Sociology of Christmas

In Max Weber's Sociology of Religion he makes two points concerning Christmas.

He says that the difference between the middle class and the peasant class is that the middle class is disconnected from nature.

In America we don't have peasants because we no longer have people connected to nature.

The poor before technology were forced to farm and live with their animals. And in the spring and summer they would eat wild food.

They had to be very connected to nature to achieve survival.

In America, we no longer need to understand nature to survive.

We live in nicely heated houses. We drive heated cars. We go to buildings and buy our food. We do not know where the food comes from. We do not care.

Monsanto grew all my food and I love it.

Americans all consider themselves middle-class because they are disconnected from nature.

Even the poor who work at restaurants and in factories, as lanscapers and roofers.

It is strange, I have encountered many 40 to 60 year old servers and cooks who consider themselves 'middle class.'

They aren't.

They are like the dirt of humanity.

But since they live in a nicely heated home with a nicely heated car and eat food grown to perfection with natural gas fertiziler and petroluem based pesticides, they love their lives.

Max Weber then states that the middle-class enjoys the baby part of religions because they the middle class is family oriented.

America loves babies.

Baby Jesus.

Now no one says on Christmas Day

The New Born Baby Jesus would one day grow up and become a convicted a criminal that would be executed by the Romans. That he would be forced to carry a heavy wooden cross a long way, while being taunted, he would then be nailed into a piece of wood next to two criminals, he would be stabbed in the side by a spear, and have a crown of thorns hung on his head. He would be basically left out to bleed to death and suffer like a dog before a crowd of people.

No one says that.

A baby was born to suffer like a dog.

Instead the middle-class goes, "Oh cute, little baby Jesus. Baby Jesus is cute."

This can be seen in Talladega Nights, when Will Ferrel gives that awesome speech

Ricky Bobby does not enjoy adult Jesus, because adult Jesus is a miserable pile of shoeless poor people shit.

He is like one of those people at Wal-Mart wearing jogging pants and a stained Browns shirt.

The middle-class of America has convinced themselves of this strange thing, that baby Christmas Jesus grows up and becomes a very successful lawyer or doctor, and has a sweet 401k plan and good credit.

No one is concerned with the idea that this baby Jesus fellow was born to suffer.