True Meaning of Christmas (That Everyone Forgets)

[hermetic]

"Not having to resort to eating each other truly is the greatest gift of all."

This is the time of year when my Christian friends remind me via Facebook image macros that Christ is the reason for the season, and my atheist friends remind everyone that "Christmas" is at best a renamed pagan orgy and at worst a crass hybrid of religious conditioning and economic stimulus ("God became a man to save us from sin, so let's get into a fistfight over the last PlayStation 4 at Target!&quot . Well, let me take the bold stance that if you're using Christmas as an excuse to be a dick to somebody, you're probably doing it wrong. The real origins of this holiday are amazing, sacred, and etched into your very DNA, if not by God then by evolution. There's enough magic here for everybody, damn it.

It's hard to understand why Christmas came to be a big deal even for people who have never stepped foot inside a church without understanding the context. And the context -- which does predate Christianity by thousands of years -- is that December kicks off winter in the Northern hemisphere. And for most of human history, winter meant a bunch of us were going to freaking die.

/snip/

Every year, you see, winter arrived with a short day followed by the longest night of the year (aka the winter solstice), and since before recorded history, humans have been celebrating that day with a feast, or festival, or outright debauchery. On that longest night before the frozen mini-apocalypse, in all times and places you would find light and song and dancing and food. Cattle would be slaughtered (to avoid having to feed all of them through the winter), families would travel to be together, and wine would flow. Precious supplies were dedicated to making decorations and gifts -- frivolous things, good for nothing other than making each other happy.

For the rest of celebrated author/Cracked editor David Wong's eloquent yet funny article, go here:
http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-true-meaning-christmas-that-everyone-forgets/

[cantbeserious]

1. This Citizen Has Forgone The Corporate Greed Inspired Debauchery Of Gift Giving For Twenty Years Now

eom

[hermetic]

2. What...

You're not down with a little debauchery?

[cantbeserious]

3. This Citizen Has Worn Out Old Man Parts - Debauchery Is A Mere Fantasy At This Point In Time

eom

[rurallib]

6. I get hundreds of solicitations for old man parts repair daily in email

at only $3/pill debauchery can reign once again

[catnhatnh]

4. Highly Recommended-K&R N/T

[Wounded Bear]

5. That's a damn good read...

Thanks for the link.

[mackerel]

7. "winter meant a bunch of us were going to freaking die"

Turns out Dave Wong died in the end.