Well, the tree is finally down, cards put away and I got to thinking....Would we have Christmas if it weren't for women? Now don't get me wrong, this isn't a jib at the Hubby. But think about it. In most households the wife does the decorating, inside at least, the shopping for food and gifts, the cards to mail, the packages to go out, etc. I know the couple of weeks before I was up late after Leslie went to bed every night making and wrapping gifts and addressing cards. Hubby helped me take the packages to the post office. I would just like to see if the men of the world would put the same amount of effort into Christmas if they felt it was their responsibility or would everybody get a gift card and pizza get ordered for Christmas dinner. Not a rant, just a philosophical question. I know not all men are the same, some get very involved. This is just aimed at the general population. Thoughts?
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Well, since we're celebrating a birth every Christmas, I'm gonna have to say, "No." Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
It wasn't women who established the holiday in the first place. That's all I'm going to say.
Posted by Ophelia (Member # 653) on :
Ben is in charge of all of the decorating (I help, but always at his request), and we both do shopping. He goes to as many stores as it takes to find eggnog before the official beginning of the Christmas season. He convinces me to listen to Christmas music and watch Christmas movies.
I can be a bit of a Scrooge, and I would not do nearly as much for Christmas if it weren't for him.
Posted by Lissande (Member # 350) on :
If it were only up to me, we'd skip Christmas altogether, with the exception of a somewhat nicer dinner and little present the day of. Tzadik bought the tree, put it up, strung the lights, I helped with ornament hanging. He wrote the lion's share of the Christmas cards, since it isn't a custom in my family. So if it were only up to him, I'd say Christmas would probably look a lot the same.
I would do Christmas dinner, but since we go to my in-laws' house where I'm not even allowed to pour a drink myself, I'm in the role of...
...
...I'm not sure what my role is. I'm supposed to eat enough to feed three of me and drink entirely more than I'm used to. Is there a name for that?
Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
I'm not married, but I live with three guy housemates at the moment. I was the one who put up the tree and hung up the tinsel. They sat on the couch and said that it was all looking very nice, well done. I was the only one who gave out any cards.
So as for the decorative element, not so much. But I think most guys would be prepared to make Christmas dinner, since they tend to enjoy it.
Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
You know, you could give a thousand anecdotal examples of men who don't care about Christmas while the women in their lives do.
You could also give a thousand anecdotal examples of women who don't care about Christmas while their men do. Or a thousand anecdotal examples where both care, or neither care. What does that prove? Christmas is not a "women's" holiday. Some people like it and some people don't, and the presence or absence of a Y chromosome has nothing whatever to do with it.
Posted by JennaDean (Member # 8816) on :
I think it would be different, but I think we'd still have it. In general, men like to celebrate and enjoy holidays; men who are religious can really enjoy the spiritual side of Christmas; men love their kids and get a kick out of seeing them so excited at Christmas.
I think they'd just have different things they emphasize, rather than the decorations and cards and cookies a lot of women do. They'd do more ... I don't know ... sleigh rides (or hay rides) and deep fried turkeys?
All in a very general sense, of course. YMMV.
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
I'm one of those guilty men you talk about.
While I do help my parents decorate their tree, and I get the stuff out of the attic...that is really just because my mom asks me to. I don't really do much decorating of my apartment. I do have a little table top tree that I sometimes put up though.
Though, since I spend Christmas day with my family...and not at my apartment, decorating it has never seemed important.
Posted by Black Mage (Member # 5800) on :
I get into it. This year I put Christmas lights up around my room.
I think if Christmas reverted to what it once was--sitting around a table in front of a huge fire for hours, eating and getting drunk--men would be more enthused.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
My hubby doesn't give a damn about Christmas.... Of course, he's jewish...
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