According to my favourite firewood rhyme, you want a big honkin’ lump of beech.
Man, am I the only one here who doesn’t like christmas? (I didn’t read all the responses, I confess)
I’m an atheist, but that probably has little to do with why I hate christmas.
The main part why I dislike christmas is that you can’t escape from it. For over a month all you get on tv and on the radio, is santa claus, jingle bells, and other stupid christmas songs.
To make it worse, every store starts putting up christmas decorations far too early. oh, and of course, they too play that dreadful christmas music, making every shopping session a nightmare.
And go shopping you must, for all those christmas presents you simply MUST buy, even though nobody ever really want (and certainly don’t need) what they get.
This is all topped off with that (extremely) nice dinner with family and relatives (most of whom you don’t like), where everybody must act like christmas eve is simply THE nicest day of all, and if you don’t agree, you’re simply not trying hard enough.
On the bright side, I like the pickled herring.
Oh, and the Must (a type of soda).
Allright, sorry about all that, carry on.
ATW*, another name for Yule log is Great Ashen Faggot.
*According To Wiki
I LOVE Christmas. 3 weeks out of school, lovely Christmas music playing everywhere you go, cookies, eggnog, Christmas tree, getting presents for everyone, receiving your own presents, magnificent cold weather…
Yeah, I love Christmas.
What he said.
I would never shop at a year-round xmas store, but sure I like Christmas. I like Passover too, and other unprouncable Jewish holidays my friends invite me to and Chrismukkah, and Solstice, and whatever other holidays anyone cares to invite me to.
Atheist here, though (like Dawkins), I’m a cultural Christian. I watch Rudolf/Scrooge/34th Street every year, put up a pathetic excuse for a tree, the whole nine yards. I just don’t include any religious iconography. I send out Christmas cards (past two years they have been homemade), drink eggnog, all that stuff.
In fact, I really only see family once per year, and it is almost always on Christmas.
No. I would if I could somehow make it feel like the Christmases I had as a kid, but that’s never going to happen.
I don’t care about the religio-centric nature of Christmas, because it’s virtually invisible down here anyway. But I do dislike the Winter-centric nature of it, when it is summer down here. Very few places do you see any attempt to reconcile that, and it disappoints me.
Thirded.
I love Christmas because I get to spend time with my family and give gifts. The whole “Jesus is the reason for the season” thing just baffles me. Please keep your religious nuttery out of my family winter togetherness event, mmmkay?
Yep. I love Christmas. Not for the religious aspects of it but it is fun to give gifts to kids and watch them unwrap them, meet old friends, stuff myself on turkey and dressing etc. I also like sitting up late on Christmas eve and watching the tree lights blink. It’s a good holiday and need have nothing to do with Christianity or other religions.
Testy
Agnostic here!
I love Christmas! I was raised in an extremely strict fundamentist religion with no Christmas trees, lights, etc…so now I somewhat overdo the holiday decorations now. It’s all about being with family and exchanging gifts, enjoying great food. We pray for peace (as if) and revel in the spirit of giving.
Will you count an agnostic and reformed Catholic (I left the RCC at age 8, my BS meter was active early in life).
I still love Xmas and we celebrate all the commercial trimmings with Chanukah in our house. I love Xmas as a family holiday, I like to love the music and I love the idea of Peace on Earth and Goodwill to men. I love the idea of Santa and the Dear Virginia letter and “Miracle of 34th Street”.
The only way I’ll go neat a church is simply to admire the architecture, like visiting St. Pat’s in NYC last year on the 28th of December.
Jim
Yup.
There’s no such thing as a bad hair day in late December. Just pop on a Santa hat and everyone thinks you’re being festive! 
Seriously, I’ve come to the point in my life where my questions about holidays boil down to 1) Am I invited? and 2) Will there be food? Christmas qualifies, plus seeing my kids all excited, plus giving presents, plus music, plus pretty AND tacky decorations, plus something fun to do when it’s dark and the weather usually kinda sucks. Plus cookies. Did I mention cookies?
Christmas time in Thailand is when all the bargirls wear these little Santa hats. Really. Looks quite becoming on them, too.
I agree about the god, christianity bit. Isn’t jesus a bit of a birthday hog anyway? Surely once you turn 2000 its time to say “oh I’m too old for a party now”.
But I have to disagree with the ‘true meaning’ of Christmas being about cold. The ‘true meaning’ of Christmas is SUMMER! Time for BBQs, endless school holidays and classic songs like…
Christmas at the beach
Christmas at the beach
Pack your picnic hamper we’re going to have a feast
Underneath the huge Pohutukawa tree
Christmas at the beeeeeeach!
I was bought up as an atheist and continue to be one but Christmas always is about family and memories and always LOTS of fun.
This year I’m not looking forward to it so much. My Dad died in July and it just won’t be the same without him.