Tesco's Christmas Advert!

foxxymynx

I'm not a religious extremist by any means, but I think that Tesco's Christmas Advertisement on TV is offensively blasphemous! In a predominantly Christian country, to say "Christmas is about putting a smile on the kids' faces" IMO is wrong. I don't believe that it would blasphem against any other religion's festival.

It just shows how commercialised Christmas has become.

alison99_2

Well I for one will make sure my granddaughter has a really miserable time this christmas just so she can understand the true meaning of it. :rolleyes: :santa2:

Freddie_Snowbits

But hey, that is what Christmas is for, our cathedral supermarkets to fleece monies off people on cheap imported chinese goods that are not worth the packaging around it to provide vast profits for the managements.

What was this Christ thing anyway, he means nothing to this festival of greed. I myself prefer to at least get more gifts that I send.

(no not really, I just give everyone the same, Parents, Brothers and Sisters, Diary, pen and £10 voucher, Nephews/Nieces up to age 16, same.) Then there is no arguments, no fussing and done with it in one swipe. WHSmith, 10 minutes max, spend this year estimated at £110, all in.

FIL has had CH4 Racing Diary for thirteen years now, he keeps all his financial records in them, as well as horses names. How many other gifts last as long?

foxxymynx

The issue that I have is that they are saying the meaning of Christmas, a religious festival, is something that it isn't. They wouldn't say Hanhacua or Yule or any other religious festival around that time is all about putting a smile on kids' faces, so why Christmas?

Christmas whether people like it or not is the name for the Christian festival. If they'd done the whole PC thing and said "winter holidays" fair enough, if they'd said that Christmas was magical when the kids smile, fair enough, but to say that a religious festival is about something it isn't, that's blasphemous.

Freddie_Snowbits

Unfortunately in this world of greed, real Christian values are diluted. It is now more the recieving of gifts and a course of self over indulgence in a material world. We has the same indulgeances from the supermarkets just two fridays ago, one media organisation is annual indulgeance in X list celebreties is about to extract monies from our pockets again tomorrow (Same rule applies as has done since 1982, any Charity that can afford to advertise on TV, does not need my money, any that does so from the last Sunday in October through to Remembrance Sunday or 11 November, apart from the RBL, certailnly does not get my money, the RNLI, RBL and Methodist Church does)

Although I cannot comment on the advert itself, having not seen it, I shall still hold to the values of what I have done every year at Christmas, send out Merry Christmas Cards (Not Made in China ones) and the gifts listed above.

Oh and it does shock the nephews and nieces into place when they do not receive after they cannot get a job after leaving school at the age of 16. Eldest now 18 does give out her own, two years ago, failed to do so!

mustrum_ridcully

I bet they wouldn't even dare to say the same for Eid (major Muslim festival - similarish to Christmas)!

PopeSock

foxxymynx wrote: »

I'm not a religious extremist by any means, but I think that Tesco's Christmas Advertisement on TV is offensively blasphemous! In a predominantly Christian country, to say "Christmas is about putting a smile on the kids' faces" IMO is wrong. I don't believe that it would blasphem against any other religion's festival.

It just shows how commercialised Christmas has become.

Christmas *isn't* about Jesus's birth. It's generally believed that Jesus's birth was later. The festival in December that we know as Christmas was created by the church so they could stick something slap bang on top of the existing pagan holiday.

MrsBartolozzi

Copied from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas
while obviously not an authority on anything :rolleyes: there are many references there for you to read up on.



Etymology

The word Christmas originated as a compound meaning "Christ's mass". It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038.[5] "Cristes" is from Greek christos and "mæsse" is from Latin missa. In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ. Since the mid-16th century Χ, or the similar Roman letter X, has been used as an abbreviation for Christ.[8] Hence, Xmas is often used as an abbreviation for Christmas.
After the conversion of Anglo-Saxon Britain in the very early 7th century, Christmas was referred to as geol,[5] the name of the pre-Christian winter festival from which the current English word 'Yule' is derived.[9]

Winter festival

Main article: List of winter festivals
A winter festival was the most popular festival of the year in many cultures. Reasons included the fact that less agricultural work needs to be done during the winter, as well as people expecting longer days and shorter nights after the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere.[10] Modern Christmas with pagan customs include: gift-giving and merrymaking from Roman Saturnalia; greenery, lights, and charity from the Roman New Year; and Yule logs and various foods from Teutonic feasts.[11]Pagan Scandinavia celebrated a winter festival called Yule, held in the late December to early January period. As Northern Europe was the last part to Christianize, its pagan traditions had a major influence on Christmas. Scandinavians still call Christmas Jul. In English, the word Yule is synonymous with Christmas,[12] a usage first recorded in 900.


It really bugs me when Christians make such a big deal of this. They take over a pagan holiday and then get all uppity when the people use the pagan customs!
Feel free to have a "proper" Christian celebration then - no presents, having fun, charity, decorations,and feasting, see how that sits with you.

oldone_2

It is inevitable in a thread like this that people will come along and debunk the origins of Xmas, citing Pagan festivals, wrong dates etc.

What is important is that on December 25th, Christians throughout the world CELEBRATE the birth of someone very special.It may not be historically accurate, but it is the here and now that is important and not the antecedents of the act of faith.

Christmas should be a happy time for all, but at the same time some thought should be given to the sensibilities of those of Christian faith.Other religions are treated with respect, so why do some think Christianity is fair game for ill thought out comment.

d.edna

Start your own religon its the only way

foxxymynx

oldone wrote: »

What is important is that on December 25th, Christians throughout the world CELEBRATE the birth of someone very special.It may not be historically accurate, but it is the here and now that is important and not the antecedents of the act of faith.

Christmas should be a happy time for all, but at the same time some thought should be given to the sensibilities of those of Christian faith.Other religions are treated with respect, so why do some think Christianity is fair game for ill thought out comment.

Exactly. The festival is about the birth of Jesus Christ. It isn't historically accurate as an anniversary date of His birth, but that's when Christians celebrate this festival.

Like I've said (and others) they wouldn't say that Huannicha/Yule/Eid/any other religions' festival was all about putting a smile on kids' faces, so why is it acceptable to use the name of the Christian festival and say it's all about putting a smile on childrens faces?