What People Commemorate when Celebrating Christmas Nowadays
Christmas cannot really be summed up in one article, the holiday is significant to people in many different ways. Some people feel that the "original" meaning of Christmas has been lost and replaced with something else. While it is impossible to say how each person feels about Christmas, or how theycelebrateit, there are some common themes:
- Religious. Christians observe the holiday as the celebration of their messiah, Jesus Christ's birth. For them, the day and time of year is very special. They have church services and activities to commemorate the birth. Some churches put on a play that re-enacts the events of the holy night. This is a time of reflection, prayer and acknowledgement of perceived blessings received throughout the year and even their lives.
- Family. Some people view Christmas as a time to get their family together and spend some quality time. They might have elaborate meals, open gifts and celebrate the love and bond that they share as a family. Opening pretty packages and having flashy decorations are not as important as spending time with their loved ones. What shopping, gift wrapping and meal preparations to be done, are done as family activities. Some view it as the time of year when differences are put aside and good times are the focus.
- Commercial. For some people, Christmas is all about shopping and decorating. It is a major event to go to Black Friday (the Friday after Thanksgiving, which officially marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season) sales. These people focus on shopping for the best gifts, buying the best ingredients for meals and putting up the best decorations in and around their home. Sometimes these people focus on these material things in order to bring a smile to their loved ones, or to make themselves feel good.
- Depressing. Unfortunately not everyone looks forward to the Christmas season. Some people fall into a deep sadness over the holidays for different reasons. Some of them may not have any living relatives to celebrate with, leaving them feeling lonely. Some people find the hustle and bustle of the holiday to be annoying and frustrating. There are people who have extremely dysfunctional families and therefore find it hard to enjoy anything about Christmas time.
Christmas is very important to people all over the world, both in good ways and not so good. For those who feel the true meaning has been lost to the commercialism, you may be right, but then again, who is to say what is right for each person? What can be said is that Christmas is a special time of year when people are just a little nicer to each other, a little more thoughtful and a little more considerate. In certain modest opinions, you cannot ask for much more than some good will toward each other in a world of uncertainty.
