RateItAll: The Opinion Network

To all my friends at Rateitall; administrators and reviewers, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Not a Christian? Don't believe in Christmas? That's okay, just sit back and enjoy the holiday season. No harm, no foul. All the best. God Bless.

I would like to wish my family and friends a very merry Christmas. God has blessed me with a wonderful family and great friends. I pray that each of you will enjoy this our Lord's birthday and that you will reflect on the blessings you have received in 2007. To my friends who I have not met but who may find and read my postings, I pray that if you do not know the Lord as your personal savior that you will not hesitate to ask him into your heart. Jesus died so you can live. I am not worthy of his sacrifice and neither are you. He took your place on that cross because he loves you, no other reason. Give Christ the greatest gift on his birthday, your life. "He died for you, can't you live for him?"

So many people are asleep when it comes to this pagan holiday. Jeremiah 10: 3-8, makes it clear about the tree. Santa, might as well be Satan. We are not to celebrate this pagan holiday, we are to glory in the cross, not the birth of Christ., and besides, people who claim to celebrate Christ birth, NONSENSE! They put up the tree, which is pagan practices, and run to the shopping malls like a heard of cattle. Celebrate the finish work of the cross, and the glorious ressurrection.

Used to be 5, but now a 4 for the annual whining and self-crucifixions of gay-for-Christ types who whine and moan about how (mysteriously) people are 'out to get' their holiday and destroy it. . .these people should drink more at their non-demoninational-winter-office-party

If one can get past the commercialism and the greed surrounding Christmas, and simply enjoy the essence of the season, that of family and friends and good times together, then one can truly enjoy the season. Christmas is what you make of it.

(runs through the street all crazy like "Its a Wonderful Life")

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It's rather hard to rate a holiday, so I will simply say...

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year! :)

Merry CHRISTmas to you all, and happy HOLY-DAY!

Christmas usually sucked for me. My mom always gave me the "love" excuse, so I usually didn't get presents. But I love this holiday, Charlie Brown, Rudolph the Red Nose Raindeer, the parades, Christmas trees, and Christmas lights. I always have Christmas dinner with my folks and that's always good. That time of year always makes me feel so giddy!

This celebration is a pegan holiday. Jesus was not born on Dec. 25. Christmas is a mix of pegan customs--from the sun/seasonal worship of the greeks, to the tree fanatics of Germany who brought over the tree and rituals (aka Santa Claus). While having a time set aside for being with family is important, it is a bad excuse to practice rituals, especially in the name of Jesus (phuh). I really don't see any excuse to celebrate Christmas and I am sure God doesn't either. Sadly, people are too consumed with traditions from their ancestors and not consumed enough with how to please God or make the world a better place.

The thing i most enjoy about Christmas, apart from the presents, is the sense of family togetherness. I love the way that, for once, me and my siblings are being friendly toward one another instead of deliberately winding each other up, and how, despite the fact that there's a lot to get done (such as getting the huuuuuge turkey ready for dinner time), the atmosphere is really relaxed. However, i do feel a bit weird about celebrating Christmas sometimes, as i'm not a Christian and therefore i don't celebrate the birth of Christ, which is really what it's all about. I think a lot of people (including myself ;) ) tend to forget that, due to the extensive advertising. The commercialisation of Christmas is another thing that i dislike; does anyone else remember the time when the Christmas hype began a week before the big day? Over in the UK, most shops, particularly the supermarkets, have begun stocking up for Christmas by September; that's BEFORE Halloween! I think that there is the danger of Christmas becoming an anti-climax, as there are months and months of hype about it, and then as soon as it comes, we're expected to move on and carry on as normal almost instantly.

Not a Christian, but I do love the festivities of togetherness, peace, and light at the darkest time of the year. And I find the more religous carols the most majestic and beautiful.

Christmas is NOT Jesus's birthday, anybody who would put 5 minutes of research into it would realize that. Constantine decided to declare December 25th the day to celebrate his chosen religious belief. Until then (312AD) it was a pagan celebration (winter solstice). In fact, until Constantine came to power it was illegal to practice Christianity. Nonetheless, the holiday is exciting.....for my children.

