What's Christmas all about

[SnailyBoy]

Whats this "Christmas Eve box" business all about?

 

The Christmas Eve box: a charming new tradition, or just another way of squeezing parents for money?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/christmas/2016/12/13/christmas-eve-box-charming-new-tradition-just-another-way-squeezing/

 

The 'inventor' of the box.

 

"Before this tradition, there wasn't really anything created for a child to build on their excitement," she says. "You would probably just make them a hot chocolate and snuggle up to a Christmas film under the blanket."

 

All I got was an advent calendar to 'build on the excitement'.

Edited December 13, 2016 by SnailyBoy

[Guest]

Whats this "Christmas Eve box" business all about?

££££££££££

[El Cid]

££££££££££

 

Who has the brightest lights, we used to just have them on our tree. Now its the trees outside, the house and blow-up Santas.

[tzijlstra]

Christmas has survived within a religious context for nearly 2,000 years. This sudden loss of faith in the late 20th and early 21st century is fairly unprecedented.

 

No it hasn't, the Christ Mass was a church service primarily for the elite, in some parts of the Christian world the poor would be handed alms on that night and that was about it. Christmas in its current shape is an amalgamation of Germanic Midwinter Solstice celebrations and an enormous amount of Victorian/romantic traditions that were mostly alien to the original Christ Mass.

 

There is an incredibly interesting book detailing all the various 'Christmas traditions' and tracing them back to their original roots, unfortunately I only have a German copy and don't think there is an English one. But if you read German it is worth a read.

[Guest]

Who has the brightest lights, we used to just have them on our tree. Now its the trees outside, the house and blow-up Santas.

The OTT outdoor light trend has always struck me as a bit of a man-brag thing. It's something to do in front of the neighbours while the polish dries on the car.

 

I think the Christmas Eve box thing is quite a nice idea. Some parents use advent calendars to get their children involved in daily Christmas preparations and traditions using, for example, inexpensive home-made craft kits: make a felt Christmas decoration; play with Christmas gingerbread biscuits and icing; read a Christmas short story; etc. It takes thought and imagination (and, of course, time, which not all parents have much of), but I reckon it's a great way of feeding children's natural excitement about Christmas.

 

For every nice idea you can guarantee that someone will spot the trend, turn it into a business opportunity, and flog it to death until it's a tacky, plasticky shadow of what it started out as.

[francypants]

The 'inventor' of the box.

 

"Before this tradition, there wasn't really anything created for a child to build on their excitement," she says. "You would probably just make them a hot chocolate and snuggle up to a Christmas film under the blanket."

 

All I got was an advent calendar to 'build on the excitement'.

 

 

Children do not need any more than this ^^^^^^ on Christmas Eve, they are excited enough already. What next ? ' The Day Before Christmas Eve

Boxes ' or ' Boxing Day Boxes ' ?

[Anna B]

Children do not need any more than this ^^^^^^ on Christmas Eve, they are excited enough already. What next ? ' The Day Before Christmas Eve

Boxes ' or ' Boxing Day Boxes ' ?

 

I thought that sounded rather nice too, (hot chocolate, a warm snuggly blanket and a Christmas film.) I also used to buy my kids new pyjamas (wrapped as a present they could open) to wear on Christmas eve, mainly to save me having to hunt through the ironing pile to find bottoms and tops that matched!

And they also had a few well worn Christmas books that they loved to read over and over throughout December.

 

I was lucky enough to be at home during my children's early years, so we did christmas cooking together and a few crafty things. But in general I think the Christmas Eve Box is unnecessary and will turn into just another marketing opportunity.

 

If you must have one, make your own.

[L00b]

To me it should be about getting your close friends and family together and have a good time and reconnect.

It's always been that to me. To this day, across the countries and the circumstances.

 

And it's always been that to my wife and her family, close and extended (who are all "typical Yorkshire", whether born, or adopted like me and my US 'stepbrother'-in-law). To this day.

 

To the point where the December social schedule gets rather mad (to ensure that we see, party with, and feed all and sundry, close friends and neighbours included). Particularly on the years we go celebrate with my family in France.

 

Our daughter is 12 year old. I'll not tell you the amount of subterfuge we go to these days, to discreetly get hold of her Santa letter (smart cookie: she suspects (we think) and so she gives us the "public list", but stashes the "Santa list" to try and disprove that he exists, in the expectation that we'll not find it and so the Santa list stuff won't be under the tree...she'll fail again this year ), and get someone to pen a Santa reply (so she doesn't clock mine or Mrs L00b's writing). Or, still smarter cookie, she knows and is just playing us a double-blind game to get more presents

 

To be clear, given the earlier sentiment in t'thread, that's the sort of stuff on her lists: sharpie colour pens, A3 sketchpad, GCSE maths-science revision book (I kid you not), fidget cube. Not exactly £££.

 

What's Christmas all about, the OP asks? Still only what you choose to make it.

 

Edited December 13, 2016 by L00b

[unbeliever]

I'd say almost any time other than this.

 

Christmas has survived within a religious context for nearly 2,000 years. This sudden loss of faith in the late 20th and early 21st century is fairly unprecedented.

 

My Grandparents who died in the 1970s were typical God fearing Victorians. There was a certainty to their belief and it was taken for granted that everyone thought like them - and most people did. Churches were full on Sundays well into the 1950s.

 

I think the Victorian era was probably the best time for social conscience as the gap between rich and poor was most noticable, and being God fearing meant that something had to be done about it. Philanthropy, social reform and trade unionism flourished to try and genuinely improve the world.

And of course the traditional Christmas that we still try to emulate began in the Victorian era, but hadn't yet reached the unchristian hedonism we see today

 

 

Hello again. I see Yaweh has poked his head up for some more bashing again.

 

Christianity wasn't practised significantly in the UK until about 1400 years ago with the mission of Augustine.

This celebration, predates the fictional character Jesus of Nazareth by millennia.

So if it's been taken from Christianity, then it's only being stolen back so all's fair and such.

I suggest that if you don't like it, you can point out the Hedonists to the Christian authorities who will no doubt be inclined to declare them witches and have them burned alive so that Yaweh can enjoy their suffering.

This is of course before condemning them to an eternity of torture for failing to spend their lives begging him to do otherwise.

[RootsBooster]

Can anyone tell me what Christmas is all about,, no one seems to know the real

Meaning anymore , most people put presents ,first the more the better food and getting <removed> to me its all got out of hand big style Christmas causes more problems than any other time off year

 

What problems does it cause?