Ability to Opt-out of Religiously-tied Events

I personally agree that the event seems tied specifically to Christmas. For example, Chanukah actually ends before December 25th even occurs (tonight). And either way, for some religions and/or their processes and practices related to signfiicant events (such as OP converting), there is emphasis placed greatly on avoiding other religions. It's not meant as a "oh this is BAD" thing, but rather as something spiritually significant to the religion. For example, using OP's experience if I may, a very integral part of Judaism faith is that it is something similar to a lifestyle, not just a "belief" per se. The tl;dr is that a great deal of the Jewish practices (commandments or mitzvot) aren't necessarily rules to be followed because they are "bad" and "good," but rather that it is about actively participating and reminding yourself of your faith. This is a very, very watered down way of saying it, but the basic gist is it's not about saying it's "bad" if it's Christmas themed or not, it's that there's enough for it to be contradictory to the conversion process for Judaism, which basically leaves OP with the option of basically being forced to participate (since players can't even disable if they can receive gifts) or, completely avoid the game. If we want to talk business, that's a bad business move for Wolvden since it drives away players who could spend money and time on the product.

But splitting hairs about the religious nature or not, I also want to point out that this was a greatly missed oppurtunity to create some great lore for the Wolvden universe. This could have been turned into an in-world type event along the lines of, say, Tala approaching your den with, "It looks like this winter has been really harsh on everyone; but look, I think some of the packs have begun sharing resources! We should join in!" I think pretty much everyone can at least agree that that's a big bummer. It could've fleshed out some storytelling, or at least be a way to kind of unite players more together and in the story world.

Yeah, I deleted the part of my post where I said that I hope when Wolvden does start* doing events that they will be an in-universe reason for the events. 

*I was under the impression that events are planned but aren't going to be officially kicked off until next year. But I didn't hear that from an official source. 

i have a personal distaste for anything christmasy, so i wouldn't mind having an opt out option either. without anything to "make up for it" like a full fleshed event with event currencies and stuff i really want, to warrant participating, the whole gifting thing just takes up space while being a slight annoyance to me. a handful of random ppl chucking some potentially useful freebies at me wouldn't make much of a difference to that.

tl;dr:
a non religious reason for wanting an opt out option.

honestly i really do wish that it would be easier to avoid religiously tied events, most sites do them and it's deeply uncomfortable as i just plain dislike things like christmas and easter, they are NOT secular holidays regardless of what people act. either disentangling events from religious holidays needs to be in mind or there should be an option to not participate whatsoever. 

so yeah, big support from me!

On the holiday discussion I do want to point out the, "plus one of the admins has ‘Giftmas’ in their username, implying that for the staff it is religiously tied." comment. To be brutally honest, Christmas has lost most or all of it's religious meaning in some areas (especially the U.S.). For a lot of people, Christmas isn't about Jesus Christ and how he was born. It's often common knowledge, but that's not always why the person/people celebrate it. Christmas has sort of devolved into a day when people are off work, cook, visit family, and buy gifts as a way to show gratitude to that person (or just a corporate excuse to push materialism if you're a pessimist).  A ton of nonreligious/nonChristian people celebrate Christmas. So to be honest, to say that someone is Christian or affiliated with Christianity just because they celebrate Christmas is incorrect at best.

As far as the News post is concerned, the only time they mention Christmas is when you can first open the gifts. I just feel that saying the entire site's event is purely Christian based because of one staff member's username is a bit odd. 

I'm not able to celebrate Christmas, or even most holidays. I grew up very poor, and by the time financial stability came unto my parents, we were practically unable to celebrate with family anymore (family such as aunts, uncles, etc.) as they all either moved away, became very elderly, or passed away. 

I honestly wish I could celebrate Christmas, but that's likely never gonna happen. I honestly think having this event not only breaks the current monotony, but also can help and provide some comfort to those who wish to but can't celebrate it in real life. That being said I understand others who may want to completely opt out of this event, and I guess it's a good thing that there is a code that can disable the gifting mechanic. I was mostly wanting to clarify the whole religious thing, as Christmas is very much one of those holidays that has lost a lot of it's religious associations (similar with Halloween).

you do realize that the only reason christian holidays feel 'secular' is because of the fact that christianity is considered 'default', right? i'm also jewish, like op of the thread, and for me there CAN'T be any dissociation between christmas and what it means or the ties to religion. it's a very real world problem that christian holidays are considered the de facto times for celebration or 'universal holidays'. 

to be honest, i don't mind an event to break things up. i think the idea of the gift-giving mechanic is sweet, and should maybe be replicated some other months. but to state that it has no clear religious associations or isn't clearly related to christmas is frankly just kinda disingenuous, imo? 

Yup, all holidays to me are just a reason to see family (and eat more food than normal). I don't even really do the gift thing because I grew up poor and think it cheapens and adds extra stress to a day where I just want to spend time with family. So no matter the holiday that's my association: time with loved ones. But I do know that just because holidays have no complications for me doesn't mean others don't have more complex relationships with these days. 

To me, the event is helping break up the monotony of this new/bare bones game like LittlePuppy said. 

Also, now that I'm thinking about it. Why did no one have a problem with getting turkeys on Thanksgiving? That was problematic but I'd be lying if I said I didn't eat turkey every year. Once again, I view that holiday as a time to view what I am thankful for and spend time with loved ones. But that is a very problematic holiday if I stop to think about it (especially the turkey tie in).

I just like reading other people's views of the holidays and discussing mine... So, I might be getting a bit off topic. Sorry if it's annoying anyone, I just find this kind of stuff fascinating and like reading other people's opinions. Obviously, I am in support of an opt-out function.

( i mean @queenoffrowns i'm sure there were some people who had a problem w that? i just wouldn't know, i joined exactly a week ago. ) 

I support, I'm not very bothered by Christanity anymore but I used to be as it was a source of trauma/stress. I don't want anyone else to feel like they can't escape it, even on the pet sims they go on for stress relief.

Haha, not saying they weren't bothered. Just for such a vocal community (which I love) I am just surprised that I didn't see a topic for it.

I am also not arguing. Just explaining how I view the holidays and reading what everyone else posts. I get why these things are problematic to many and fully support everyone's right to opt out.