# Why is Xmas still a big deal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 23, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684 "2011-01-23T19:40:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/21 "2011-01-23T23:44:13Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Its an official state holiday, which would be hard to err…sorry. Should read, “its hard to justify making a Saints Day an official state holiday”. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/22 "2011-01-23T23:56:42Z")
I don’t see why it should be. St. Patrick’s Day has even less religious content than Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/23 "2011-01-24T00:09:00Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > err…sorry. > > Should read, “its hard to justify making a Saints Day an official state holiday”. Especially since the Saints won’t make it to the SuperBowl this year. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/24 "2011-01-24T00:24:24Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > I don’t see why it should be. St. Patrick’s Day has even less religious content than Christmas. Certainly not an expert, but Xmas was made a federal holiday almost a century before Evacuation Day was made a holiday in Boston. I imagine either changing views of the first Amendment or differences between the federal constitution and that of Massachucettes made it more difficult to make St Pattys a holiday. But in anycase, as a factual matter, March 17th is officially Evacuation Day in Boston, state workers are given a day off, but almost everyone uses the day-off to celebrate St Pattys Day and are only marginally aware that that isn’t the reason for the holiday. And this appears to have been at least part of the intention from the start, the law declaring the holiday was signed in green ink. ---
**Author:** ![AshenLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@AshenLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AshenLady)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/25 "2011-01-24T00:27:58Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Does your copy of the Bible not include the gospels of Matthew or Luke? There is no birthday party in any part of the bible. ---
**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:** [January 24, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/26 "2011-01-24T00:42:33Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Its an official state holiday, which would be hard to It’s only a holiday in Suffolk County, not the whole state. It is also observed in Cambridge and Somerville, but that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![AshenLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@AshenLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AshenLady)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/27 "2011-01-24T00:47:20Z")
Well, then, coming up is St. Valentine’s Day and we all know how packed with piety and religion this one is, eh? _would you care for a chocolate covered cherry?_ ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/28 "2011-01-24T00:50:46Z")
No xmas? Think of the children !!! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/29 "2011-01-24T01:24:38Z")
> [@AshenLady](#): > > There is no birthday party in any part of the bible. > [@AshenLady](#): > > Well, then, coming up is St. Valentine’s Day and we all know how packed with piety and religion this one is, eh? > > _would you care for a chocolate covered cherry?_ What’s your point with either of these remarks? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/30 "2011-01-24T01:30:41Z")
> [@](#): > > There is no birthday party in any part of the bible. There are, however, people giving gifts for the occasion of Jesus’ birth. And it’s not specifically mentioned in the Bible, but I imagine that Jesus, Mary and Joseph did have something of a party, when rich exotic folks came and gave them precious gifts. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/31 "2011-01-24T02:00:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There are, however, people giving gifts for the occasion of Jesus’ birth. And it’s not specifically mentioned in the Bible, but I imagine that Jesus, Mary and Joseph did have something of a party, when rich exotic folks came and gave them precious gifts. The Majii did not come shortly after Jesus’ birth, they came much later, perhaps when he was 2 years old. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/32 "2011-01-24T07:53:13Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > Because it’s fun, it’s traditional, because corporations makes big bucks off it, and because children absolutely adore it. > > Did you not realise this? Seems an odd question to me. I sort of expected the debated to be framed “Other than [everything you list] why is Christmas a big deal?” since we haven’t had that sort of OP that rules out all logical reasons in a while. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/33 "2011-01-24T11:46:38Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I sort of expected the debated to be framed “Other than [everything you list] why is Christmas a big deal?” since we haven’t had that sort of OP that rules out all logical reasons in a while. But apart from better sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public health and roads and a freshwater system and baths and public order… what have the Romans done for us? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/34 "2011-01-24T14:35:12Z")
