Are we seeing the demise of Christmas?

djen I remember the nurses in their traditional uniforms and capes walking round the corridors on Christmas Eve, carrying lanterns and singing Christmas carols.
DD had just been born and it was lovely, still brings a tear to my eye thinking about it.

Once my dad was away with a Christmas coach trip, too, when I was older.
Christmas started when my mother arrived arrived home from the hospital at 6.30 on Christmas morning.

Yorkshiregel a silly and ill informed post methinks, designed to provoke. This nonsense about banned nativities, banned trees and 'Happy Holidays' is Daily Express inspired malicious nonsense. We deserve better discussions. Have a lovely Christmas, go to Church on Christmas Eve if you wish, and enjoy the holiday, thankful that you will not have to unblock a toilet/deliver a baby/drive a taxi/deal with a tragedy.

There is no talk about banning Christmas. It is celebrated as it always was. As for working over Christmas, as has already been mentioned, many people have always done this due to the nature of their job. In fact this year, because she changed jobs, my daughter doesn't have to work either Christmas or New Year for the first time ever since she started work. I am surprised that the urban myth that we fear offending other religions is still being perpetuated. Where are you hearing this talk yorkshiregel? I hope you are challenging it as it is bollocks.
?Merry Christmas and God bless us every one. ?

Yes, I do celebrate Christmas, and I have a wreath with flashing fairy lights. My question if I could put it another way was meant to mean..... is Christmas, as we know it, on its way out.

It was not meant to be offensive, or provoke anyone. I am not making things up either as some seem to think I am. How rude. I have been to children's 'Christmas play' only to find it had nothing to do with Christmas at all. It was something completely different. Some play a teacher had put together.

I know some emergency services need to work over Christmas, in fact I have decorated a ward myself at Christmas and served Christmas dinner (Red Cross), I was really talking about shops and shop assistants. I do not think there is a need for shops to be open at all. I am sure shop assistants would appreciate that so they could be at home with their families.

No, we are not seeing the demise of Christmas.
Last year, amongst others, I had a muslim family and a Malaysian agnostic at my Christmas lunch table. I receive cards from people of all faiths and none - some Christians who believe that Christmas, as currently celebrated, is the antithesis of what the Christian faith is about don't send me Christmas cards, whilst some atheist friends do.
I really think that Jesus, at this time of year as at any other, will be looking for people who believe in his message to be acting it out as peacemakers and through acts of kindness, generosity and love.
Read below what the Muslim Council of Britain has to say about Christmas:
www.mcb.org.uk/keep-calm-christmas/
and again, read below a Muslim commentator's view:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/29/cancel-christmas-muslims-traditions-islamic

Excellent links, grannyactivist! There are very few Muslims in this small town, but I was talking to one of them today and he said he is looking forward to Sunday and Monday when his hardware shop will be closed and he can enjoy a (well-deserved) rest. We were in his shop buying tinsel, by the way, and had to move crackers and Christmas lights to get it unhooked from the stand!

Our local Rotary Club runs an annual carol service, and this year's one on Sunday was packed out as usual, including many people whom I know never go to church normally except for weddings and funerals, but they were all singing away cheerfully, and it was a good time for all. All the local schools contributed carols as well.

Thank you for the links, Grannya. I hope that by reading them some of the daft rumours will be put to rest.

Bit of back tracking there yorkshiregal!. . Schools don't always do the traditional Jesus, Mary and the crib type nativity but it is still celebrating the Christmas story; for example, my children's primary school put on a play one year which was about a time traveller going back through time, through the Victorian Xmas etc until he came to the time of the birth of Christ. A lovely play and one which gave opportunities for lots of roles other than extra angels and donkeys!

Dont let media gossip divide the world and cause fear and anger, all Muslims and other religions that I meet enjoy the holiday whilst not seeing it as religious, they are more than happy to celebrate with us without a religious meaning for them
The best Christmas I ever had was hosting a weekend for mature university students my partner at the time was a Muslim from Iran who had lived in UK for a very long time and we had a Chinese lady who was non religious and a vegetarian I had a wonderful Ethiopian man and a Hindu Indian from Malaysian I produced a variety of food that suited everyone we all walked on our beach wrapped up warm went to the local park and had sing songs and tales of their countries around the fire It has stayed in my mind as the nicest most exciting Christmas I ve ever had
No need at all to pass on fear and religious dislike at this time of year or any other time it doesn't take many rumours to get people going

no difference from when I was young ministers and priests still visit schools for assemblies ,there are still nativity plays ,my youngest GD will be an angel in hers tomorrow and there are christmas trees all over the place and local churches have nativity scenes up iin their grounds and on their roofs.Local immiigrant families (muslim,hindu ,sikh ) all contribute to local christmas charities and would appear to have no issuues with the "christian" festival.I too havve nnever heard anyone say Happy Holiday ,its and Americanism ,iisn;t it ,due to a large Jewish population that they dont want to offend

Yorkshiregal .how about hospitality staff who work every holiday so families dont have to cook their own meals or sleep in their own beds ,or the transport workers who ferry folk about in buses and cabs .People work to live,even at christmas ,when I was little my dad worked on Christmas day ,it was normmal here in Scotland and it wasn't a public holiday until well into the 20th century.I'm quite sure there are people who would volunteer to work at christmas to get away from the nonsense that surrounds it

Bluebelle you reminded me of the annual Christmas party my Jewish law firm put on for us in the 1970s in Washington DC.

Lots of food and festive decorations (both for Christmas and Hanukkah) were laid on at a venue. We got our Christmas bonuses AND gifts, too. The highlight was when the senior partner danced down the 20 foot white banquet table (after we ate) whilst we all sang Hava Nagila and clapped and cheered! I can still see this so clearly in my mind!

