Thread: Christmas Is A Waste of Money

And resources. All the money and resources that could be saved if it was never celebrated.

Maybe I'm just getting older (age 28) and losing the fantasy...

What a farce it’s become, especially in the United States. The jolly fucks will hang up lights and decorations and go out amongst the filth of society to celebrate and spend time with each other. All in the name of togetherness, love, and celebration.

Where will all the good cheer be in January when the headlines are highlighting the usual mass shootings and violence that goes on every day? Where will all the jolly fucks and their good cheer be then? Nothing but hypocrisy.

It’s hard enough to save and manage money in today’s society and the holidays only put more pressure on people to give away what little they have to begin with. I’m completely content to enjoy a dinner with some close relatives and that’s it. Forget the gifts and cards. I give away money in a card only to get it back from someone else in another card. Makes no sense.

The true meaning of Christmas is long gone anyway. Just another day for the greedy bastards to make money.

You should have seen the factory pukes I used to work with. Every winter they took out a Christmas loan. When it got paid off, they signed up for a vacation note which was done just in time for another Christmas loan. They never caught up. Not everyone did this, but more signed up than should have.

I kind of like Christmas, despite all the commercial bull. I don't spend that much, so it's not like I'm being really pruned.

The only people I buy anything for is my parents…this year I bought them a bigger TV and I took the 50 inch I had bought them for Christmas 3-4 years ago. I don’t really shop much so I don’t go out mingling with the masses. There’s something about seeing “happiness” via unbridled consumerism that makes me hate humans….well that and seeing people all over their phones…sometimes trying to show each other something “cool”.

I hate Christmas for a variety of reasons, commercial racket and being forced to buy stuff for people because you know they are doing the same for you. I hate having to take a week off work at the coldest time of the year.

Reasons Why Christmas Is A Terrible Holiday | The New Republic - An essay from 1990, still holds true today.

The way Christmas is operated in modern day society is a total disgrace. I thought it was supposed to be a time to spend quality time with your family but instead it's treated as another consumerist holiday. The fact that you're expected to buy expensive gifts for people that are probably extremely picky and won't appreciate the gift at all while demanding the latest and most expensive brands and products says something. It's just mass consumerism disguised as "giving". I hate being pessimistic about stuff like this but it's hard not to be when you see how the general public treats holidays such as Christmas.

‘Tis the season to spend lolly
Tra-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Get pissed drunk and shag some dolly
Tra-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

Just as well it’s only once a year, it takes at least that long to forget what an ass you were last time.

Now a nice little Christmas song to get us all in the mood:

Originally Posted by Jackoff

‘Tis the season to spend lolly
Tra-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Get pissed drunk and shag some dolly
Tra-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

Just as well it’s only once a year, it takes at least that long to forget what an ass you were last time.

Christmas in America?
Under Brandon?

I'd rather see someone put a 20 megaton star on top of the national Christmas tree!

Originally Posted by stanmsl

I hate Christmas for a variety of reasons, commercial racket and being forced to buy stuff for people because you know they are doing the same for you. I hate having to take a week off work at the coldest time of the year.

Reasons Why Christmas Is A Terrible Holiday | The New Republic - An essay from 1990, still holds true today.

Sometime in the seventies, retailers decided Christmas would be even better with more advertising. It worked for years, but about the time this piece came out was the high water mark. They couldn't have played more ads if they tried. Cooperate America didn't know it yet, but they had reached the point where no amount of advertising would move any more product. Now they get what they can, but don't play half the ads they did 25-30 years ago.

The piece was a good representation of American Christmas back then. Comparing now and then, some things are a little better, some worse, maybe a lot worse. I don't think as many working stiffs now spend stupid money on Christmas. Least compared to the early nineties. Mostly they can't afford it. A lot more guys had living wage jobs then. As far as crime, depression, travel headaches, things like that, there's probably more than there ever was. But we're talking thirty years change here, these things haven't gone up more than anything else.

People used to send Christmas cards and ignore you the rest of the year. It's just what they did. Most of them meant well. But the whole card thing was slowly dying, even before computers. Anybody sends you a paper card today, they think you're alright. There is a lot of junk mail though.

There's a reason for the season. But most people have forgotten it nowadays.

Originally Posted by Chris007

There's a reason for the season. But most people have forgotten it nowadays.

Indeed, there is.

BEGIN_RANT:

The Elders of the early Christian church, realized very quickly the battle they had to wage with established pagan rituals; and the power said rituals had on the minds of men and women.
They wisely chose to "hijack" all the rituals surrounding the "death" of the sun (at its lowest on the horizon during this time) and the impending "rebirth" of the new warm period of the year.

Hence, Jesus was... "born on Dec 25th".