Many people today make the mistake when they hear the word Christmas. They don't think of Jesus and His miraculous birth. Instead, they think of family gatherings, festive meals, decorations, and gifts. To them, Christmas brings nostalgia and memories of childhood. Now, all this celebration isn't wrong. But if that's all that Christmas means to us, we are missing its true significance. The real meaning of this special day is summed up in the words of the angel to the shepherds on that night long ago: "I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11). Christmas surely should not be good if you don't know Jesus Christ as you hope. Don't celebrate Christmas without inviting the Guest of honor.

Let's redo Christmas. Instead of buying diamond rings or earrings for your girlfriend/wife from Zales to "prove" you love her, why not save the money and buy someone in need a gift they need? Buy any kids you know something they like, so on and so forth. Christmas is not a time to give your equals or superiors presents, but should be a time to give back to the community. It's depressing to see a country brainwashed into thinking that buying unnecessary gifts and presents somehow proves something. Christmas is good for little kids, and that's it. Once you get older, if you are so immature that you still hold out your hands from your boyfriend/husband/parents for expensive toys for grownups, you are sad. Save that money you were going to use to buy that diamond ring or that electronics device from Best Buy for some idiot that has the money to buy his own or doesn't even deserve it, and go slip a few gas station guys and waitresses a hundred bucks, hand out gift certificates to restaurants at soup kitchens, or buy stuff on wish lists for needy people. That's the true spirit of the Christmas season; giving to people IN NEED.

It is great when you are a kid but it kind of looses its luster as time goes by. It is a good time to reflect on the good Christmas' gone by. Some people find it hard to believe but Christmas can be very depressing. Try to put a postive spin on it and enjoy the season.

Merry Mythmas everybody.

There is validity in each comment here by different reviewers concerning the celebration of Christmas. Yes, it is a usurped pagan holiday that is has put the birth of Jesus Christ on the same day as one that was celebrated over a thousand years before His birth, that of a heathen sun god. Yes, many of the traditions that we use in the Christmas celebrations are not scriptural; the traditional nativity scene for one, the Magi, who were humble wise men seeking the truth, did not first visit Jesus in the manager of His birth, but in a house several days later. From the Yule log, the poisonous mistletoe to Santa Claus all of these have their roots in pagan worship, yet I do not notice anyone worshiping these things during the Christmas season. Why has the birth of Jesus been so corrupted and brought down to such a secular level and yes as mentioned, no longer the main reason for the season? I agree that the commercialism has long gotten out of hand with decorations already being sold in stores months before. The stress of the season can get to be too much especially with the frenzied shopping, marathon baking, gift-wrapping and overindulgences that seem to have become a necessity. What I do know is that the birth of Jesus is Biblical, the books of Matthew and Luke go into great detail in giving accounts of His birth. I also know that without the birth of Jesus Christ there would not be the Biblical salvation for mankind, that in itself is cause for celebration. I have to say it is my favorite time of year but I have long stepped back from the hustle and bustle of checking my list to make sure I have completed everything on my list and left no one or nothing off of it. It should be a time for reflection with family and friends coming together and the giving to those less fortunate. I love it all, the Christmas eve pageants, the carolers, the roast beast feasts, the twinkling lights and holly and gaily decorated wreaths and trees and the air that seems to be permeated with cinnamon and cloves. Yet each Christmas night when the rest of the family is sleeping and the house is quiet and at rest, I sit back and look up at the old worn star atop my Christmas tree and I thank God for his greatest gift of all, His Son.

