Merry Christmas!

[Paul2]

..I know people say it\'s a day to stop and appreciate your family, but I believe you should do that every day. You shouldn\'t need a special day for that...

good point being made there.  I agreed.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Thanks for proving everyones point.
I always love it when people come into cheery threads and piss all over them.


Merry Christmas all, Hope you all have safe journey\'s.

Minus the fact no one pissed on the thread. You\'re the only one complaining. I just asked if I was the only one who didn\'t celebrate it.

I\'m guessing I am the only one on the board who doesn\'t even remotely celebrate the holiday. Wife took the kids to some xmas dinner. Gonna sit at home and enjoy the peace and quiet. No presents. No dinner. It\'s great. I\'m slightly annoyed my mother in law is coming over here tomorrow, so I will go and see a movie or just put headphones on and play games all day.

Why didnt you go with your wife and children? Ok the holidays may mean nothing to you but your family does.

What kind of religion did your parents belong to?

Why didnt you go with your wife and children? Ok the holidays may mean nothing to you but your family does.

What kind of religion did your parents belong to?

My children are to young to say it means something to them. My wife knew when we met that I did not celebrate these holidays. Asking me to go with them and celebrate, would be like asking her to sit at home and not celebrate. Neither one of us should have to bend or break on what we believe or don\'t believe. My children will grow up having a choice to celebrate or not to celebrate. If they grow up and decide they want nothing to do with these holidays, I support that. If they decide they want to celebrate, I support that. I just choose not to participate in the holiday in any form or manner.

My mother was a Jehovah\'s Witness, my father did not have a religion.

Step back and think about it. My stance on this only seems odd to you, because you was raised with the holiday or at least some form of. I wasn\'t. I never had a single xmas, so for me, I am not missing anything. It doesn\'t seem odd to me. It\'s all how you\'re raised. While I\'m not a Witness now, I see no reason to start celebrating a holiday I don\'t believe in. I don\'t believe in the religious aspect or the commercial aspect of it. And as far as the "spend time with family" aspect, well, I do that all year, so I most certainly won\'t set one day aside , just because the mass population thinks I should.

It\'s about spending time with your family, not celebrating the holiday.  To not go because you don\'t believe in the holiday doesn\'t make sense.  

My wife knew when we met that I did not celebrate these holidays. Asking me to go with them and celebrate, would be like asking her to sit at home and not celebrate.

Those don\'t compare at all



Well you have since edited your post since I first commented.  Even if you spend time with your family all year and you don\'t feel the need now, that can\'t bode well to not accompany her on something like this.  As for your kids not remembering, once they are old enough to what then?

Yes they do. You saying they don\'t, is simply absurd. What is so different? Forcing me to go and celebrate something, I don\'t believe in. Forcing her to sit at home and not celebrate something?  They go together. We both have separate beliefs and we both do our own thing on these holidays.  Also, why would I go and sit at her family\'s dinner? They are not my family, yes, we\'re together, but I don\'t consider these people family. They are merely extensions of her, ones that I could go the rest of my life without seeing. If it\'s a day to spend with family, let her go and spend it with her family. It doesn\'t mean I need to be present there. I\'m not missing out on anything of importance to me. She\'s not missing out by me not going. She still gets to go, celebrate the holiday and enjoy herself.

Guess what? She got home a few hours ago. She had fun at the dinner. I had fun, watching football and enjoying the time alone. What was so wrong with this? Oh, I forget, because the mass population celebrates this holiday, everyone else should just fall in line and celebrate it, even if that person has no belief in it what so ever.  Great logic there. Celebration by force.



Did you not a read thing I posted?

I spend time with my family all year along. What makes this day so special? Don\'t say it isn\'t, otherwise we wouldn\'t have this whole "Merry Christmas" nonsense.

Well you have since edited your post since I first commented. Even if you spend time with your family all year and you don\'t feel the need now, that can\'t bode well to not accompany her on something like this. As for your kids not remembering, once they are old enough to what then?

Fuck, Boz, read man. I already said my children are going to have the choice in what they believe. I\'ll explain to them that people have different beliefs and do different things on the holidays. My children are not going to be brainwashed into believing something, simply because they are suppose to. They\'ll believe because they want to . There is a big difference. And they\'ll celebrate because they want to .

It is you that isn\'t reading......I said you have since edited your post since I first posted mine.

Once again I will state, they don\'t compare at all.  Being bitter towards the holiday is one thing but not going all together is something else.  Accompanying your wife to a gathering isn\'t forcing you to have some belief in the holiday, it\'s called being a family.

Also, I feel sorry for you and your stance on her family.  I\'m sorry you don\'t see her "extensions" as family and hopefully that somehow works out.  This probably ties hand in hand with you not going to the dinner.

Oh, and you didn\'t answer my question.  What happens when your kids are old enough to remember?





AHHHHH.  We just keep editing and having bad timing on seeing each others. I tap out.

I\'ll address these real quick, before I go to bed.

1: I\'m not "bitter towards the holiday", so please, do not put words into my mouth. I simply don\'t celebrate it. To say I am "bitter towards the holiday" totally changes the dynamic of what I\'ve said and it\'s simply not true.


2: You act as if we don\'t attend one dinner together, we are not a family. Quit putting more importance on this dinner than there is. If she doesn\'t have a problem with it and I don\'t, what exactly is your problem?

3: Even if I saw her family as family, I would not go. It just does not work that way.

4: We\'re all entitled to our beliefs and how we practice them. What exactly is the problem? She believes and celebrates and I don\'t. I instead, choose to make the most out of the entire year and act like there is nothing special about this holiday. She on the other hand, gets together and has a nice dinner with her family. Who is this hurting? No one.  It\'s not as if she didn\'t know this before we met. I was always honest and open about my beliefs and when we got serious, these are things we discussed.

