Answer the question – Christmas
It's that time again… but what does it really mean for young people?
| Christmas is about family. It’s a chance for us to get together and appreciate what we have. |
For me it doesn't really mean anything except a holiday - time off school! I don't celebrate Christmas. It's a time when the TV is full of adverts for toys, and toy shops charge expensive prices for their goods. Everyone puts a dead tree in their living rooms and covers the ceilings with tinsel and fairy lights. December 25th is a cold, dreary day when everyone hopes it'll snow so they can make snowmen. But more often then not it's ice and sleet turning into sludge rather than snow.
Maija J Marsh, 12
Although I am not a Christian I always celebrate Christmas. To me it's about having fun, eating a ridiculous amount of food and getting lots of presents. And then there's my wonderful acting when I get the dreaded present from mum's friend.
Last year it was a giant duck umbrella, "Thanks, I'll just put this somewhere safe, the back of my cupboard!" But it's not just about Christmas trees and fancy decorations, it means that I spend a day with my mum and have a good time together. I love Christmas!
Xochitl Rodriguez, 15
Christmas makes me feel happy and sad at the same time.
I think that Christmas has lost its meaning over the years. People don't think about it in the religious sense - the birth of Jesus Christ.
I wish people would do more things associated with traditional Christmases instead of modernising it by having Christmas trees.
Samantha Chanudet-Denny, 9
I get presents on Christmas day and give presents to my friends, but realistically it is just a way for manufacture's to con money out of us. It is seen as a big happy occasion, but for a lot of people Christmas isn't a very happy time, and it causes a lot of confrontation between families.
Natasha Lytton, 13
Christmas seems to be an easy marketing opportunity. Too often it's about toys and days off work which is one thing I dislike. It puts unnecessary pressure on people to buy pointless presents for great aunts! For me Christmas is about family. It's a chance for us to get together and appreciate what we have. My family gets together in my uncle's huge house and we catch up. Year after year it teaches me about the importance of friends and relations.
Akosua Bonsu, 15
I think it's over-commercialised. Every year my friends and I ask why they bother taking the Christmas decorations down in some of the big department stores…because they usually go up again in September! It just seems to take all the fun away, by the time Christmas comes around again the lights and decorations don't seem as special!
Finn Ros, 15
About the team
This Answer the question panel are members of Children's Express. The column was published as part of Teen Talk, the Children's Express page in New Nation.
