"Yule" vs. "CHRISTmas"

[Eenuh]

Don't see why you're confused about the name heh. It's just been that way since it was invented I guess, seems silly to call it anything different, even if you're not Christian.

 

Over here it's called Kerstmis. Same as in English, it refers to the mass that was held on that day, to remember Christ's birth. I grew up being told it was to remember his birth, with all the stories surrounding it etc. We still even celebrate the Three Wise Men on January 6 here heh (kids dress up and go sing from door to door).

 

It doesn't really matter if you believe or not, in this day and age it's a holiday to be together and have a good time, show your love. Which as someone said, is basically what Christianity is supposed to be about (as are other religions I bet).

 

Anyway, don't see the name changing anytime soon. Never even heard of the word Yule before, just sounds weird. =P

[Emasher]

The reason Christmas even exists is because however many years ago the church decided the 25th of December should be a day to celebrate the birth of Jesus. So even if it's just an excuse to give and receive presents we accept that the actual day is supposed to be about Jesus.

 

The day itself wasn't just arbitrarily chosen though (although, it had nothing to do with christianity until then either). The church decided to use december 25th because the Pagans already had a festival right around that time and it was much easier to convert people if they made christianity as similar to the local pagan religions as possible. Not only does christmas have a lot to do with Pagan traditions, but a ton of other ideas that the church uses today were also chosen for the same purpose.

[Nintendohnut]

I have a 'friend' who celebrates Yule. She hasn't shut up about it for weeks. It's pretty annoying. She also constantly refers to herself as a 'geek-girl' as if she is desperate to be different. I suggest that is possibly why she celebrates Yule and not Christmas - more for attention seeking reasons than actual beliefs.

 

Also she's a Wiccan.

 

Anyway.

[Emasher]

I have a 'friend' who celebrates Yule. She hasn't shut up about it for weeks. It's pretty annoying. She also constantly refers to herself as a 'geek-girl' as if she is desperate to be different. I suggest that is possibly why she celebrates Yule and not Christmas - more for attention seeking reasons than actual beliefs.

 

Also she's a Wiccan.

 

Anyway.

 

Do you use the world "Hipster" at all in the UK?

[Ville]

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Edited September 12, 2021 by Ville

[Nintendohnut]

Do you use the world "Hipster" at all in the UK?

 

Not particularly, although I know what you mean.

 

As you may have guessed, this girl is intensely annoying. She IS a geek, and maybe she really does believe in all the stuff. I really don't take offense to any of that at all. What really annoys me is that she constantly makes sure you know about it. I'm a pretty huge geek, but I don't go around telling everyone I meet, I don't put it in the 'box' on my facebook page, because while it is something I might be, people already know that about me.

 

Anyway. Back to the discussion.

 

I'm not especially Christian but Christmas is something you can't not have. It is one of my favourite times of year, just because you get time off, but also cause I spend time with my family who are also off work, eat amazing food and recharge for the new year. Presents are a bonus

[The Peeps]

Completely know what you mean about that girl, Nintendohnut. Some people seem to have to project themselves at you so you think of them how they want you to instead of just seeing them for what they are.

 

I always wondered what Yule actually was - it was what the pagans celebrated before christians replaced it with Christmas then?

[MoogleViper]

Yeah it was. Something to do with the winter solstice I believe.

[Mundi]

Winter solstice is pretty much it, celebrating that the weather will change soon and will yield better crops.

Basically "Hurrah, we survived the winter"

 

It's called "jul" in Danish as well. We Nordics hafta stick together! :awesome:

 

We call it "Jól" over here, which is essentially the same when you go into pronunciation.

Which is of no surprise when you consider that most signs point to that most of the northern hemisphere spoke the same language over a 1000 years ago.

[Diageo]

I don't like saying Christmas, since I don't believe in God. "Happy holidays" is better because the biggest part of this season I like is the holidays, and it incorporates New Years. Not because I want to be PC, I dislike every religion.

 

As I don't particularly see the point of Christmas, I care less about the actual name than the holidays itself.

 

For anyone that wonders, the "X" in "Xmas" does mean Christ. It's Greek or something. I read something about it anyway, and it's not trying to take the Christ out of Christmas.

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

For anyone that wonders, the "X" in "Xmas" does mean Christ. It's Greek or something. I read something about it anyway, and it's not trying to take the Christ out of Christmas.

 

Yup, it's actually the Greek letter chi (χ), which stands for χριστός, meaning "anointed". It's often fused with the letter rho (ρ), in which case it represents Jesus Christ:

 

[heroicjanitor]

Yup, it's actually the Greek letter chi (χ), which stands for χριστός, meaning "anointed". It's often fused with the letter rho (ρ), in which case it represents Jesus Christ:

 

 

I see the resemblance, it's the spitting image of him.

[Captain Falcon]

Even Christians don't see Christmas as the most important religious event of the year so if the meaning has diverted from it's true intent, I think the idea of peace on earth and goodwill to all men is a more worthy cause to celebrate than the one that we are losing.