Willmark:
People were celebrating the Winter Solstice long before Christmas…
Thommy H:
And most of the traditions we associate with modern Christmas are pagan anyway. Christmas, as originally celebrated by early Christians, was a pretty dour affair. All the stuff about trees and lights and rich, roasted foot and fat guys with beards showing up is pure Yule.
Bottom line: humans have been counteracting the darkest, bleakest time of the year by filling their dwellings with joy and light for as long as there have been bits of rock to bang together to make sparks. Not being keen on Jesus doesn’t have any bearing on anything unless you’re just the sort of person who likes going out of your way to rain on others’ collective parade.
nitroglysarine:
People were celebrating the Winter Solstice long before Christmas...That was the cleaver idea behind converting a country, adopt the traditions of a new area, incorpatating them in (making it an easier transition) - not that I agree with it, it just how it was done.
Willmark
Its on the 21st this year I think, I always crack a bottle, and my parents used to put up the tree on that day. So its nice to know the old ways are still in there.
Blue in VT:
:hat off
Seasons greetings to all!!! I’ve been a “hum bug” kind of guy for the last decade or so…but now that I have kids and can watch them get SSOOO excited about the holidays I’m finding that I enjoy them much more.
:hat off
Blue
nitroglysarine:
Kids do have that way of raising your spirits!
Abecedar:
Ya’ all have a good time now ya hear! Its kids that do make it funner in our dotage but I still remember the “you lied to me” reverberating through the house when one got told the truth as my wife saw it. Its the dungeons for me that week, again.
snowblizz:
Kids do have that way of raising your spirits!Oh, my mom has a cure for that...
nitroglysarine
I mean seriously, who tells the kids they can't decorate the tree like they want, but has to follow some theme they saw in an interior design magazine?
nitroglysarine:
…the soulless?
I’m planning some paper rings streamers when I can have a chance to buy the card to do it.
red-> green-> gold maybe.
Anonymouse:
...the soulless?You don't mean... *gasp* gingers? :o
nitroglysarine
cornixt:
My mother-in-law now has a “theme tree”, while mine is getting more random every year. I don’t care as long as it is a Christmas-themed ornament (like snowmen and such) but I draw the line at footballs and mini-cola bottles (seriously, people put those on their trees?)
nitroglysarine:
better than candles!
those used to cause a few, ahem!, problems?
Loki:
Merry Christmas and every one please be aware that santa has a big beard and wears a big red hat and has an army of small green things working for him , need i say more :hat
Abecedar:
Merry Christmas and every one please be aware that santa has a big beard and wears a big red hat and has an army of small green things working for him , need i say more :hatOh dear. I just had an image pop into my head. Santa in his big red hat in a flying chariot being pulled by 8 Great Taurus's with dopey rhyming names, putting his hand into his big red bag, pulling out another green slave to hurl down at his foes as a present.
Loki
Borador:
Happy holidays everyone!
Grimstonefire:
Hmm… A flying chariot pulled by 8 great taurus… That would be an AWESOME model! 
nitroglysarine:
Now I really have the image of the Futurama evil santa robot with his mechanised raindeer.
“Merry Chirstmas to all, now you are all gonna to die…”
Willmark:
That’s it someone needs to make a model of a Santa Dawi Zharr for next year.
Redhammer:
Well, I already have Snorri Claus, the Dwarf that runs around refilling ale and beer(I’m making his sleigh, using it as a count-as gyrocopter) but I wanted to make a Chaos Dwarf Knecht Ruprecht (probably horrible spelling…). He’s a German legend, and he goes aroud with Santa ad gives switches to the parents of bad kids to beat said children with and puts coal in the kid’s shoes.
Thought he would be a fun one to make.
Willmark:
Or perhaps some the artists can draw him.
sparrow:
Perhaps it could be the theme to one of the Golden Hat contests! That would be fun.
Have a great Christmas everyone, and thanks for everything that makes this site great.
Jon