5: I already addressed it, but I\'ll do it again. My children are going to be raised to believe and celebrate because they want to. Not because they\'re suppose to.  

6: It\'s not as if I\'m a grinch or something. I was also raised without birthdays, but guess what? I celebrate my daughters birthday. Why? Because I choose to, because that means something to me. My mother didn\'t celebrate mine due to religious beliefs. I celebrate my daughters due to personal beliefs. The same applies when I choose not to celebrate something.

I find it amusing how someone can be crucified around here, for simply not going along with the mass population. I didn\'t disrespect anyone. I didn\'t bash anyone. I simply wondered if I was the only one who didn\'t celebrate. Hell, turns out I\'m not the only one, but who gets all the attention ? Me, apparently. Extremely amusing.

Ohhhhh waaaaaaa.  You\'re the one spinning it with this whole "mass population following" bs.  We obviously have different views on family, though not so much religion, so we\'re not going to get anywhere.    I know I came off harsh but I\'m just picking your brain on this.  No hard feelings, Merry Christmas!  

Ohhhhh waaaaaaa.  You\'re the one spinning it with this whole "mass population following" bs.  We obviously have different views on family, though not so much religion, so we\'re not going to get anywhere.    I know I came off harsh but I\'m just picking your brain on this.  No hard feelings, Merry Christmas!  

Well, that is how it seems to me, with the "mass population". I keep hearing how I should do this and should do that, but the only reason I\'m given is because, well, I "should". It\'s like when your a child and your mother tells you NO and the reason is, "because I can".

Merry Xmas to you also and I hope you enjoy it.

No hard feelings of course. Everyone believes different things. That\'s one of the great things about us humans. I\'m grateful that I could find someone who could respect what I believe, even though she disagrees with it. That\'s extremely important to me.

[Titan]

My children are to young to say it means something to them. My wife knew when we met that I did not celebrate these holidays. Asking me to go with them and celebrate, would be like asking her to sit at home and not celebrate. Neither one of us should have to bend or break on what we believe or don\'t believe. My children will grow up having a choice to celebrate or not to celebrate. If they grow up and decide they want nothing to do with these holidays, I support that. If they decide they want to celebrate, I support that. I just choose not to participate in the holiday in any form or manner.

My mother was a Jehovah\'s Witness, my father did not have a religion.

Step back and think about it. My stance on this only seems odd to you, because you was raised with the holiday or at least some form of. I wasn\'t. I never had a single xmas, so for me, I am not missing anything. It doesn\'t seem odd to me. It\'s all how you\'re raised. While I\'m not a Witness now, I see no reason to start celebrating a holiday I don\'t believe in. I don\'t believe in the religious aspect or the commercial aspect of it. And as far as the "spend time with family" aspect, well, I do that all year, so I most certainly won\'t set one day aside , just because the mass population thinks I should.

Its hard for someone like me to understand this because it is out of my experience, and visa versa. But I do respect your view and you do have some good points. Don\'t agree with them necessarily but I do see them. Whereas you are right that we should appreciate friends and family every day, the fact is, we take them for granted every day and really don\'t think about how special the people in your life are. That\'s what the holidays to me are all about. You reflect, think on your friends and family and show them how you appreciate them that you otherwise wouldn\'t say so any other day of the year.

[GmanJoe]

My co-worker is a recovering Jehovah\'s Witness. She loves Christmas. Hates her parents for missing out on so much of the celebration that other kids enjoyed. Now her kids get to enjoy it.

For me, it\'s not just a secular holiday, it\'s a religious day as well. I\'m pretty much a nice guy all year \'round. Not everyone else is except this time of year. So I appreciate it more. They\'ll be ass holes again once the time off from work has passed.

Like Raz.

My children are to young to say it means something to them. My wife knew when we met that I did not celebrate these holidays. Asking me to go with them and celebrate, would be like asking her to sit at home and not celebrate. Neither one of us should have to bend or break on what we believe or don\'t believe. My children will grow up having a choice to celebrate or not to celebrate. If they grow up and decide they want nothing to do with these holidays, I support that. If they decide they want to celebrate, I support that. I just choose not to participate in the holiday in any form or manner.

My mother was a Jehovah\'s Witness, my father did not have a religion.

Step back and think about it. My stance on this only seems odd to you, because you was raised with the holiday or at least some form of. I wasn\'t. I never had a single xmas, so for me, I am not missing anything. It doesn\'t seem odd to me. It\'s all how you\'re raised. While I\'m not a Witness now, I see no reason to start celebrating a holiday I don\'t believe in. I don\'t believe in the religious aspect or the commercial aspect of it. And as far as the "spend time with family" aspect, well, I do that all year, so I most certainly won\'t set one day aside , just because the mass population thinks I should.

Ok then.

I just thought that since your wife went, it must mean something to her (not in a religious way) and it would have been nice if you showed her that you care to accompany her.

I understand what you are saying though. People find normal and acceptable whatever they have learned to accept.

People follow a religion because they were taught to, they follow political parties because they were taught to, they feel they belong to a nation because they were taught to, they act as they were being taught to. And once someone who has different experiences or was raised differently appears he suddenly looks like an unconventional freak. The hole social system, and human behavior is almost preprogrammed to work under a certain mold.

I didnt ask you this question though because I believe it is not normal to not celebrate the holidays and that you SHOULD and that you HAVE to attend such places. My question surrounds only you and your missus. But since you both feel differently than the rest, then you are doing fine

Hope everybody has a fun day, however you celebrate it.