I don't see any reason why this shouldn't be the best holiday of the year for everyone regardless of religious views. For some it is a time to reflect on the birth of Jesus and what it has meant in their lives. For others, it's a time of cheerful decorations and the exchange of presents. Even my Jewish and atheist friends like Christmas because unless they are substituting for a Christian friend at work, it's a paid day off and a good day to go out and get some Chinese food. You don't need to have a religious connotation to use Christmas as a time to perhaps give some gifts to people that you love, or get together with the family for a big meal. That's the nice thing about Christmas...... you don't need to be a Christian to take part in the spirit of the holiday. Everyone likes to see a kid's face light up when they receive that unexpected present and it's a chance to be generous without embarrassment, maybe heal some wounds that were opened during the year, or just kick back for the day and take in a movie or watch TV knowing that at least for this one day, most people will be a little friendlier. Riches are not always measured in terms of material goods so if your finances require that the decorations and presents be humble, there's no limit on love and the giving of one's self. So whether Christmas represents a day of reflection about Christ, or a big portion of beef with broccoli, it's a day that we all can celebrate and share what we have with the people we love, whether those gifts are tangible or intangible.

I am more fervent celebrating it now that it is becoming politically incorrect.

Happy Birthday Jesus

Its fun but it seems to get less and less important to me every year that goes by...

First off, happy holidays everyone! Hope it brings everyone all the best. Overall this is probably my personal favorite time of year; getting together with friends and family and being thankful for the past years events are always a welcome reprive, no matter what you're religious or ethnic orientation may be. Times have become so polarized that we're even not beginning to talk about the secularization of Christmas. Reality is that Christmas has historically very little to do with Christianity from Biblical perspective. Christmas was actually the old Roman festival of Saturn, which celebrated the beginning the winter season. Santa and Christmas trees are both ancient Nordic tradtions also with no connections to Christianity. Christ wasn't even born on Christmas day, the Catholic church simply adopted this so it would overlap the traditional festival of Saturn. Nevertheless, the holiday does contain significant religious connotations that should be respected. The culture warriors are even extending the battle to Christmas carols -- secularists believe that the singing of such songs attempt to establish religion. Reality is that it does no such thing. Such an action won't lead to the establishment of a state religion, which is what the constitution bans. Go back in history and lots of art has religious connotations. These folks are just as intolerant as their fellow warriors on the other side of the fence. These culture wars are not good for the country; in my view, they are a product of overly delicate sensitivities. Religious art is beauty manifested, whether it comes from Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism. A pluralistic society demands a free exchange of ideas; either a. stuffing religion down ones throat or b. blocking religious expression, is not conducive for this. We are a tolerant society for the most part, but some of us simply have no stomach for other views and other ways of life. Such conflict is rooted in attitudes that are way too individualistic; a Jewish person can certainly join in on Christmas celebrations. What is there to stop it? No one's religious beliefs are being threatened. Religion is something that is highly personal, so no one who is truly religious will be affected by secular views -- no matter what anybody says. Freedom of religion is one of the greatest social mechanisms which was built into our constitution: although religions have contradictory belief systems, such freedom allows us to circumvent this. There are community standards that override such considerations. Americans can believe in whatever they want and our only obligation is to simply let others be. Christmas should be a celebration of many things, above all, it should celebrate our freedom; something we all value equally.

I would give Christmas a good. I do like Christmas. I still remember that this is the day to celebrate. Jesus. Our family likes our own traditions of putting up the tree and decorating. We each get a new decoration for the tree each year,We have our selection of Christmas movies we enjoy watching each year Of course we always listen to our Christmas music every year.We have our family get togethers. The only hard part is the stress of the shopping, wrapping. and hoping to have enough money to have a decent Christmas. We do NOT spend a ton of money or run up our credit cards.However we do want our kids to have a few things they want.I do like Christmas,but there can be an awful lot of work, and the stress of getting together with all the relatives. Not everyone one has that perfect Norman Rockwell family.

I love Christmas, as the embodiment of the Christian co-opting of the winter solstice, when the light starts to return. I love the smell of the people in Wal-Mart, waving at the guy who cut me off in traffic with just one finger, and greeting the woman who took my parking space with a cheery Hey, honey, who's gonna watch your car when your inside? Seems like an awful lot of cars are getting keyed this time of year. It warms the cockles of my heart (whatever those are). It's a great time to spend contemplating the coming winter, and remembering the Zocor was invented just so I can have another eggnog.

