What are people tweeting about this Christmas?

December 15, 2009 in Christian Living, for Churches, Outreach

Christmas Tweets is a micro-site that gathers what people are saying via Twitter, over the Christmas period, to visually depict what Christmas means this year. I’d contend that Christmas always means the same thing each year – that Jesus came into the world to save sinners – but I do get the point of the site!

Sadly, ‘Religion’ is coming in fourth place as the meaning of Christmas, with ‘Christmas Spirit’, ‘Commercialism’ and the ‘Credit Crunch’ taking out gold, silver and bronze. ‘Christmas Spirit’ has been steadily gaining in popularity as Christmas approaches.

Screenshot_ChristmasTweets

Christmas Tweets has fairly limited application (there’s not a varied range of use for a tool that tracks what people are saying at Christmas!), but it’s interesting all the same to see (and read) what Christmas means to different people.

On a more reflective note, what must Jesus be thinking as each year Christmas seems to be less and less about his birth, and more and more about amorphous ‘seasons greetings’ and a fat man in a red suit who doesn’t even exist, let alone die for the sins of the world.

Thanks Dylan Malloch for letting me know about this site.

  • Matt

    “a fat man in a red suit who doesn’t even exist, let alone die for the sins of the world.” … but is way more jolly than “a skinny man in a loin cloth who doesn’t even exist, but if he did then he mighthave died for the sins of the world.”

    I’m with the jolly guy in red.

  • Steven Kryger

    I’m not sure how you’ve come to the conclusion that Jesus didn’t exist Matt – it’s a done deal in historical circles that Jesus of Nazereth existed.

    (The fictional character) Santa might be jolly, but Jesus said:

    “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)

    and that has certainly been my experience.