Christmas has become very secular in America, but despite (or perhaps because) of this change, Christmas has also acquired an almost sacred and untouchable character which people defend to the utmost. Skeptics of Christmas are not treated very well. Anyone who objects to something about Christmas typically tries to present themselves as actually defending a 'true' Christmas. I think, however, that a bit more skepticism of and dissent from Christmas would be better for everyone. It might even be better for Christmas, though that can't be treated as a priority.
Read Article: Bah, Humbug! Arguing Against Christmas
Great article! I learned something brand new and out of the blue here, I never knew the meaning of humbug, and it turns out it is quite enlightening to know it. I always thought it was more of a simple expletive of disapproval or something. Anyways, I would bet most people reading Dickens in school we’re unaware of the definition of humbug, as I was, and so never saw the true rationale that Scrouge was trying to express for his sentiments.
I second wjv. I, too, never understood the meaning of humbug. Thanks, Austin.
I also agree with your points about the humbugs of Christmas, especially the seasonal mandate to be happy. When I was suffering from depression, the mandate made it twice as bad during the holiday season.
Another form of waste is the waste of buying unwanted presents. So often do people give based on what they think someone would like rather than what the recipients themselves would choose to buy that it results in billions of dollars annually in lost economic value: the difference between what is wanted and what is actually bought, not to mention the time wasted on trying to figure out what to buy.
I only accept donations to my favorite charities as gifts, and I think for an adult that is much more in the spirit of the season than getting presents. Unless I am in poverty, won’t I already have the physical things I really want?
Christmas is my favourite time of year except for Halloween. There’s no Jesus in my Xmas and its all secular. I’ve got a stag tree topper and Odin disguised as Santa makes it all the more fun. My friend Michael Deanhardt who, sadly will leave us very soon, also likes Xmas. We often talked about xian holidays being stolen from Pagans. Always a fun conversation. Bah humbug works too.