AN ANALYSIS OF CHRISTMAS

Some people say that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus. Some people say that it's a pagan festival, or worshipping the sun, because of the days starting to get longer. Some people say it's a just a good excuse to have a few days off work, binge out and get drunk. Some people say that it's all about showing kindness to those more needy than yourself.I think that Christmas can be all of these things, but it's an intellectual argument, it doesn't really go anywhere, and it's somewhat beside the point.

The point is, many people have a problem. Why? Because, regardless of what they think of all of the above, there's an underlying, rather negative assumption that if you don't celebrate Christmas in the way that you think is proper, then it means you don't love your family. On an intellectual level, you know that's a ludicrous idea, but you still feel it. It doesn't help if times are a bit hard, but even if they aren't, anyone who ever gets depressed, or who has a self-injury habit, or eating disorder, or alcohol or substance addiction problem, is likely to feel completely messed up by this kind of negative thinking.

So I'd like to stress this, the world is NOT going to end if you don't do everything that you think people expect of you at Christmas. You should be doing what you really want to do, have some fun, and do and nothing else.It's unlikely that you'll get into a confrontation with anyone as a result of this. But if you do, just remind them that they're missing the true meaning of Christmas, by thinking the same kind of negative thoughts that you're trying to get away from.

If people still can't be nice to you, it doesn't matter how closely they're related to you, the truth is, they're just not worth your while bothering with. Remember, in the film "But I'm A Cheerleader", both Megan and Graham get disowned by their parents, but it still has a happy ending. But I think you'll find that usually, it won't come to this, everyone will still be happy, and respect and love each other. (Posted by Squidgy www.the-scream.co.uk/forums/t3580.html )