# Is xmas morally bad for us? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 28, 2008, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-xmas-morally-bad-for-us/478929 "2008-12-28T05:09:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-xmas-morally-bad-for-us/478929/21 "2008-12-28T23:02:52Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > What inspired the thought process which led to this thread ws a Lexus commercial in which a little girl comes to some friend’s/family’s house carrying her hobby horse, only to see that the resident little girl has a real pony. Did she walk over to the other girl and say something like “Oh, what a pretty pony”? So… your cite that christmas is only about “get get get” and the acquisitive mindset is a _commercial_? Gosh, we’d never expect one of _those_ to focus only on materialistic values and encourage people to rampant consumerism, would we? > [@](#): > > TV doesn’t lie. :eek:😕:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-xmas-morally-bad-for-us/478929/22 "2008-12-28T23:09:02Z")
We stop Christmas presents around puberty in my family, and even before that, they aren’t a big thing. This is partially because of the things in the OP, but also because (from my mom’s religious point of view) the stress of giving also takes you further from god: people worry about getting the right gifts, enough gifts, appropriate gifts–even if you are giving stuff away, it’s still a focus on stuff. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with gifts, but I understand my mom’s point when I see people spending months of time and piles of emotional energy and taking on debt not because they are greedy, but because they are nice and want to make sure they show it. My Christmases are 1000X less stressful than most people I know, and I like it that way. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-xmas-morally-bad-for-us/478929/23 "2008-12-29T00:41:50Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > So… your cite that christmas is only about “get get get” and the acquisitive mindset is a _commercial_? Gosh, we’d never expect one of _those_ to focus only on materialistic values and encourage people to rampant consumerism, would we? > > :eek:😕:dubious: You _really_ gotta _read_ those posts before you reply to them, my friend. Resist, resist resist. :rolleyes: Dang, I let my emotions g\run away with me. ---
**Author:** ![shallora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@shallora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shallora)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-xmas-morally-bad-for-us/478929/24 "2008-12-29T00:42:03Z")
Christmas is morally bad? Poppycock! At what other time of year: . . . Do families gather in such large quantities voluntarily. Nay it is EXPECTED that families gather. This is morally bad? . . . Do churches open their doors to the poor and unfortunate in way that eclipses their efforts throughout much of the rest of the year? . . . Are people so generous with gifts to others. And I’m not just talking about the rugrats and their gifts under the tree. I’m talking donations to charity, volunteering at soup kitchens, etc. etc. . . . Is the message and morality of the season spread across several relitions (Christianity and Judaism being at the forefront) plus also the recently invented holiday of Kwanzaa, all at the same time? Christmas is morally bad? Poppycock! ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-xmas-morally-bad-for-us/478929/25 "2008-12-29T00:54:54Z")
> [@shallora](#): > > Christmas is morally bad? Poppycock! It’s perfectly reasonable to ask if there are aspects to traditional Christmas celebrations that are morally bad for us: it’s NOT right to stress out your family, be it because of the cost of travel or gift buying, or the stress of cleaning, cooking, gift making, or trying to juggle 4 different nuclear families that all have a claim on you. It’s not right to spend the second half of Christmas day angry because you put so much into it and it didn’t (couldn’t) meet unrealistic expectations for everyone. There are many things right with Christmas. But there are many things wrong, as well, and I wish more families could talk out their Christmas traditions instead getting stuck in an upward spiral of escalating expectations. I think a lot of people never even examine the Christmas experience as a whole, and don’t understand that they can get rid of the parts they dread. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-xmas-morally-bad-for-us/478929/26 "2008-12-29T00:55:55Z")
> [@shallora](#): > > Christmas is morally bad? > > Poppycock! > At what other time of year: > . . . Do families gather in such large quantities voluntarily. Nay it is EXPECTED that families gather. This is morally bad? > . . . Do churches open their doors to the poor and unfortunate in way that eclipses their efforts throughout much of the rest of the year? > . . . Are people so generous with gifts to others. And I’m not just talking about the rugrats and their gifts under the tree. I’m talking donations to charity, volunteering at soup kitchens, etc. etc. > . . . Is the message and morality of the season spread across several relitions (Christianity and Judaism being at the forefront) plus also the recently invented holiday of Kwanzaa, all at the same time? > > Christmas is morally bad? Poppycock! First off, here’s the title of the thread “Is xmas morally bad for us?”. Do you see the question mark? Okay, that hints to a _question_. Also, you really shouldn’t “poppycock” a question. But you’ve done a pretty good job of making my point. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-xmas-morally-bad-for-us/478929/27 "2008-12-29T01:08:54Z")
I can’t remember the title, but there’s a beautiful, and ironic, old christmas story about a woman who sells her hair to buy her SO a fob for his watch. And so on. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-xmas-morally-bad-for-us/478929/28 "2008-12-29T01:24:44Z")
Unless it’s a whoosh the story is called _[The Gift of the Magi](http://www.auburn.edu/~vestmon/Gift_of_the_Magi.html)_ by O. Henry. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-xmas-morally-bad-for-us/478929/29 "2008-12-29T01:38:08Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > First off, here’s the title of the thread “Is xmas morally bad for us?”. Do you see the question mark? Okay, that hints to a _question_. > [@](#): > > Think of it, it’s the most selfish event in a kid’s life. Then you followed the title with this line, which one might consider a statement you intended to support one side of a Great Debate. But when people posted contrary anecdotes and asked you to support your statement, you’ve just waved your hands. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-xmas-morally-bad-for-us/478929/30 "2008-12-29T02:24:24Z")
> [@Amp](#): > > Unless it’s a whoosh the story is called _[The Gift of the Magi](http://www.auburn.edu/~vestmon/Gift_of_the_Magi.html)_ by O. Henry. No, not a whoosh. Why would you think that? That is indeed the story. Helluva writer, O. Henry. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-xmas-morally-bad-for-us/478929/31 "2008-12-29T02:29:09Z")
Sorry, I just thought the story was so well known that everyone knew the title. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-xmas-morally-bad-for-us/478929/32 "2008-12-29T02:39:29Z")
I enjoy thanksgiving much more than xmas. Not because of it’s beginnings, but because of what it is now. And I don’t hate xmas, it just seems spoiled. It’s been that way since I was a kid, only the merchants didn’t get started so early. I like to give gifts when I see something that makes me think of someone, and how they would enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-xmas-morally-bad-for-us/478929/33 "2008-12-29T02:46:53Z")
> [@Amp](#): > > Sorry, I just thought the story was so well known that everyone knew the title. I actually asked why you would think that. Seriously! 😉 My recall isn’t what it used to be, so I asked for the title. Thanks for the link. It’s a good story to tell your kids on christmas eve, with a cup of hot cocoa. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-xmas-morally-bad-for-us/478929.md?page=1)