For more details just Google about "Christmas pagan origins". The first link I see is one from the History channel ( https://www.history.com/topics/chris...y-of-christmas ) - which is admittedly a horrible source :-) ...but you'll get the gist from this article. You can search and find far better ones.

CONTINUE_RANT:

- We humans are mortal creatures.
- Our societies evolved psychological mechanisms to keep us happy during the bitterness of the winter cold.
- Given Christianity's devastating win over all the pagan religions in the West, Christmas is the latest, and admittedly, the greatest (success-wise) in this long standing series of mechanisms.

But that's not where the story ended.

- Because right along side religion, a far more sinister, and indeed, evil force evolved... The Market (TM)
- And this force being the ruthless beast it is, it realized it could use the brain-washing power of mass media to maximize its profit.
- So as the medium evolved from newspapers, to TV, to the web, to mobile phones, to VR(?) and who knows what next...
- ...so did the water-boarding of our subconscious with "buy this, feel happy!" "no, buy that, feel happier!" "no, drink Coke, it will make you the happiest, as it does for Santa!"

And since most women barely exceed the emotional maturity of little children, this message resonated immensely with them.
So their pet slaves have to dig deep in their pockets when Xmas comes along.
For the Glory of Jesus, naturally...

END_RANT.

I mean no disrespect to my fellow religious MGTOWs.
In fact, I have a lot of respect for true followers of the empathy in Christ's teachings - who use these holidays to exercise their humanity, and help those in need.

I'll try to follow their path, as I do every year - and help some charities that do make a difference in the world.

I humbly suggest you do the same; don't buy useless crap for your friends and family.
In fact, I recommend you instead choose to make something, with your own hands. No matter how silly and amateur it may look.
Or just a good book. I'll keep recommending "the ancient art of Stoic Joy" - it really is a good book, for all mankind to read.

If upon receiving this sort of gift you get the "what is this crap" look... then this is a person you should learn to avoid in the future.

Merry Xmas, my MGTOW brothers.

Most of the Christian traditions we celebrate in the West are actually Pagan festivals anyway. When the Christians were trying to convert the Pagans in Europe they had to make a lot of allowances. So we have an Easter Bunny (Formerly a symbol of Pagan fertility) and Christmas Trees (Trees and nature were worshiped by the Pagans).

Halloween wasn't that long ago and I was looking at the crap at the grocery store and just thinking about how much extra money parents would have to spend if they wanted to appease their kids. I am sure a lot of that crap is thrown out so the following year new stuff is bought or new stuff is added to the box of crap.

People just buying stuff so they can "use it" for a few days and then box it up for 11 months. Or throw it away later.

Wasteful.

Originally Posted by Chris007

There's a reason for the season. But most people have forgotten it nowadays.

Not me, I didn't forget, it's to make the food taste better!

It is a waste of money. Think of it this way. People buy things they don't need or even want, to impress people they don't like, with money they don't have. They will be paying for it for the next 2 years with bullshit fees and interest. Funny thing is during that time the new version comes out making what you are paying out the wazoo for pretty much worthless. My holidays are simple and peaceful. I cook a dinner that has me eating leftovers for a week. I will use the Christmas ham for salads, sandwiches, soups, etc.

I recently bought myself a Japanese Xbox 360 so I could play the import game Wrestle Kingdom(FTW!!! IT"S AWESOME!!!). I paid for it with cash. It took me a few months to buy it cause I saved whatever I could. I ended up finding a great deal and had cash leftover. Most people would've bought it on credit and end up paying 3 times what it's worth plus interest for at least the next 2 years. It's smart to shop around.

I'm gonna create mgtower in the game so I can smack the bitch around .(hahahaha! Just messing with my buddy mgtower!)

Originally Posted by MGTOWFOREVER

It is a waste of money. Think of it this way. People buy things they don't need or even want, to impress people they don't like, with money they don't have. They will be paying for it for the next 2 years with bullshit fees and interest. Funny thing is during that time the new version comes out making what you are paying out the wazoo for pretty much worthless. My holidays are simple and peaceful. I cook a dinner that has me eating leftovers for a week. I will use the Christmas ham for salads, sandwiches, soups, etc.

I recently bought myself a Japanese Xbox 360 so I could play the import game Wrestle Kingdom(FTW!!! IT"S AWESOME!!!). I paid for it with cash. It took me a few months to buy it cause I saved whatever I could. I ended up finding a great deal and had cash leftover. Most people would've bought it on credit and end up paying 3 times what it's worth plus interest for at least the next 2 years. It's smart to shop around.

I'm gonna create mgtower in the game so I can smack the bitch around .(hahahaha! Just messing with my buddy mgtower!)

