TV shows do special episodes about the "true meaning of Christmas" all the time, but by far the best of those that I've ever seen is from an episode of Community, "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas":

> DUNCAN: Oh, brother. This is ridiculous. You are enabling a delusion. > > JEFF: The delusion you're trying to cure is called "Christmas," Duncan. > > ANNIE: It's the crazy notion that the longest, coldest, darkest nights can be the warmest and brightest. > > BRITTA: Yeah, and when we all agree to support each other in that insanity, something even crazier happens. > > ANNIE: It becomes true.

The "War on Christmas" was started by the advertisers. Gift-giving was rarely a big deal. In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge sends a turkey to the Cratchits. That's it. In the "White Christmas" song, it's "Please have snow, and mistletoe, and presents on the tree" because the presents were relatively small items.

The psychotic greed-fest that lasts for months that Christmas has turned into isn't any fun for anyone except for the people who profit off everyone else's misery, as they spend like crazy to live up to impossible expectations.

Wow! Thanks for the downlow!

I feel it, especially the last few years. As i cling to anything to associate positively with my aging parents, christmas has become another excuse to spend as much time with them as possible. The stuff just hits different when you stop thinking about how it annoys you. I've been getting the vibe hard as fuck, and i'm so happy about it.

>Beer and wine were also supposedly ready in December, though I don't know why?

I'm just a homebrewer, but I may have an (uneducated) answer to that. It takes ales about 3-4 weeks to ferment at 70F (slower in the cold), and lagers 4-8 weeks at 50F. This USDA source shows European spring barley harvests as ending in late September/October, about 8-12 weeks before the winter solstice/Christmas. This PDF from the University of Vermont shows the 2019 hops harvest peaking in late September, which is pretty typical. Sierra Nevada releases their Fresh Hop IPA each December to maximize hop freshness and showcase the year's harvest, for instance.

Figure a few weeks to get your other harvested goods stored before starting your brew and the timeframe lines up perfectly. You can also hold beer longer to let it mellow (Oktoberfest lagers are called Märzens because you brew them in March and let them sit), especially at low temperatures, so mid-to-late December should be the start of a peak beer season that dwindles slowly into the spring, at which point your winter barley is ready for harvest and a new brewing period begins.

EDIT: I forgot those timeframes are with modern commercial yeasts. If you factor in wild or other pre-modern fermentation methods, the fermentation time increases and no fudge factor or waiting period would be required.

I fucking hate Christmas

Yes. 12 I think.

Jesus conception is the Annunciation and it's on March 25. The conception and birth of Jesus are based in the spring equinox and the winter solstice. Easter is based on a lunar calendar which is why it moves around.

The equinox and the beginning of spring sound similar but they most certainly are not. The beginning of Spring is the arrival of new life. The equinox is the turning.

Easter is also tied to Passover so it has another facet.

More seasonally related but I've come to really not enjoy peak Summer's as much. The 10 year old in me is bitching and moaning but they truly aren't enjoyable, Fall is the best what with the temperment climate and leave colors but probably some of the most blissful days happen in the winter with soft snow covered ground, clear skies with sunshine, no wind and maybe a balmy 20F. That's when you go for a nature hike or run outside or ice fish.

My father passed away when I was 9 and he would go all out for Christmas, always making it so special. I don't even know if it was his favourite song but Little Drummer Boy always reminds me of him and takes me back to my childhood.

Well I can't pretty much guarantee you that they are not any in my state.

But my wife would absolutely love that. She misses choir so much. Because of religious saturation freaking much any singing group is affiliated with a church. We have looked and there are no secular choirs around. Much less atheist.

She joined one that said it wasn't but then they prayed like 4 times during the first rehearsal and she bounced.

Eh holidays have lost their magic ever since my parents got divorced.

Here’s hoping I’ll have a family one day and get to create that magic again

Maybe if you stopped your entrench capitalist's attitude and focus on the act of giving, you would have a better time.

put o the wrong size shirt and dance with your aunt far a moment.

Or focus on the material. You do you.

At one point there were Atheist Christmas Carol groups. Don’t know if they still exist.

They were covered in US news pre COVID.

They were fine with a surplus of food being stored. They didn't like the revelry associated with winter excess. Supposedly, winter was a time of low work requirements in agriculture. The crops were brought in and you had a good understanding of how much food you had to last you through the winter. A dependable excess meant you could party. Slaughter was traditionally done when temperatures dropped to preserve meat. You either ate it or salted it. Eating fresh meat was preferred. Beer and wine were also supposedly ready in December, though I don't know why?

December was a time to gorge.

Puritans did not like the excess and drunken revelry as a custom.

Most Christmas iconography is older then Christianity.

Celebration of the dark ending is as old as agriculture.

As is kiling people on a cross.

not just a feeling, but factually correct as well.

What a terrible paper. So many unchallenged assumptions.

Oh? Yeah I've always found it strange... I love gospel music and have a strange fascination with finding nuns adorable lol not in a fetish way but more awww. Even though I know that most people's real life interactions with them haven't been pleasant. My husband was raised Catholic and everything about it fascinates me. I went to a funeral once (someone I didn't know) and just had to contain my excitement over seeing a catholic church. It's so fucking weird lol

I agree that everyone is entitled to their opinions and feelings. I still feel sorry that you don't find joy in the holiday season though. I enjoy it because of the time I get to spend with my family. Not much more to it than that.

I wish you the best regardless! No hard feelings

I'm an atheist who loves Christmas... I love giving gifts. Seeing joy on someone's face. I've figured out ways to trick people into unintentionally telling me what they want for Xmas, and it's great. My favorite gifts to give are ones that solve problems or annoyances in their day to day. Sometimes, these are the cheapest or silliest solutions to stuff you don't usually think you can find out there.

When I was small, we didn't have money for stuff like this. My family gave me gifts, but as soon as I was old enough to grasp money and what our situation was. I no longer asked for things. Much to my families dismay. Even today, I don't like getting gifts. I dont like when people spend money on me. But I am a giant hypocrite because I love doing it lol.

When people ask me, as an atheist and new dad. What am I going to tell my kid about Santa. I plan to be truthful when they are old enough to fully ask the direct serious question. I am going to tell them that Santa is an embodiment of the idea of giving and being generous and kind. Giving while expecting nothing in return. Simply because you can. I think this is a good lesson to teach and learn. We need more kindness and generosity in the world.

Mine is Elvis' cover of Walkin in a Winter Wonderland. My dad used to sing along so ridiculously my mom would be on the floor laughing

Interesting, I’ve always felt the opposite.

I lived in San Francisco my first year and a half out of college, and while I like a lot of things about the city, I really hated the weather. It was essentially the same year round. Without a seasonal reference point, the days/weeks/months/seasons bled into one another and honestly made me a bit depressed - I felt like I was living the same day over and over for a year and a half (at least mon->fri that is). I grew up in Boston though which has very distinct seasons, so might have just been unfamiliar.

I’m not a huge Christmas person, but always liked how it spices up December every year with something different than the norm.

Yeah, him/her self

You made me realize I've been having dissonance with my atheism and love of Christmas iconography.