Funny how they all seem to enjoy the economics of CHRISTmas
but they don't want to admit it is CHRISTmas.
i wonder what's it's like to live a lie?
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Christmas is actually Christ Mass, a Mass, or religious celebration commemorating the birth of Jesus.
But this holiday has come to mean something entirely different in modern American culture. The religious ceremony came to include a family feast in England and other European countries, and later, an exchange of gifts. Observe that in Dicken's tale "A Christmas Carol", even after mean Mr Scrooge became Amazingly Kind Mr Scrooge, he did not present any gift other than a large goose to the Cratchett family. Timt Tim did not even get a new crutch, although it was indicated that at some later date, Scrooge would pay for medical treatments for the lad's crippled condition. There were no presents because presents were not yet a feature of Christmas, even in the 1870's when this tale was written.
Now, of course, Christmas has become a time for mass overconsumption and largesse. At no point did Jesus suggest that anyone celebrate his birth at all, let alone with mass gifting. He only suggested a form of ritual cannibalism at Eastertime. (This is my blood, drink in remembrance of me...this is my body, eat in remembrance of me).
There are many in the US who do not partcipate in the gifting: Jehovah's Witnesses, for example. And there are many others who choose to participate in the gifting, but reject the concept that Jesus was the Messiah, or is third (or perhaps second) part of a three-pronged Deity.
You are saying, if I do not misunderstand, that you feel that one must believe in Jesus and the whole Messiah bit on order to deserve to sit on Santa's lap, give or receive gifts, or wish one's fellow men a hearty Merry Christmas, or substitute a similar saying, such as "season's greetings" or "Happy Holidays", just because one is Jewish, Moslem, or simply a nonbeliever in the whole Jesus schtick.
But the thing is that most of what has come to be a Christmas tradition is pretty much entirely unrelated to the birth of Jesus, anyway. And trhen the meaning of Jesus birth seems a tad exaggerated here, because at the moment Jesus was born, pretty much the entire planet was entirely unaware both of the birth and the significance of said birth. I mean people carried on as they always had: they did not immediately feel the huge burden of Evil Sin lifted from their shoulders at the instant of Jesus birth, did they? No such claims are made in the Bible, so far as I have read.
The Bible only mentions the birth of an infant Deity, under unusual circumstances that probably did not seem too unusual at the moment of his birth, followed by the ostensible attempt at unsuccessful multiple homicide and failed Deicide by the wicked Herod I.
What happened is that Jesus lived in almost total anonimity until about the time of his Bar Mizrtvah, around which he ran away from his parents and astonished a few Rabbis, and then he sank back into anonimity once more, only to surface for the last 12 to 24 months of his life.
So I am not sure why you feel so annoyed by those who celebrate Christmas without recognizing Jesus as Christians do, because that has become a far lesser part of the Christmas ritual.
Maybe some should celebrate Christmas, and the rest could simply celebrate Xmas.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas, as well as a most Merry Xmas as well! Ho ! Ho! Ho!
