Thread: Do you think religous festivals have lost their meanings?

Hi, i thought i should make this thread up because it is near Christmas and there is a lot of advertising around. I think Christmas and Easter have lost their meaning because i never see Christians celebrate Jesus' birth on Christmas day and i never hear anyone remember Jesus' took his life for us on the cross at Easter. Many Christians think of presents and putting up Christmas lights and Christmas trees. Even non-Christian people celebrate it now, in fact Christmas might not have been Jesus' actual birthday also it was a paigens festival so Christians should not celebrate it in the first place. Parents tell their children about santa clause who does not even exist but they don't mention anything about why the festival is actually celebrated. (I am not a parent myself, not even close of being 1 ..lol my friends parents always say these sort of stuff in front of their children).



I would really like to hear other people's opinions to this.

I think the world, or at least my part of it, is losing its commitment and understanding toward the 'point' of religious holidays.

Atheism, or a mindset similar to it, has begun to pick up speed. There are more conspiracy videos, documentaries, protests and above all, people speaking out and questioning the whole idea. Whether one wants to accept it or not, religion is losing its grip. Youth of today are growing up in a crazy world, being exposed to much more than religious rituals or ways of life, like the children of centuries past. Knowledge and exposure have destroyed what the governments have been hiding for years and people are starting to realize it.

So yes, I do think religious holidays, festivals and celebrations have lost their meaning. Christmas is more of a business deal than a respectable holiday. A lot of people go far, if not further, into debt each Christmas, buying gifts to please others, decorating, traveling, etc. And stores like Futureshop (Not that I'd hate on them :P) have 'Boxing Week' sales, which to some people means twice as much as the 'meaning' of Christmas, to them it's just an excuse to make a buck. Kids are more concerned about presents, holiday goodies and time off school than they are the meaning of Christmas. The same goes with Easter, just on a more moderate scale.

I could go on but I think one can see my point.

Originally Posted by spyro

I think the world, or at least my part of it, is losing its commitment and understanding toward the 'point' of religious holidays.

Atheism, or a mindset similar to it, has begun to pick up speed. There are more conspiracy videos, documentaries, protests and above all, people speaking out and questioning the whole idea. Whether one wants to accept it or not, religion is losing its grip. Youth of today are growing up in a crazy world, being exposed to much more than religious rituals or ways of life, like the children of centuries past. Knowledge and exposure have destroyed what the governments have been hiding for years and people are starting to realize it.

So yes, I do think religious holidays, festivals and celebrations have lost their meaning. Christmas is more of a business deal than a respectable holiday. A lot of people go far, if not further, into debt each Christmas, buying gifts to please others, decorating, traveling, etc. And stores like Futureshop (Not that I'd hate on them :P) have 'Boxing Week' sales, which to some people means twice as much as the 'meaning' of Christmas, to them it's just an excuse to make a buck. Kids are more concerned about presents, holiday goodies and time off school than they are the meaning of Christmas. The same goes with Easter, just on a more moderate scale.

I could go on but I think one can see my point.

ROFL.. you read my mind. Even atheists celebrate Christmas now..lol

I agree, that for the most part, Christmas and Easter have gone the way of the Hallmark card.

However, not all Christians are like this. My family spends every Christmas Eve in Mass, and we go to church on Christmas morning as well... BEFORE we open presents. Easter is spent in Mass as well, and the following week, we take all the kids to a park for an Egg hunt and a basket. Its always worked for us, and the kids love it too.

We also go caroling, participate in Church pageants, and talk about the meaning of the holiday in terms that the younger ones can understand.

So don't get too disillusioned... not everyone has forgotten how it all began.

Originally Posted by JustJenna

I agree, that for the most part, Christmas and Easter have gone the way of the Hallmark card.

However, not all Christians are like this. My family spends every Christmas Eve in Mass, and we go to church on Christmas morning as well... BEFORE we open presents. Easter is spent in Mass as well, and the following week, we take all the kids to a park for an Egg hunt and a basket. Its always worked for us, and the kids love it too.

We also go caroling, participate in Church pageants, and talk about the meaning of the holiday in terms that the younger ones can understand.

So don't get too disillusioned... not everyone has forgotten how it all began.

Actually, you're right and I understand. Though my post was directed towards the majority of recent times, maybe a little negative, but realistic.

Originally Posted by JustJenna

I agree, that for the most part, Christmas and Easter have gone the way of the Hallmark card.

However, not all Christians are like this. My family spends every Christmas Eve in Mass, and we go to church on Christmas morning as well... BEFORE we open presents. Easter is spent in Mass as well, and the following week, we take all the kids to a park for an Egg hunt and a basket. Its always worked for us, and the kids love it too.

We also go caroling, participate in Church pageants, and talk about the meaning of the holiday in terms that the younger ones can understand.

So don't get too disillusioned... not everyone has forgotten how it all began.

We do not go to church on Christmas day but we go to mass every Easter at night for 4 hours.

Im glad some people have tooken an interest to this thread

Originally Posted by JustJenna

I agree, that for the most part, Christmas and Easter have gone the way of the Hallmark card.

However, not all Christians are like this. My family spends every Christmas Eve in Mass, and we go to church on Christmas morning as well... BEFORE we open presents. Easter is spent in Mass as well, and the following week, we take all the kids to a park for an Egg hunt and a basket. Its always worked for us, and the kids love it too.

We also go caroling, participate in Church pageants, and talk about the meaning of the holiday in terms that the younger ones can understand.

So don't get too disillusioned... not everyone has forgotten how it all began.

It's certainly great to hear something like this.

As for the festivals losing their meaning - I think that it's undeniable that it's happening. Especially since the large corporations are gaining more and more control as time goes on. They dictate the beliefs of our future generations, they set trends and they cash in on Sacred festivals whose meanings and purpose are slowly being forgotten. It's all done for profit and benefit and so as unfortunate as it may seem, I'm hardly surprised by it.

Ha being Jewish I never had Christmas as a kid, however there is no doubt that (for most) it has turned into a frenzy of 'must buy gifts, must give gifts to everyone, spend lots of money blah blah blah'. However there is still a glimmer among some of something special that brings familys together.

When I was growing up my family didn't have a lot of money so for Hanuka (which is basically the Jewish equivalent of Christmas) I would never get gifts but it didn't matter because it would be this special thing where everyone in my family would get together and eat drink and have fun. Anyway that's a tad off-topic.

The point is in specific family's there is still meaning in the holidays rather than forced smiles and false pretenses.

Originally Posted by spyro

Atheism, or a mindset similar to it, has begun to pick up speed. There are more conspiracy videos, documentaries, protests and above all, people speaking out and questioning the whole idea. Whether one wants to accept it or not, religion is losing its grip. Youth of today are growing up in a crazy world, being exposed to much more than religious rituals or ways of life, like the children of centuries past. Knowledge and exposure have destroyed what the governments have been hiding for years and people are starting to realize it.

Well, to be fair, this is nothing new. If we're talking about society becoming more secular, religion has been losing ground since the days of Copernicus and Galileo. I guess every generation feels like it's happening to them, but really it's been going on for a long time. As well as I can remember, christmas has been the same old commercial holiday. Same as when I was a kid. The only difference is that there are better toys today.