Jesus is the reason for the season. We celebrate the birth of Jesus who was born in Bethlehem as it was prophesied in the Old Testament he would in Micah 5:2. I say Savior's Greetings, Happy Holy-days, and Merry Christ-Mas.

Great Holiday but I say we should get rid of it since most people dont even know anymore the real meaning of Christmas is celebrating JESUS'S birth

The best Holiday ever. You get a whole lot of stuff you really want and time with your family and get to celebrate Jesus' birthday most of all. In fact, you all should know that christmas isn't about getting presents. It's about giving, joy, togetherness, and time with your family. And most of all. The birth of Jesus.

In the UK this holiday lasts for almost two weeks (taking in New Year) if the offices have closed down! There are hundreds of traditions around this originally pagan celebration of cornucopia (Saturnalia in Rome)and even more so when it became a Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus. Here, Christmas Eve parties lead to Christmas day presents, eating, turkey and trimmings, puddings, the Queen's speech at 3pm (a good excuse for a tea break while she spouts on about the Commonwealth), comedy and variety entertainment in the evening, followed by Boxing Day (the Queen gives out Maundy money to the needy) Originally the day to go leaving boxes on doorsteps, most people now go to visit relatives, watch sport or get drunker still. The January (or more correctly, winter sales,) start directly afterwards and people throng the streets to get out of the claustrophobia of the household before they strangle Great Aunt Maud who's had too much sherry. I love it and I like the way the Dutch and Spanish celebrate too....every place has its own traditions and that should be joyous. UPDATE: Ralph, you are correct about the 'characterisation of Santa Claus, but his personification came from the Dutch as Sant Niclaus who had a black helper called Zwarte Piet. On December the 6th, these two delivered presents into the clogs of Dutch children and thus the myth spread. Coca-Cola just took the imagery and transformed it into a marketing tool. I agree it has become sheer commercialism.

There are numerous benefits to this great day. The first is the most obvious, presents. People can give and receive presents from toys to books to video tapes to money to video games with great joy. I have to admit, I still don't particularly like getting clothes (Christmas should be about things you want, not things you need!), but I don't cry and get angry like I used to. :) Second, massive stretches of school holidays fall both before and after December 25th. Third, the entire family gets together and one can see all of his or her relatives for the day. Fourth, the great story of Santa Claus always brings a smile to people's faces! Fifth, the awesome decorations! Not only is putting up decorations with the fam fun, the decorations themselves look awesome. I love those multi-colored lights that chase! I also love the numerous bright colors! Sixth, there are SOME great Christmas carols. Ignore the slow ones like Silent Night and We Three Kings and embrace the upbeat and uptempo ones like Santa Claus is Coming to Town and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Coolness! It is simply, the best holiday. Did I mention the presents? :)

Please. There's no competition. Presents, decorated trees, a nice big dinner, hot cocoa...just don't forget what it's really about...two delicious weeks off school!! Just kidding.

The best holiday. Its not even a christian holiday in sense any more.

Christmas is my favourite holiday of the year. I love this holiday, everything is so warm, people are less annoying than usual...then there's a lot of gifts, the christmas trees, cribs and the snow...i love all this

Christmas seems to have turned into a big celebration of Santa and winter festivals, leaving God (the real meaning) completely out. Not a problem for me! I celebrate CHRISTmas mainly because it is the birthday of Jesus Christ, the spirit of giving (not getting), and being around my loved ones. Merry Christmas to all!

I love Christmas not for the presents, but for the family time, and I enjoy giving presents now that I'm an adult more than I receive getting. Honestly the true meaning of christmas has been lost with all the crass commercialism, but I'd like to think that deep down it's still in our hearts.

Christmastime is the most wonderful time of the year. Not only is it the time to celebrate Christ's birth, it is the best time to spend with family. In my opinion, Christmastime is the best holiday hands down, the only holiday to compete with it is Easter and occassionally Thanksgiving.

