Quote Originally Posted by seismic-2 View Post
It is (or originally was) a Christian holiday meant to commemorate the birth of Jesus, God's plan to redeem mankind from sin, the granting of eternal life, etc., etc. That's rather different from feeling good about life and learning that we should all care for one another, giving is better than receiving, love is the greatest virtue, family is what counts, etc., etc. And be sure to buy stuff, at your Hallmark store!
Well, there is a correlation in the "love thy neighbor / goodwill to men" aspect, of course. I'm Christian, so it's both, but I'm glad there's something for everybody.

Quote Originally Posted by Ascended View Post
And to add to the complication, if memory serves a lot of the trappings of the holiday as we celebrate it aren't christian at all, but came from Germanic/celtic/Norse/wherever the hell regions before they were converted. Those traditions were adopted and folded into the holiday to make it easier for those old vikings and Scots and whoever to adapt.

And today, damn few people seem to give jesus a second thought on christmas; it's about family and giving gifts and bitching about the decorations being in Target before Halloween was ever over.
Just not this year, hopefully. #covid

Quote Originally Posted by Laufeyson View Post
Japan celebrate Christmas only for KFC and date. That's the only thing they care about Christmas.
Thank you for the confirmation - I was all but certain, but hedged my bets a bit on it, just in case I missed something.

Btw now that I hear it Rockman really has similar tone to Christmas tune, though it might be the orchestra.
Yeah, the CD was "Holy 8bit Night +" (or Holy 8bit Night Plus). The song "This Christmas" was especially MegaMan-eqsue. Not one of the stages, but like an ending or something. "Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers" reminds me of the "Mario Bros" style or something from that generation.