Another celebration was in Maine where my friend was hosting an Afghan family who had escaped the Russian invasion in the 80s. We celebrated our Christmas but with their traditional Eid foods, and sat on the floor and ate these gorgeous treats that her guests cooked with us helping. Then we sang Christmas Carols, and taught them some, too!

Anniebach you seem to know what I meant. We are bombarded with Christmas adverts about buying things. Not the true meaning of Christmas...which is spiritual. It is about celebrating the birth of Christ. It is about coming together, giving and receiving and resting.

I loved the Christmas of my childhood where we woke up as soon as it was light to empty our stockings then went to church on Christmas morning, came home to open presents that Santa had left under the tree, and then sitting down together to eat our Christmas Dinner. After that we either played with our games or went outside to play on our new bikes etc while Mum and Dad watched the Queen's speech. If it wasn't raining we would go for a walk to use up some calories.

It all seemed so simple then. Now it is all about 'things' and what we can spend in the sales. Repeats of old films and everything seems to be rushing about or travelling here and there. One positive thing I like though is this 'Secret Santa' where you buy one present for someone and they do the same. Great fun.

I no longer live in Yorkshire by the way, but that is where my heart is.....the Yorkshire Dales.

grannyactivist, I am not bringing immigration problems in to the discussion, that was not what I meant. I do not mind any immigrant from any country coming here as long as our own traditions are not altered to accommodate theirs. I was talking about the real meaning of Christmas, the spiritual meaning vs the commercial Christmas we see today.

If you are not a Christian what exactly are you celebrating at Christmas then? Same for Easter - I don't understand why you would celebrate something you don't believe in. Find your own celebrations.

They were our celebrations first. The Winter Solstice, anyone?
Christians adopted and adapted the winter festival as people were celebrating that time anyway.
Christ wasn't born in December. Maybe Christians should find their own dates, somewhere in March, I believe, although they do not know the exact date.

Same with Easter. A pagan festival adapted by Christians.

www.goddessgift.com/goddess-myths/goddess-Ostara.htm

My area of London is as multi-cultural as you could hope for and I love it. My Muslim neighbour asked how my Christmas preparations are going. There are Christmas lights everywhere we look and the usual Christmas tree by our town centre clock. Every shop seems to have a 'Merry Christmas' greeting in the window, which I particularly notice as I prefer the 'Happy' Christmas wish myself. I have been to a school nativity play and there were carols being sung outside the supermarket. My little grandson has a Christmas party at his childminder today with 7 children from 4 different nationalities.
The OP lives in a sad place methinks.

Based on a large survey in 2013 50.6% of the British population describes themselves as not religious, 67% believe that religion should not be part of public life (schools, local authority events, Church Bishops in the House of Lords etc). British society has changed. Those of us who are Atheists, together with people from varied religions, don't want other people's religious beliefs pushed at them. Lessons in religion at schools should be focused upon teaching children about religions, not indoctrinating them. Practicing religion should (and I don't use the term lightly, as I tend to take a live and let live attitude) be a private matter.

Yorkshire I wasn't referring to immigrants either. I was trying (perhaps not very successfully) to make the point that for Christians Christmas is an occasion, like any other, to express through our actions the importance Jesus places on inclusivity, on peace, love and joy.

Jesus wasn't born in December. Christmas is not one of the designated 'Holy Days' of scripture. There is no bible based imperative to celebrate the particular time of Christ's birth and 'Christmas' as we see it celebrated now is a mainly Victorian construct.

However, I do believe Christmas gives Christians opportunities to explicitly celebrate our faith in ways that may give others a glimpse into the meaning we attribute to the baby who was God and became like us.

We are best with blooming Christmas fairs now.......acres of garden sheds full of eleves and toot.........we could change the name to Spendfest, that would be closer to the truth of it.

Plenty of Carol services, Nativity plays, church services etc but most people don't want that now they want a binge night out, too much of everything bad for them and a fortnight off work........

I don't personally celebrate Christmas but am happy to be neighbourly and wish those around me a lovely time, and to appreciate all the special efforts they have made to make their surroundings festive. I write Christmas cards to thank people as well. (Of course I could (and do) write thank you cards at other times, but Christmas seems a good a time as any)

I celebrate Yule - the return of light and the birth of the Lord of Light. I will defend to the death anyone's right to celebrate Christmas/Eid/Diwali/Hannukah or whatever they wish. Less keen on "Winterval", but guess it covers all the above religious celebrations. But hate the insidious nonsense insurance cover blockage of decorations, local celebration etc because "someone might strangle themselves on a piece of tinsel"/"fall off a desk"/"be hit on the head by a Winterval card/whatever other nonsense they can come up with. Most of my non-Christian friends prefer to pay respect to this being a so-called "Christian country"

How Christmas is celebrated has changed over the last 40 + years.As a much ??younger person in those years Christmas was all about friends and relatives getting together in each others homes each taking with us home made goodies to share.No arguments who you should be with or who you shouldn't be with.Large stores closed xmas and boxing day allowing shop staff time to be with family like everyone else. A visit to the pub xmas eve, never saw paraletic bodies strewn along our streets full to bursting with booze like there was no tomorrow and emergency services were able to deal with the seriously ill not having to pick up those inebriated individuals.Do we appreciate any more what Christmas is really about.? Are we so frightened of upsetting someone else opinions by wishing them a Happy Christmas so we say Happy Holiday or The seasons greetings? What I observe now makes me realise how lucky I am to have experienced what Christmas was once all about but is not, sadly, any more.