Christmas When You Were Growing Up

[SunnyLeslie]

From the Christmas holidays of my parents' childhood and youth, I have only Christmas tree decorations left. They are already old, but still cute. I try to use them very carefully so as not to damage them accidentally.

[George 1978]

I suppose we will be getting nostalgic that a female monarch used to appear on Christmas Day at 3.00 pm... Full circle.

[Richard1978]

I suppose we will be getting nostalgic that a female monarch used to appear on Christmas Day at 3.00 pm... Full circle.

Yes you'll have to be well into your 70s to remember the last King's speech.

[Arran]

The religious aspect of Christmas seems to have almost completely vanished from the public realm. Nativity scenes are very rare, and only hang on via primary school plays. Angels seem to have disappeared. Christmas carols have been replaced with modern day 'secular' music. The superstar of modern day Christmas is Santa rather than Jesus.

Then there's that silly Elf on the Shelf that's popped up in the past 10 or so years.

[George 1978]

There is a lot of truth to that - Father Christmas has more or less replaced the vicar or bishop as being the "face" of Christmas, but the religious aspect is still out there - I think that it is just that church congregations have gone down in recent years. I read in a BBC News article that a vicar refused to have a man inside his church for a Christmas service because he (the man) was dressed as Father Christmas! I suppose that it was the vicar's church, and he can decide who can or cannot sit on his pews for his services.

At least schools try and preach about the true story of Christmas, the nativity and the baby Jesus and all that, although you know that they (along with recent generations) will associate Christmas with presents and sales in the shops (Black Friday indeed).

I still watch the Midnight Mass, the Christmas Morning service on BBC 1 because I like to keep my principles of tradition when it comes to Christmas.

[George 1978]

Yes you'll have to be well into your 70s to remember the last King's speech.

It's like elderly people in the late 20th century who used to say that they had lived in two centuries, and then the year 2000 arrived... And then the younger people were also in the same boat.

I bet that those in their 80s or over who are still around will get a trip down Memory Lane when they hear that "The King" will be back at 3.00 pm on 25th December. No, I don't mean Elvis Presley, either...

[Arran]

There is a lot of truth to that - Father Christmas has more or less replaced the vicar or bishop as being the "face" of Christmas, but the religious aspect is still out there - I think that it is just that church congregations have gone down in recent years. I read in a BBC News article that a vicar refused to have a man inside his church for a Christmas service because he (the man) was dressed as Father Christmas! I suppose that it was the vicar's church, and he can decide who can or cannot sit on his pews for his services.

At least schools try and preach about the true story of Christmas, the nativity and the baby Jesus and all that, although you know that they (along with recent generations) will associate Christmas with presents and sales in the shops (Black Friday indeed).

I still watch the Midnight Mass, the Christmas Morning service on BBC 1 because I like to keep my principles of tradition when it comes to Christmas.

The religious aspect is still there but it's now largely confined to Christians and churches rather than the public realm.

Census results reveal that only 46.2% of the population of England and Wales are Christian. This figure includes Evangelical Christians and Orthodox Christians who celebrate Christmas in a different way from mainline Protestants and Catholics. Many Orthodox celebrate Christmas in January.

The story of Christmas is taught in RS lessons in school, although Nativity plays do in fact deviate from the Gospel of Matthew quite a bit.

[George 1978]

The results of the 2021 Census which was recently released did say that Christians in Wales are in a minority for the first time. However, the fact that as the Census forms also had boxes for "Atheism", "No Religion", "Religion Not Stated", and "Other Religion" being listed is the main reason why Christianity is no longer a majority - I wouldn't count any of them as a being a "religion" in the same way. Take those away, and put Christianity with other main religions such as Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, etc, and Christianity is still over 50% between the six main religions.

[Victoria O'Keefe]

I miss nativity plays.

[Arran]

The results of the 2021 Census which was recently released did say that Christians in Wales are in a minority for the first time. However, the fact that as the Census forms also had boxes for "Atheism", "No Religion", "Religion Not Stated", and "Other Religion" being listed is the main reason why Christianity is no longer a majority - I wouldn't count any of them as a being a "religion" in the same way. Take those away, and put Christianity with other main religions such as Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, etc, and Christianity is still over 50% between the six main religions.

The figures for religions are nebulous. It doesn't provide any differentiation between people who are holier than thou and those who are just notionally religious, or tick a reiigion box because they are religious in origin or baptised but non-practising.

Also, no differentiation between sects.

[Victoria O'Keefe]

I'm still small-c catholic but despise the Church for something that happened to me.

[George 1978]

The figures for religions are nebulous. It doesn't provide any differentiation between people who are holier than thou and those who are just notionally religious, or tick a reiigion box because they are religious in origin or baptised but non-practising.

Also, no differentiation between sects.

Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, etc.

I have always been impartial when it comes to Christianity - attend a church service in an Anglican church, go to a community event at a Methodist church.

[George 1978]

Instead of the traditional sherry, I am going to go for Martini Asti Spumante this year - does anyone have that at Christmas and New Year?

[Victoria O'Keefe]

love you all

[George 1978]

love you all

So do I.