it or is it all just Wii Fits, jumbo boxes of Heroes and Iceland Prawn Platters?

Is it now just a secular festival, as Islam becomes the true active religion of this country?

Ah, Christmas!! Everyone's favourite pagan festival!

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

Don't see your point, isn't Christmas an adopted pagan festival, and wasn't Jesus born sometime in March?

 

[The Spanish]

Thatchers children mate. She ruined this country and made us all the wanting little bastards we've all become

Think you have a point Dougal.

 

[Mendoza]

Birth of baby Jesus =

Stuff yourself silly with huge roast dinner
Give each other loads of presents
Stick a big tree in your house and cover it with tat
Cover house with tat
Cover office with tat
Listen to rubbish novelty songs
Make kids excited about a fat bearded man in a red suit coming down a chimney
Take loads off time off work

 

[magoo]

What's more bizarre is we celebrate something that never even happened

Might as well celebrate the birth of Frodo Baggins!!

 

[sten_super]

Is it now just a secular festival, as Islam becomes the true active religion of this country?

What do you mean by 'active' religion? According to the 2001 census (there may be more recent data, but I don't know where to find it), Christians made up 71.75% of the population, while Muslims made up 3%. While I'd imagine there's been something of a shift since 2001, I don't think it's a 35% one!

The degree to which festivals are celebrated varies according to the dominant population of the area. Here in white, middle class Cambridge there is lots done about Christmas, and bugger all about anything else, certainly any festivals from any other religions. I'd imagine if you live in a Muslim-dominated area then the situation is likely to be reversed.

As Curious Orange says, it was originally a pagan festival, hijacked by the Christian faith. Is it any great surprise that it's been hijacked by the religion of our age, consumerism?

 

[Hatterlovesbrighton]

You could now quite easily spend the entire Christmas period in the UK and not hear any reference to the story of the birth of Jesus.

What happened to it.? Apart from people being a bit pissed up and going to midnight mass to test the Christian patience of the vicar, or attending their kids nativity, where in the media do you hear it mentioned nowadays?

Do you buy into it or is it all just Wii Fits, jumbo boxes of Heroes and Iceland Prawn Platters?

Is it now just a secular festival, as Islam becomes the true active religion of this country?

More and more people aren't being sucked in by religion, but they still want a time when they come together as a family and exchange gifts etc

Islam is probably more active (as a proportion of people of that background to worshipers) but I expect this will change over the next 30-50 years.

 

[The Spanish]

More and more people aren't being sucked in by religion, but they still want a time when they come together as a family and exchange gifts etc

Islam is probably more active (as a proportion of people of that background to worshipers) but I expect this will change over the next 30-50 years.

Thats what I am saying. Have we given up the ghost on the old Myrrh and Donkeys bit. Does not bother me in the slightest it is all utter bollocks anyway. But to see it all evaporate so quickly raises a few questions. Is it just Mammon that has bought us to this point?

 

[alan partridge]

What a load of bollocks.

Always plenty of religious stuff around at Christmas. Not that I'm interested in it.

Then again I guess your agen....point is slightly different

 

[The Spanish]

What a load of bollocks.

Always plenty of religious stuff around at Christmas. Not that I'm interested in it.

Then again I guess your agen....point is slightly different

Of course its not bollocks. There may be plenty of religious stuff if you are looking for it but its buried under a mountain of 'here come the girls' adverts on and the f***ing dreary Fairytale of New York (everyones favourite Christmas song zzzzzzzzzz). Dont tell me for a minute it is not far less prominent than it used to be, you cannot make a case for that that will stand up.

You guess wrong. Observations on the changing face of Christmas in this country. If I wanted to say the Muslims have ruined Christmas for the kiddies I would have said so. Don't be so suspicious. It's the Season of Goodwill you know.

 

[clapham_gull]

Of course its not bollocks. There may be plenty of religious stuff if you are looking for it but its buried under a mountain of 'here come the girls' adverts on and the f***ing dreary Fairytale of New York (everyones favourite Christmas song zzzzzzzzzz). Dont tell me for a minute it is not far less prominent than it used to be, you cannot make a case for that that will stand up.

Possibly television is the wrong place to find it......

 

[The Spanish]

Possibly television is the wrong place to find it......

Why, dont you have dozens of religious channels on your telly like I have? You can certainly find it on some of them.


Perhaps the mainstream channels and national broadcaster might not be the best place to look though, which is another thing entirely.

 

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

All for Christamas as a British cultural event just not fussed about the Christain side..... for obviouse reasons. As a British-Turkish family we celebrate the whole thing at New Year. This way my daughter gets the whole Christmas do-dah... trees, lights, presents, Xmas dinner, family... at a time of year which the Turks celebrate (they REALLY do Santa et al at New Year). Best of both worlds.

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

All for Christamas as a British cultural event just not fussed about the Christain side..... for obviouse reasons. As a British-Turkish family we celebrate the whole thing at New Year. This way my daughter gets the whole Christmas do-dah... trees, lights, presents, Xmas dinner, family... at a time of year which the Turks celebrate (they REALLY do Santa et al at New Year). Best of both worlds.

Wasn't baby Santa (St Nicholas) born in Turkey? edit: Or was that baby St George?

 

[adrian29uk]

You could now quite easily spend the entire Christmas period in the UK and not hear any reference to the story of the birth of Jesus.

What happened to it.? Apart from people being a bit pissed up and going to midnight mass to test the Christian patience of the vicar, or attending their kids nativity, where in the media do you hear it mentioned nowadays?

Do you buy into it or is it all just Wii Fits, jumbo boxes of Heroes and Iceland Prawn Platters?

Is it now just a secular festival, as Islam becomes the true active religion of this country?

Baby jesus is an actually an IPOD, PS3, XBOX 360. Your right it's all about companies making as much money as posible. Its disgusting when you think about it. I don't buy it anymore. Then once christmas day passes, they wont more money from you and everyone goes rushing to boxing day sales, I dont get it.

Last xmas I went to Italy to see family, and there they have a proper midnight mass and religious celebrations all over the christamas period.

Father Christmas is hardly mentioned. I'm not a religious person, but they seem to have priorities correct.

 

[bhaexpress]

The thing about Christmas is that it's lost it's meaning. However, for all that it's not the most important Christian Feast by a long chalk, Easter and Pentecost are far more important in the grand scheme of things.

Personally (maybe because I don't have children) I find it very tedious.

 

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

Wasn't baby Santa (St Nicholas) born in Turkey? edit: Or was that baby St George?

It was Saint Nick... just down the rosd from me ın the English republic of Didim (the only place ın Turkey where there are so many English residents they even have a seat on the local council).

 

[The Spanish]

The thing about Christmas is that it's lost it's meaning. However, for all that it's not the most important Christian Feast by a long chalk, Easter and Pentecost are far more important in the grand scheme of things.

Personally (maybe because I don't have children) I find it very tedious.

Easter being passover to all intents and purposes.