Starting to sound like Dave Ramsey there.
Nothing wrong with that financially...cash IS king.

Imagine if you were still married (shudder the thot) and bought that gaming rig.
Yeah, THAT would not end well with the wifey, or better (or worse yet) the no-mother-good-in-law, I'd imagine.
You'd probably never hear the end of it.

Bah, Humbug!!!

What Does “Bah, Humbug!” Actually Mean? | Mental Floss

As most of us don't have family staying with us over the holidays and have limited people, we are obliged to buy gifts for.... Bah, Humbug!!!

Over time Christmas has taken a little different role with me... Kinda like roll Thanksgiving (not a thing in Australia) into Christmas and forget the commercial aspect.... Be thankful for what you have, make things right with friends/family.

I treasure this time of the year for self-reflection. At times painful, but mostly thankful...

I enjoy the holiday season, but can't stand the commercialism and stressful fuss.

I prefer to share an experience, rather than giving and receiving objects. It seems obvious to me. Unfortunately, many people are too attached to the Christmas gift objects and all the fuss associated with them (shopping, wrapping, etc.). Give me a nice Christmas church service, a family dinner, gifts for the kids, and a get-together for the family dogs.

Gift-giving is stressful. Figuring out what to get for some people is always a strain. Another strain is that I'll suggest to one of my relatives that we exchange gifts only for the kids, and she'll agree. That sounds like it relieves some strain, which it should. But then on Christmas day she'll show up with something for me anyway, leaving me in the position of not having a gift for her. I actually feel worse for not having a gift for whoever her boyfriend is that year, because it's most probably his money that paid for my gift. On a year when she doesn't have a boyfriend paying for her holiday giving, she'd happily keep it to just gifts for the kids. I was telling somebody about this a few years ago, and she suggested that I keep a few gift cards in my pocket just in case (cards that I can use too). That doesn't completely solve the problem, because there's also the judging of gifts that invariably happens. But the gift card is still the best option. I'm not going to sweat the grading by people who immaturely need presents. You put me in that position of giving me a gift after we agreed not to exchange, you can be thankful that you're getting a few coffees instead of getting chewed out for putting me in that spot.

I enjoy houseplants and was at a nursery the other day, when I noticed the section for live Christmas trees. Then I stopped by the hardware store and noticed its section for real Christmas trees. I was turned off by the wastefulness of all those trees being grown, cut down, and thrown out every year. Sure, there's an argument to be made for the financial stimulus it provides for some people, but the constant raising, killing, and discarding of so many trees every year is quite off-putting. That's another one of those things that people are attached to. I get that we grew up with it, and that it's recycled every year for the holiday sales drive. I still think we can enjoy the romance of it while still being mindful and moderate.

That aside, happy holidays!

Originally Posted by Katsu

I enjoy houseplants and was at a nursery the other day, when I noticed the section for live Christmas trees. Then I stopped by the hardware store and notices its section for real Christmas trees. I was turned off by the wastefulness of all those trees being grown, cut down, and thrown out every year. There's an argument to made for the financial stimulus it provides for some people, but the constant raising, killing, and discarding of so many trees every year is quite off-putting. That's another one of those things that people are attached to. I get that we grew up with it, and that it's recycled every year for the holiday sales drive. I still think we can enjoy the romance of it while still being mindful and moderate.

That aside, happy holidays!

National Forest's in America will sell you a Christmas tree permit but finding a good one takes local knowledge or a lot of looking. And truth is, 99% of wild trees have bare spots or some other defect. Of course, you never spot these faults till you get it home. You might get stuck in the snow twenty miles from town too. Most of the time there are spare trees near the one you cut, so there's not much environmental harm done. Christmas does take out many genetically superior trees, but considering how many trees the forest has, it'll be ok.

Plantation grown trees aren't really hurting the environment, at least no more than any other crop. It's a big business in the Pacific Northwest. Some places sink old trees in lakes for fish habitat. Others hit the burn pile. Most escape the landfill.

I used to get nice ones, but that's genetically wasteful. Then I started getting the ugliest tree I could find. Now, it's no tree. Actually, a lot of people in Christmas tree country don't bother with real ones anymore. The fake one's are pretty good. The don't have the smell, but when you live on the edge of a forest, the smell is no big deal.

Originally Posted by frog

The fake one's are pretty good. The don't have the smell, but when you live on the edge of a forest, the smell is no big deal.

They sell pine scented spray for artificial trees. It actually works pretty well.

I persuaded my mom and stepdad to go with an artificial tree many years ago. We never looked back. With them and my dad long gone, now I don't even bother with a tree or decorations.

Live Christmas trees make a mess with leaving needles everywhere and also can be a fire hazard as they dry out. Think of old-style Christmas lights on the tree giving it heat.