Long time ago, I used to believe that a plump, jolly, white-bearded man on his sleigh comes in the middle of the night and delivers my gift just before Christmas.
Not so long ago, I also used to subscribe to the idea that Christmas is when a virgin woman (impregnated by a ghost-god) gave birth to man-god.
Now that I’m way past those beliefs, I still somehow celebrate Christmas for several reasons.
One would be that my family and most of my friends celebrate Christmas big time. So not joining them in their festivities would just be rude and arrogant, especially because I used to join them in the past. Plus I don’t get a present if I don’t take part (LOL!). But seriously, I don’t see anything bad about this holiday. People believe what they want to believe. Even before Christmas was invented, ancient people used to celebrate all sorts of things in December, like Winter Solstice, Saturnalia, Julmond Festival, Sol Invictus and what have you. So for as long as they don’t force their beliefs down my throat, I don’t think I would have any problem celebrating Christmas with them.
Another reason is that in our world today, Christmas is actually more secular than religious. So divorced has Christmas become from religion that you can actually celebrate it without necessarily believing on its religious origin. In fact, I may even go all out and say that the only religious aspect left out of Christmas is only its name. Apart from that, it’s all utter commercialism and secularism.
I also like Christmas season because it’s one of those times in the year when you could get pissed almost everyday and nobody would raise an eyebrow. 
Plus I love the colourful decorations and the dancing lights. They somehow radiate some kind of positive energies.
Curious about what my friends thought about Christmas and what does it mean to them, I messaged them few days ago. And interestingly enough, among those who replied, only two of them mentioned that Christmas is all about the birth of Jesus Christ. The rest, just like me, think that Christmas is all about family, children, friends and humanity in general.
For me, Christmas is all about nurturing all those relationships that we have in our life. It’s all about spending time with those you love and those who love you, be it in a traditional or in an alternative way. Like in my case, being always away from home, on Christmas, I always let my family know how grateful I am for having them in my life. Sometimes I send them Hallmark cards, sometimes I buy them the things they’ve been wishing to have, and sometimes I visit them in our province without prior notice to somehow surprise them.
I also consider December, being the last month and being the last holiday of the year, as the perfect time to show my appreciation, one way or another, to all my friends who stick around and put up with all my childishness all year-round.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that looking at how things are going these days, Christmas is no longer just a religious celebration. People nowadays have different views of celebrating it without necessarily relating it to any holy books. And I think that’s what makes Christmas worth celebrating.
On another note, I’ve found two decent Christmas adverts from both sides of the Atlantic. Which do you think is better?
