by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: December 15, 2011   Last Updated: December 20, 2011

Christmas is ostensibly the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the saviour of mankind, though the reality for many is somewhat different. Christmas has become commercialised and lost much of its religious meaning, which is unsurprising when most Christian countries have moved towards secularism.

However, instead of representing a time of love, joy and peace, for many people Christmas is just a hassle, as you end up spending far too much money on gifts and hosting ungrateful relatives on Christmas day. You end up stressed and in debt; you drink too much and eat too much and the true spirit of Christmas is easily lost.

Christianity isn't the only religion in the world and there are plenty of people who worship a different god and have their own festive celebrations. Thus, Christmas is hardly likely to matter to individuals who are not Christians and who do not live in a predominantly Christian country. It may be slightly different for individuals who are Muslim or Hindu, for instance, and who live in a country where Christmas is celebrated nationally.

In the UK, for example, there are individuals who are not Christian, but who still have a Christmas tree and enjoy not having to go to work for the day. How much attention they, or even Christians for that matter, pay to love, joy and peace is debatable.

After all, Christmas is just one day of the year. Christmas is usually a time when families come together and when you're supposed to think about people who are less fortunate than yourself. However, the chances are most people are too busy unwrapping presents and stuffing themselves with turkey to really think about what the spirit of Christmas actually means.

In those societies where religion has come to have less importance, people do not bother to think of Christmas in terms of the birth of Jesus Christ and what his birth is supposed to symbolise. Christmas simply offers you an excuse to overindulge and open some presents.

Christianity is one religion amongst many and so it is unrealistic to expect that people from all different religious and social backgrounds are going to come together at Christmas in order to recognise the importance of love, joy and peace. Indeed, with so many competing religions, the opposite is often true. Sometimes, people within a nation will fight against their fellow countrymen because of religious differences; sometimes nations even go to war because of the issue of religion.

Christmas may offer some people an opportunity to consider the wider significance of the occasion and to pray for peace, but this is never going to happen world-wide. There are simply too many competing ideas and interests.

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