The best holiday. For Christians, the reasons are obvious. For non-Christians, the holiday is used as a celebration of those near and dear to you, by expressing your admiration, love, and respect for those you care about. I don't buy into the materialistic aspects very much. I, like most people, take more pleasure in giving during Christmastime than recieving. I can't remember some of the things I got this past year, but I DO remember the look on by brother's face when he opened the Playstation 2 I gave him...

I love xmas. Its the best season. You get to see all your loved ones, theres great food, great company and gifts! Its a great time of loving and caring. The smell of cinnamon. going out and cutting down a tree and decorating it. The snow...making snow angels and snowmen. Opening your presents in the morning and have wrapping paper all over the place. The cookies and candycanes, the tv programming of rudolph the rednosed raindeer, and singing christmas candles. I love the christmas assembly we have at our school too. we play games and sing songs...its great fun!

I love Christmas. However I don't believe in the commercialization of it and being forced to buy gifts for people who need to learn to give and volunteer to help people who need to be shown that they are loved for themselves not their riches or power or fame or lack of a home or clothes or lack of the spirit of Christmas. Christmas is a time to tell others that they are worthy of true peace and salvation.

Ah, it's the most wonderful time of the year indeed. Christmas always has been and always will be my favorite holiday for a number of reasons. Yes, of course there is the exchanging of gifts, which is still something I enjoy, but not nearly as much as I did when I was ten or eleven. I got to see my Dad for the first time in a long time this past Christmas, and that meant more to me than any gift that I got. We get so caught up in the glamour and commericalization of Christmas that we forget what it really is about: celebrating the birth of Christ, and spending time with your family and your loved ones. There are thousands and thousands of people who are forced to spend Christmas in poverty or on the streets. For my club at school, we all pitched in and bought gifts and provided food for a low income family with two small elementary children, and it was a very filling thing for me to do, because it reminded me that not everyone is fortunate enough to have their parents buy them anything and everything for Christmas. So many people don't get to spend Christmas with their families: orphaned children, families of the 9/11 victims, families of the soldiers fighting terrorism.... but most of us do have that luxery. We get to celebrate Christmas with our families, with the ones that we love and care for, and that alone makes Christmas the best holiday of the year.

Shouldn't everyone give Christmas 5 stars? After all "It's the most wonderful time of the year." Sure materialism and the LIE of Santa Clause have taken some of the meaning and enjoyment out of the holiday, but it's still a great time. And I look forward every year to watching that movie A Christmas Story. "You'll shoot your eye out kid!"

It's nice to see family, put up decorations and eat special dishes that my mom makes only during the holidays. The retail industry kills a lot of the joy with their hyper ads screaming at us to get this and that in order to have the perfect Christmas. It seems that's half of the tradition now- will stores reach their profit goals over the holidays? This whole buying frenzy gets waaay too much attention. Christmas is more fun when the focus is on seeing family and friends and enjoyng the holiday with food and tree decorating.

Pagans are having a field day with this one. Every historian knows that the early Christians didn't celebrate Christmas. But most people are followers and are too ignorant to ask questions. Sad, sad, sad.

This is my second-favorite holiday, after Thanksgiving. I'm not religious myself, so I kind of treat this as a secondary Thanksgiving, but this time you give people things to express that you care about them (not that material things can really express that kind of thing, but it's fun, anyhow), and spend time with your loved ones. It gives you a chance to remember how sweet life can be, once all that horrible holiday stress is put aside. I have fond memories of even the less-than-perfect Christmases, like the time when my boyfriend, his sister and I had to go to a Chinese restaurant for food since our families were out-of-town; it wasn't ideal, but it was sweet nonetheless. And, last Christmas, I got snowed in at my boyfriend's apartment. We slept in, he made us breakfast while we lounged in our night clothes and ate picnic-style on the living room floor. Then he pulled out a ring and proposed (kind of--he never asked, I never actually said yes, he just kind of put the ring on my finger and we confirmed later that yeah, it was an engagement). There was no other family, no Christmas tree or presents, but it was still great.

