

6 reasons I'm skipping Christmas this year - 3stripe

1. I&#x27;m a grown adult. It&#x27;s my choice. And in a year of running experiments (therapy, going on retreat, writing from the gut, being more honest than I&#x27;m comfortable with) it seemed like an interesting experiment to end the year with. The less Christmas-y things I did this month, the more I noticed how people around me were only doing things because they felt they had no choice not to. Christmas parties, getting pissed up for 5 or 6 days on the trot with work colleagues they didn&#x27;t even like that much, etc etc.<p>2. Although I love them very much, my family are a pain in the ass to spend time with. And the pressure for everyone to &quot;just get along&quot; on Christmas Day makes things even worse. If I had my own family it wouldn&#x27;t be a problem if I wanted to spend it with them — so why should that change because I&#x27;m single?<p>3. After a month of 7 day weeks, I need some quality me time. Just been on a solo bike ride around London. Not sure what I&#x27;ll be doing with the rest of the day. But solitude is a fine gift to give yourself.<p>4. Christmas Jumpers. Is it just me or have they reached a new low this year? More moronic than ironic. For me they are seem to be symbolic of the hollowness of Christmas.<p>5. I&#x27;m £6,000 in debt and have boxes of unused items all over my bedroom. I don&#x27;t need more stuff, nor do I have money to buy any. By opting out of Christmas I won&#x27;t be receiving another stack of things I don&#x27;t need.<p>6. The whole celebration of excess thing. With or without the religious layer on top of that.
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coldtea
>* I'm a grown adult. It's my choice.*

Don't know about this "grown adult" thing. Sounds more like a choice an
adolescent would make, more like a "teenage rebellion" kind of thing.

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kintamanimatt
That's so incredibly disrespectful!

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jbeja
Really? I though it was funny.

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danpalmer
An alternative perspective...

1\. I'm a grown adult, so I have responsibilities like work, it gives me a
chance to ignore some of those for a short while, and relax.

2\. I love my family very much, and don't see them enough. It's a great time
to see them.

3\. After several months of solid work leading up to a recent deadline, I need
some quality family and friend time.

4\. Christmas Jumpers, and the paper hats from crackers, and socks with Santa
on them. These all make a welcome change to the monotonous routine of everyday
life.

5\. I can't actually turn this one around. I have lots of student debt
(thankfully manageable), but I enjoy giving presents to others.

6\. I don't often get the chance to splash out, but I enjoy it when I do,
without 'celebrating' excess.

I don't disagree with your reasons at all, and I can see the attraction of
skipping Christmas to some extent, I just look at most of these things a
different way.

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richsin
Right on. I am 100% with you and you definitely do not sound like a rebellious
teen.

I had a very similar year to yours regarding personal reflection and I think
ending your's off this way gives so much more meaning moving forward. It's not
a perfect choice because there are some good things about Christmas to enjoy,
but there are compromises either way you go.

Wish you all the best for the New Year.

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livestyle
I'm a Christian and I don't celebrate Christmas either for many of the
reasons. The big one though for me is Jesus wasn't born anywhere near Dec25th
and we are never told in the scriptures to celebrate his birth.

Funny thing is I get more flack from my Christian friends than I do from my
non Christian ones. Irony.

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coldtea
> _I 'm a Christian and I don't celebrate Christmas either for many of the
> reasons. The big one though for me is Jesus wasn't born anywhere near
> Dec25th and we are never told in the scriptures to celebrate his birth._

Well, I'm not really a believer, but in my culture's version of Christianity,
the historical traditions amassed by the body of believers are just a part of
the religion as any. That is, "the church" is the union of believers first and
foremost, not merely what was written down. So, being true to the spirit
doesn't mean being true to the written word. In fact, Christ himself never
wrote anything: he taught people, to teach other people. And he emphasized how
imporant the body of believers is.

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vouchey
Something tells me a few folks are happy to let you skip Christmas, Grinch.

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davidy123
I find that the people who object to those deciding to skip xmas are the
grinchiest.

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tunap
Ignore the denigrations to conform. Be generous and thankful all year long and
skip the retail holidays.

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bmelton
> I'm a grown adult. It's my choice. [...] I noticed how people around me were
> only doing things because they felt they had no choice not to.

Stop doing things that you don't want to do. I'm a grown adult, so I opted out
of every party that I didn't want to attend. I attended the parties that I
would have attended had they been thrown for any other reason that wasn't
Christmas.

I enjoyed Christmas more this year than I ever have, not the least of which
because I got fantastic gifts, and also gave some pretty good ones, but
because nothing was forced.

> My family are a pain in the ass to spend time with.

I declined Christmas with the family. When asked, I just informed them that
"We're just doing a quiet thing at home this year." Zero pressure.

I don't mean to critique your Christmas opt-out in the least. It sounds like
your situation is different from mine in that (it seems that) you're single,
while I've got a wife and 12 year old. Whether or not opting out of Christmas
is an option for me isn't really my place to say, but we did do a much quieter
affair than usual, but do recognize that there are alternatives between "Bah
humbug" and "full-on Christmas", and you're free to pick anywhere in the
middle that you like, as well as opting out altogether, as you have done.

Either way, Merry Christmas. I hope your time off was as good a gift as you
hoped for. Sounds like a good one.

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3stripe
Cheers! Merry Non-Christmas to you too :)

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notastartup
I applaud this. I actually never remember when Christmas is exactly because I
simply do not care. I know when it ends, and I feel better.

Just because everyone is doing it doesn't make it special or have some
intrinsic meaning. _l 'existence précède l'essence_ so to speak.

Besides, Christmas has become all about material gifts. I think spending time
family is a good thing, regardless if it's holiday or not. Try to set apart
some difference, at least spend a bit of time, like have dinner together and
such.

Never mind the rest of the world as it carries about what was the holiday
about anyway? Some dude that was born, grew up to be crucified, defies the
laws of universe and physics to rise up from the dead?

I don't hate Christmas but I pretty much regard it like any other day of the
year. For other's it's Christmas day but for me it's just Wednesday with more
food and family time and christmas tree. I admit I really like the christmas
tree.

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3stripe
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.

"I don't hate Christmas" \- agreed. I am labelling experiment simply as non-
Christmas rather than anti-Christmas.

My only regret is not finding some people to share my non-Christmas with.

Maybe next year!

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glasz
let's start on the internet. i'm in. i have almost exactly the same complaints
flying around my head for the last 5-6 years but just don't get around to say
"no" to this crap.

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tunap
Long year with family, losses and bad news abound. For my 'celebration', I
spent the last two days at a deserted lake in the desert. Was windy & cold the
whole time, but it was solitude. A pair of bald eagles fished the shore by me
for three hours. A coyote got bit by a heron he was sneaking up on. The ravens
tried & failed to steal something... anything. I read half of "The
Fractalist".

Best Xmas Ever!