> [@AshenLady](#): > > Everyone knows that Xmas is a made up holiday with no basis in the bible, first of all. Second of all, it’s a pagan holiday that is meant to cover-up Roman and pagan feasts. Third, it’s not at the proper time of year and there is no way to know the real date of Jesus’s birth. People are more secular than regligous, now. How does Xmas last, in spite of it all. Is it just an excuse to spend money and get wasted? > > So how is it still so popular, given all the half-truths, non-truths, and so on and so forth. It’s a lot of fun. Honestly, this is one of those questions that seems to me to be the logical equivalent of “why is coffee popular?” and then ignoring 58 posts that say “because people like the taste and the caffeine buzz.” We used to have a monthly thread where some doofus would ask “Why are pro sports popular?” and then ignore seven pages of posts of people saying over and over and over, “Because a lot of people find them interesting and entertaining,” and the doofus would just keep repeating “But that’s not a real reason.” (For some reason nobody’s started a thread about that in awhile; I guess we’re due.) The reason Christmas is a big deal is because people want it to be a big deal. It is popular for precisely the same reason rock music, professional football, Irish pubs, potboilers, and beer are popular; because people like those things and enjoy them and so want more of them. Not everything has a black and white utilitarian purpose. Some things are popular because they’re fun. And there’s nothing wrong with that - in fact, it’s fantastic we find joy in stuff or else what the hell’s the point in living? I will grant that some people are pulled in to celebrating Christmas because they feel pressured to do so. Not me. I love Christmas. I love giving people presents, I love setting up the tree for my kid, I love spending a few days having turkey dinners with family, I love wishing people “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays,” I love have some time off. None of my love of the holiday is religious. I don’t believe in God and his zombie son or anything else magical, but I think Christmas is absolutely the bee’s knees. So blame me. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/35 "2011-01-24T14:42:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Does your copy of the Bible not include the gospels of Matthew or Luke? Do those gospels specify when Jesus was born? ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/36 "2011-01-24T15:17:22Z")
the real reason would be… why WOULDN’T it be a big deal? i mean, if not for the obvious reasons, what else is the OP looking for? conspiracy theories? no real answers, leading to the downfall of christmas? ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/37 "2011-01-24T15:22:49Z")
Because people have been celebrating the darkest time of the Northern Year for millenia. Well, they’ve been lighting yule logs or candles or electric lights & bringing evergreens into the house–to ward off the growing powers of darkness. Then the watchers of the skies let the people know, just after Solstice, that nights have begun getting shorter. That, even though the coldest weather is yet to come, Spring will eventually arrive. The shepherds were probably out watching their flocks during lambing season–not the dead of winter. But, since the Bible doesn’t specify the exact date, the Church decided to claim the Mithraic celebration of the Unconquerable Sun as Jesus’s birthday. That was only one of the seasonal celebrations–it’s easier to add a Christian tone to the festivities than to make people stop celebrating. The Puritans went the “no celebrations” route–claiming the holiday had Popish & Pagan roots. But they lost out. People like to celebrate, whatever the reason. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/38 "2011-01-24T15:34:10Z")
I always find the idea that “Chritman is ridiculous because it’s not the date of Jesus’ birthday!” to be utter ridiculous. For starters, the date of his birth isn’t recorded. We have no idea what anyone’s birthdate was from so long ago. Records weren’t kept, and often nobody bothered to write down what year someone was born in, much less the day (and then add in that varying calenders and sloppy record-keeping mean that we generally wouldn’t be sure, anyhow). So people picked a day arbitrarily. Second, the idea that Christians were particualrly “stealing” a holiday from the pagans is kinda odd. First, the Romans hardly had a day which wasn’t a feast or celebration of some god or another. I doubt there was a single day fo the year which wasn’t important to some temple or another. The feast which fell on Christmas wasn’t especially important to the Roman religion(s). And across the Mediterranean, well, there were a lot of small, local cults and temples. ---
**Author:** ![AshenLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@AshenLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AshenLady)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/39 "2011-01-24T16:11:46Z")
Well, it’s really the Feast of the Saturnalia…and all the partying that goes with a Roman Baccanalian Feast. It sure doesn’t have a genuine feel of giving to the poor, or doing “Christian” types of activities of which a majority has to do with giving to those less fortunate. Sure, some folks give to charities, but that isn’t the crux of the holiday; it’s the merry-making, over eating and drinking and spending money, and let us not forget the pagan Xmas tree. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684/40 "2011-01-24T16:30:36Z")
> [@AshenLady](#): > > Well, it’s really the Feast of the Saturnalia…and all the partying that goes with a Roman Baccanalian Feast. It sure doesn’t have a genuine feel of giving to the poor, or doing “Christian” types of activities of which a majority has to do with giving to those less fortunate. > > Sure, some folks give to charities, but that isn’t the crux of the holiday; it’s the merry-making, over eating and drinking and spending money, and let us not forget the pagan Xmas tree. Just because this is your opinion doesn’t mean it is for others. For you Christmas is all about the over eating and drinking and spending money but it certainly isn’t for my family. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-xmas-still-a-big-deal/568684.md?page=3)