SO hating christmas?

[cierah]

So, my SO hates Christmas. He is brown and therefore does not have any affliation with Christmas. I, on the other hand, love Christmas. He thinks that his mild complaining and nagging about the craziness that is my Christmas is cute and 'our thing'. I find it kind of annoying, although it does have it's perks - like I do not have to meld christmas tradtions but can keep all of my own.
I was just wondering how y'all deal with differences in Christmas traditions and such.
Merry Christmas!

[maleficent]

I personally depise christma and everything associated wiht it... the forced cheeriness -the tacky decorations - the going into debt for someone who doesn't deserve it... the dealing with family... I hate it.

there is absolutely nothing wrong with disliking the commercialization of a religious holiday... and a person's dislike of the holiday should be respected.

Bah Humbug to the 1000th power

[Willravel]

"He is brown..."

Brown?

[Ch'i]

Christmas, like most things, is what you make of it. Shun the commercialism/religion thing and you'll find Christmas is about eggnog, a fire in the fireplace (the smell of burning pine mmmmmh....), and going out of your way to do something nice for someone you care for.

If he doesn't like those things then I'm not quite sure what you should do.

[MSD]

Originally Posted by willravel

"He is brown..."

Brown?

Usually used to describe deark-skinned caucasian Indians or Arabs who are not of African descent.

[Willravel]

Originally Posted by MrSelfDestruct

Usually used to describe deark-skinned caucasian Indians or Arabs who are not of African descent.

That's what I thought it meant. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing some pop lingo.

[abaya]

Originally Posted by willravel

That's what I thought it meant. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing some pop lingo.

Well actually, in my circle of international friends, it tends to mean someone who is either non-white in a majority-white country (e.g. a minority in America), or is from a developing country in general, even if their skin is light (e.g. my friend from Costa Rica, whiter than I am, prides herself on being brown). Go figure. Proud to be Brown, man.

Now, what that has to do with liking/not-liking Christmas, I don't know.

[Charlatan]

I agree with Ch'i. The key to liking Christmas is to rid yourself of the commercialism. It takes selective filtering.

It's interesting, all of my brown friends here, even if they are not Christian, celebrate Christmas to some extent or another. But then again, we all share each other's celebrations here.

I was invited to attend Hari Raya celebrations (that wold be a Ramadan thing), Festival of the Hungry Ghost (mooncakes, yum!) and Deepavali.

In the end, all of these celebrations are the same (with some key variations). They are all about family and friends getting together in a time of darkness to celebrate light and birth/rebirth.

They have more similarities than differences by the way.

[lurkette]

Originally Posted by Charlatan

In the end, all of these celebrations are the same (with some key variations). They are all about family and friends getting together in a time of darkness to celebrate light and birth/rebirth.

They have more similarities than differences by the way.

I couldn't agree more. The way I've found meaning in Christmas, as a non-Christian, is to go back to the roots of it and strip all the doctrine and commercialism from it. It's about celebrating eternal rebirth, the constant cycle or renewal that keeps us going as individuals on a daily basis and in a larger cosmic sense. I grew up with the traditions, so it's easier for me to carry on with the celebration, but there were a few years where I felt really at sea and Bah Humbuggy because I didn't see anything I related to in the celebration - all I saw was the greed and the cynicism and a bunch of religious stuff I didn't believe in.

Perhaps your SO can learn to appreciate the traditions of it for your sake, and I think it would be meaningful if you tried to incorporate something of his personality into the tradition, even if it's just making his favorite dish part of the big holiday meal, or finding something he does like about the whole hoopla and emphasizing that.

[GK.12.3]

I never really liked Christmas either.
Back in 1993 my dad got diagnosed with stomach cancer during the month of December. For 6 years, I watched my dad hold on to his life until he couldn't do it anymore. December was the month where I'd look at him and internally say, "Will he be around next year? Will he be around next Christmas?"
Now, in 2006 my grandmother got diagnosed with a brain tumor and it looks like she might die during the month of December.
Yeah, it might not be Decembers fault...but too many bad spirits around this time and it's really starting to piss me off. The mix of positive and negative Holiday spirits isn't helping at all.
-GK