(How) Do you celebrate Christmas?

[Cobraroll]

Title should be self-explainatory. If you don't celebrate, but still bother to read this topic or even reply to it, please say what you do in the month of December while the rest of the Western world are busy satisfying the shop owners.

Guess I can start myself, to prevent this from being a way too short opening post:

For me, Christmas is a time one has to spend with family. Seeing as most of my family live within a manageable distance, we can meet several times during the Christmas period: when we bake cookies (according to the tradition, it has to be seven different types), when we help each other clean and tidy the house, when we meet on the day itself, and generally on a lot of occasions in the days following Christmas Eve.

For some reason, it's the evening of December 24 that is the big day of celebration in Norway. It's the day many Norwegians go to church (fun fact: 90% of the Norwegians who attend church services, do so only on Christmas Eve), it's the day the Christmas dinner is consumed, and of course the day all the gifts are unwrapped. December 25 is "the following day", the day spent relaxing, kids watch cartoons and play with their new toys. It's also the most common day of greater family gatherings, seeing as people commonly choose to spend Christmas Eve with their near family. This, of course, varies a lot.

A traditional Christmas dinner in Norway commonly features so-called "ribbe" (pork ribs), "pinnekjøtt" (very salt lamb ribs), cod, or the (in)famous lutefisk (look it up, and vow never to eat it). Or, apparently the fourth most common Christmas dinner in Norway, frozen pizza. Nobody quite understand why.

In the midst of all the cozy mid-winter celebrations, the guy responsible for the entire mess is somewhat forgotten. Until not long ago, schools and kindergartens used to set up plays with the traditional evangelium around Christmas, but as an increasingly larger part of the population take distance from religious content in public institutions, this has become less common. Many schools also stop having a Christmas service in church for their students. As stated, Norwegian churches are only filled once a year, and Christmas in its literal content has become more of a tradition than the actual focus of the celebration. To put it like this, Norwegians celebrate Christmas like the Disney characters do, except that nobody eats Turkey.

So, what do you do around Yule?

[ETFROXX]

Well, I guess my Christmas isn't really unique. I wrap all of the gifts on Christmas Eve because my family hates doing it and I love it (of course I don't wrap my own, though). On Christmas day we open gifts around 7 AM and take pictures and listen to Christmas music (sometimes I play the music :3). Then we all scamper off and play with our gifts. Later that night we usually have pizza. =)

[The Deku Trombonist]

Personally, I do pretty much nothing for Christmas. I just don't care.

But I'm from a Polish background so family friends tend to have big dinners which we get invited to. In Poland, the big celebration is on Christmas Eve. They put up the Christmas tree (a real tree that is) on Christmas Eve and decorate it etc... Then they go and have themselves an 11 course meal (or feast) which has no red or white meat, but can and does include fish. I think the 11 has something to do with the disciples other than Judas or something like that. I don't know where the no meat thing comes from.

As for attending church, the majority Poles are full-on Catholics so they go to church most Sundays of the year anyway, but I suppose they make an extra effort during Advent.

[Sekter77]

We unfortunately have to use a fake tree in our house because our cat loves to knock all the needles off of real pine Christmas trees. Since I'm in a Catholic family, we go to mass on Christmas Eve and then open a present when we get back home.
Then on Christmas morning, there's a small stack of presents waiting in our living room. We open those and the ones under our tree while listening to lots of Christmas music. We also have a big dinner with all our local family members that afternoon.

[SuperFireKirby]

Parents pretty much force me to make a Christmas list of things I want, but I make sure I put only 2 or 3 things on it. I go buy other people small nicnaks for Christmas. Have some of my parents friends and their kids over on Christmas eve. Open up presents on Christmas day. Life returns to how it was before. Most presents get used a few times and soon forgotten about. The end.

[Roz~]

I open gifts with my parents and brothers at around 4 pm on Christmas Eve, then we go to my grandparents' house to eat supper and to open more gifts. During the next day I've another supper at my other grandparents' house. That's about it. We also put up a Christmas tree last weekend. Some people here also go to church, but there are not many people who are catholic over here. People just go because it's a tradition. My family doesn't go there though. I don't really like Christmas so I like the fact that we don't celebrate it too much.

[SlowPokemon]

Well, because of the restaurant, we can't go to Michigan this year. Lucky us--we get to spend Christmas with...umm...us.

[universe-X]

Well, I'm Indian, so people don't think I celebrate Christmas... but I do.

We just relax, and spend our time with our gifts on that day

[Maretocks]

We put up the tree a few days ago. It's fake; pine tress are so fragrant.

We usually have Christmas Eve at one place (this year it's our house), and then have Christmas Day at my grandparents'. As for presents, myself, parents, and little brother have our own little present-unwrapping happy-time in the morning of Christmas Day, and then the rest of the family does the same at my grandparents'.

All in all, it's exceptionally boring.

But I'm going to write handwritten Christmas letters to all my friends this year, so that'll be kind of meaningful.

I see it as a family and friends thing, barely religious at all.

[universe-X]

Oh yeah, Christmas trees. We've been using the same one for the past 10 years. Same lights too. And decorations. Yep. Fake, of course.

[Roz~]

Real tree > Fake tree

[Maretocks]

Oh yeah, Christmas trees. We've been using the same one for the past 10 years. Same lights too. And decorations. Yep. Fake, of course.

Fake decorations? That sucks, we use bio-luminescent pine-cones.

[universe-X]

...I didn't know you could have fake decorations xD

I was talking about the tree lol, our decorations are the same red, yellow, green, silver plastic balls, white + red fuzzy stuff we wrap around the tree, etc.

[Maretocks]

...I didn't know you could have fake decorations xD

I was talking about the tree lol, our decorations are the same red, yellow, green, silver plastic balls, white + red fuzzy stuff we wrap around the tree, etc.

Kidding.

Yeah, we have a couple strands of tinsel, lights, and assorted baubles.

[universe-X]

Oh nice haha

One thing I've wanted to do, but never got the chance to... make a gingerbread house.