ANSWERS: 11
  • What do you mean 'just for formallity'. do you mean celebrate it for real as in spending hundreds of dollars on gifts that won't last for very long, cause i don't think they have the money.
  • Christmas isn't about snow. But today's materialistic spirit is crowding out the true spirit of Christmas these days. We spend so much time being entertained, we don't spend time considering the meaning of the Season. If you really want to experience the Spirit of Christmas, you need to find a way to give on a more personal level to the poor, to teach your children what you believe Christmas should be about, and to involve yourself in some facet of Christmas celebrations, such as caroling, or producing or attending local Christmas plays and activities.
  • That's kind of a loaded question. What, exactly, do you mean by "developing countries"? Would these be countries that, perhaps, don't have an ethnic Christian majority? Like primarily Muslim countries, for example? Or African (perhaps outside of South Africa, maybe Zimbabwe -- since that country is 'un-developing' -- Kenya and Uganda, which were all part of the British Empire at one time, and hence have large ethnic Christian populations)? People tend not to celebrate Christmas (except for places catering to tourists, who may do it as a formality, as you say), when it is NOT THEIR RELIGION! I'd think that might be a thing to look at, wouldn't it? Do you celebrate Diwali, for example? Chinese New Year? Golden Week in Japan? Have you made a Hajj? What non-Christian religious holidays do YOU celebrate?
  • You're incorrect in stating that people in developing countries do not celebrate Christmas "for real". Just because their celebrations differ from what you are familiar with does not mean that they do not celebrate. Conversely, in so-called "developed" countries, Christmas has been bastardized into a commercialized scramble for the latest advertised toy, electronic gadget, or some other over-priced and unnecessary product. There are some people in the world who cherish family over possessions, and that is reflected in their celebrations, also. I do not know where you live or what your statement is based on, but I do know that you are incorrect. You haven't named any particular country or countries that you assume make up the demographic to which you refer. For that reason, I haven't named any either. I will state, however, that my answer stems from personal experience of having travelled, to, lived in, and studied about many countries in the world. I have had personal interaction with people from various cultures and societies.
  • Tastiger, you're right as rain.
  • Christmas started out with Pagan origins. What do you expect it to become? It went from bad to worse. True Christians want nothing to do with it.
  • What are you talking about? Christmas here is more of a sales event than anything. Besides, why should Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus celebrate a Christian holiday? Do you fast during Ramadan? Last time I heard someone ask this and they were told the same thing, their response was, "B-b-but... don't they know it's Christmas?", and I have to say that that points out a very self-centered form of ignorance. You just have to accept the fact that not all of us are Christian Americans. In fact, about two-thirds of the world population are not Christian and about 95% are not American. ***** EDIT - Correction TT - You're right; non-Christians make up only ~67% of the world population, not 80% as previously written. It's the Catholic branch that numbers around 20% of the population (1.2 billion) and that was the number that popped into my memory. When you add in Protestants, Orthodox, Anglicans, and the rest, that adds a little over 1 billion more so I was off by about 13%. Still, that means that Christians of *all* denominations are still a minority world-wide even if they are the majority in the US.
  • Okay I live in a developing country and we do celebrate christmas. It depends mostly on religion, but we dont need snow to celebrate christmas. What we don't do is be convulsive consumers like in north america, where christmas equals shopping
  • There was snow at the first and most natural Christmas ?
    • Linda Joy
      I'm surprised it took this long for someone to mention that! LOL.
  • not sure why, maybe they just cant afford it
  • Nobody celebrates Christmas "for real" - not even you. Jesus was actually born in summer - not winter. Also nobody actually "celebrated" it until the Roman Empire decided to make it a formal holiday of sorts. With pagan and other holidays included in an empire wide holiday. Developing countries under British empire rule were forced to "celebrate" it - hence why a few resent it.

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