The True Meaning of Christmas From their earliest years, children in the West are taught that material things are created by Magic under the North Pole by cute little Elves and delivered using Flying Reindeer to their homes by a Jolly Fat Mature Male Elf named "Santa Claus". Father Christmas...A Male Authority Figure. Santa Claus will be generous and bring lots of goodies only if they are "Good Little Boys and Girls", meaning that they have obeyed all Authority Figures without question, especially by believing what they are told to believe about the way their countries and the world works. And because all these wonderful goodies are associated with the Birth of Jesus, then Jesus (God) must very much approve of wanton materialism. Why would people exchange gifts on His birthday if such practices didn't have His approval? These are potent images and ideas and emotions. And parents are very careful to make sure their children believe in them for as long as possible. Later on, when the children go to school, they are not taught anything that will really dispel this myth. They are not taught about how Industry works, the destruction to the environment it causes. They are not taught about the exploited labor here and abroad (mostly abroad) that forms the foundation of the Industrial-Capitalist system. They see images of apparently spiffy factories filled with happy workers where all these goodies appear as if by magic at the end of production lines. They are not given a real education in industrial-technology, because that would give them an accurate picture of what their lifestyle does to the world. How many people in this society with PhDs don't even know that you need a coal mine, a limestone quarry, and an iron ore mine just to begin the process of making steel? The most technologically-advanced countries on the planet are very careful to make sure that most of their citizens are utterly ignorant of technology. Isn't that just bizarre? Don't worry! All this stuff is made using Magic by cute little happy Elves living under the North Pole. Consume! Leave all that technical stuff to the specialists. It's S-O-O-O boring! And what do they see in their lives, most of them? Stuff appearing by seeming Magic in the stores. Or in the mails. Those that go to church are carefully guided away from the core teachings of Jesus, which are definitely anti-materialistic: ----------------------------------------------------------------- Lk = Luke Mt = Matthew Mr = Mark MAM'MON (Greek. from the Aramaic. mamona, "wealth"). A word that speaks of wealth (Mt 6:24; Lk 16:9,11,13. Mammon is a transliteration of the Aramaic word mamon, which means "wealth, riches," or "earthly goods." The love of which Jesus *specifically* prohibited: Modern versions have "money," "gold," and "material possessions." Jesus said that no one can serve two masters-- God and money-- at the same time. Nor can mammon (money) purchase security (Lk 12:13-21). "For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (Mt 16:26; Mr 8:36; Lk 9:25). "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? "Therefore do not worry, saying, ?What shall we eat?' or ?What shall we drink?' or ?What shall we wear?' For after all these things the peoples of the world seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." {Mt 6:24-34) And this is from the Old Testament: "Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, 'I will never leave you or forsake you.' So we can say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:5 & 6) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Christmas is the myth and ritual whereby mindless consumers are created. And psuedo-Christians who gnore most of the teachings of Jesus. Our children are, literally, brainwashed. Littlefoot
Mmmm... well I know I'll be careful not to teach Christmass that way if I ever have children... Yes, in fact Jesus' message has been completly turned upside down. Poor Jesus... he claims ''Peace, Love and Spirituality'' and the next thing you know the people are killing each other or consuming in his name!
Considering how grossly overpopulated the world is, especially with supermaterialistic middle-classers, and how many millions of deserate orphans there are, I certainly hope that if you decide to have children that you adopt deserate orphans. That being said, I am trying to imagine just how you would teach Christmas? It's about unrestrained materialism disguised as a celebration of Jesus' birthday (He never asked anyone to celebrate His birthday...). If that's not what you are into, then what's the point of celebrating Christmas at all? Why not just a Winter gathering of family and friends to enjoy each other's company and such? It's not "poor Jesus", it's poor us! Littlefoot
I agree, Christmas has lost its meaning and is simply an excuse for the commercial world to push their products on society, with the message of: if you love your children (or other people in your life), you must buy more, More, MORE to show them your love! I have told my fiance that I will not teach our children about Santa Claus the mythical figure who brings toys to good kids and coal to naughty ones. Instead, I will explain the spirit of Christmas, the story of the historical Saint Nick who provided a poor father enough money so his daughters might wed. The spirit of Christmas is not about buying and receiving material goods, but to help those who are less fortunate, who do not have the same social, material, physical, etc. advantages as we do. If that means finding toys that my child does not use (given that it is "new" condition) and giving it to a child who does not have any toys, then my child has embraced the spirit of Christmas. Christmas is not about buying material objects, but helping others who are less fortunate. Peace and love
Consider yourself lucky to live in Quebec...It seems like the only place in Canada anymore to still celebrate Christmas for what it's actually meant for. And I believe it's the only province left that you can say Merry Christmas in!