Santa Clause: Fairy tail - flying raindears, magic, elves, north pole. True Story - Around 1500AD Dutch Overweight man with a beard named 'Nicholas Clause' (this is not the tall skiny Bishop St. Nick of Anatolia, Greece, or the Ukraine) who walked around giving presents to children during Christmas. He was canonise a Saint (Santa=Saint) by the Catholic Church 'cause on more than three separate orcations many people saw him preform miracles. Poperlized by Prodestat Reformers in Germany & Holland as 'Father Christmas' in the 16th Century. It is ashame how a true story eventualy became a Myth (fairy-tail). It is also ashame how this day has lost its spiruality, people become nastier 'cause they have to buy there presents and who others get neglected.

Christmas was always my favorite holiday as a child because Santa would come and bring lots of presents. Now that I am grown, I can truly appreciate the full meaning of the holiday: the birth of Jesus Christ. That makes the sight, sounds, and smells of the season even more special than they ever did when I was little.

Christmas is awesome, Im not suprised that its rated the best holiday on this site. All of the gifts and the Christmas spirit are nice. Shopping for Christmas is actually one of the best things I like about Christmas. Putting up the tree and all of the lights is great. The best holiday.

Without a doubt the greatest holiday. Everyone complains about how commercial it's getting, but I say it's only as commercial as you make it. You don't have to go spend a fortune on gifts if you put a little thought behind your spending. I do think people need to teach their children that first and foremost, it is the day of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Every family needs to set aside a certain amount of time each Christmas to remember that in their own special way, and keep doing it every year like you would any tradition.

It's a great holiday. Why? It gives people in the working world more time off (most of them). It gives kids more time off from school, whether it's grade school or college. People are nicer around this time of year. The food is really good to, of course, that's depending on who cooks it. The spirit of giving a gift is always an enlightening one. Especially when helping out the needy, that always gives me a good feeling.

This is without a doubt, the best time of the year. I get so happy thinking about the gifts even though I know that isnt the real reason for the season. Such a happy time!

I'm a proChristmas athiest. It seems like the biggest holiday of the western tradition; an essential part of my upbringing. People love an excuse to take time off from work, spend time with the family, give and recieve gifts, eat good food, etc. It's commercialized, but capitalism has colonized every possible aspect of our culture.

Christmas is about God and Jesus and not about Santa Claus. In fact, Santa is evil and has been appropriated by Jews and others as their own Holiday spirit. I dont let my children watch any holiday movies unless they deal specifically in Christ.

The holiday season that surrounds Christmas, including Christmas itself is a cozy time of year. The holiday songs (Bing Crosby, Elvis, just to mention a couple) add to the delight. It's a time for eggnog, family, shopping, snow (if your in the right location), Christmas trees and beautiful decorations. It's a time to remember those that are most important to you and be grateful that you have those people in your life. It's also a time to reflect on the past and the memories of your childhood. I am not a big fan of spending thousands of dollars on presents. Something simple, just to let them know that I remembered them. I always get an empty feeling when Christmas is over, but I know it'll be back soon enough.

I don't care what people say about the "mad rush" and the commercialized Christmas season! I LOVE IT!!! Christmas is the most emotional, cozy, jubilant, anticipated time of year! And even when I worked in a retail store I still loved getting swept away in the "Christmas Rush"! Call me crazy but I even payed attention to the songs over the loudspeaker and could tell people exactly how many times that day I had heard "Little St. Nick" by the Beach Boys! But seriously! I love Xmas!

As a Christian I am sure I should have rated this special holiday the maximum, but I rate it lower due to the commercialization of it in modern times. I am tired of seeing Christmas trees out in stores before the Halloween candy is sold. It is all about a dollar... I know capitalism helped make this country (USA) great, but it was also founded on Christian principles too!

Christmas truly is a great holiday. I'm talking about the whole season, I always have a good feeling then.