Quote Originally Posted by Rhyfelwyr View Post
If I was married, I'd be more concerned about where my wife was going after she died than what we agreed upon in life. Yes, we are told that God wipes away all tears in Heaven, however to say that you wouldn't care about her after you die doesn't seem right. For that reason, I could only marry a Christian I expect. Sounds bigoted I know, but it's not really.

According to my beliefs, Christmas means less to me than anyone else. It's a pagan festival, there's no religious element to it, Jesus wasn't born on what we call Christmas day. And to counter the argument about praising his birth regardless, why should we ritualise a celebration of Christ's birth into set festivals? We shouldn't, God hates ritualisation and ceremony (He used it to teach the Jews, but now we should know better!).

Others around me may celebrate the commercial side and eat, drink, and be merry, but I'm to miserable to do that, the idea of rejoicing in iniquity comes to mind. Yeah, you've got turkey, pudding, wine, excessive food, and lots of stuff that could have been more usefully invested in charity, maybe even an idolatrous depiction of a nativity scene - but where's God?!

So, I expect Santa just skipped the naughty list and put me straight onto the hit list, but that's what I think of Christmas.

EDIT: After reading my above post I expect I'll be getting a visit from the Ghost of Christmas Past...
That's a very Puritanical view, and it ignores the communal element of liturgy, because that's the point of a Church. It's a community of believers who share their faith. That is why Christmas and Easter are important.