Christmas greetings

[Tom Storer]

How do you react?

[stonemonkts]

With an awkward grin outside, and a yeah yeah yeah inside.

[Tom Storer]

Damn, I forgot to add an option for "None of the above." If that's your answer, please post to say so.

[groover]

None of these offends me terribly, Tom. The school thing might bother me more if I had kids.

I was feeling a bit nauseous in response to some country Christmas music in the supermarket over the weekend, but maybe it's just an aversion to country music.

[claude]

I used to be offended by office Christmas parties but, since changing jobs, I've found that it was the people not the parties themselves that were offensive. Of the remainder, the "birth of Christ" school parties could be offensive depending on how it was done. I have no problem with the rest.

I've been working lately on a repertoire of jazz-oriented Christmas tunes on tenor sax. Damn it's hard not to sound treacly over some of those tunes without completely losing the original melody.

[stonemonkts]

Originally Posted by groover

I was feeling a bit nauseous in response to some country Christmas music in the supermarket over the weekend, but maybe it's just an aversion to country music.

Try working out for an hour with CMT staring you in the face. In my gym, they either have CMT or FoxNews on the tv. The overall tone of the videos shown on that piece of shit is disturbing (a man singing to his pain in the ass girlfriend as he traps her behind a brick wall, ala Poe....yeah ok, the bumpkin actually walled himself by mistake...but still).

I complained to the desk by informing them they are showing the two worst channels in existence, ever.

Oh sorry, back to Christmas...

[tippy]

shucks, I LOVE all the decorations. Except for Rite Aid changing it's display into Christmas on Halloween Night. Office parties - yuck! I was halfway tempted because ours is at the UN this year but the thought of hanging with workabees outside the office when I could be anywhere else...

[Gary Sisco]

I just like to be left alone as much as possible this time of year because I'm not a Christian, I don't celebrate the holiday anymore than I would Ramadan, and I damned sure don't feel any patriotic obligation to "shop" in order to help a mad retail system that depends largely on xmas shopping to put a year in the black. That to me is irrational.

What I most object to is people who do celebrate the holiday every year ragging on people who don't as if there is some kind of obligation on everyone to all join in. Go ahead and celebrate if you want but leave the arrogance toward others who don't in the privacy of your own home.

Hey, I have days of the year that are important to me but not to most and people would crack up if I made even a whisper that they should celebrate my important days just to be nice guys and to go along with the program, hey.

Why an atheist of commie extraction should be expected to celebrate a mass is a mystery. Yet, year after year, I am, anyway.

I wonder what ever happened to the simple old, live and let live business. I don't care who celebrates what, but I do care when there is social pressure on people to celebrate that which they don't celebrate.

My family's pretty easy about it, after years of water on the rock. My brother totally abandoned anything to do with it a few decades ago. Bronwyn's on the other hand can sometimes go hysterical about non-participation.

[Root Doctor]

Originally Posted by stonemonkts

I complained to the desk by informing them they are showing the two worst channels in existence, ever.

2nd or 3rd, maybe. Have you ever seen QVC?

[Gary Sisco]

At my last wage job, I used to love throwing a monkey wrench into the works by asking, Hey, What holiday is it that we're celebrating?

[stonemonkts]

Originally Posted by Root Doctor

2nd or 3rd, maybe. Have you ever seen QVC?

I'd gladly opt for QVC over those other two.

I wear a pulse monitor while I workout and I am convinced FoxNews raises my pulse by 5-10 beats, which makes it harmful to my health.

Who knows, maybe I'd get a few Holiday shopping ideas from QVC!

[Noj]

I'm not easily offended, not even by Christians. I tell people "Happy Holidays" this time of year.

I'm not a practicing Christian, but my family celebrates this holiday. My two Aunts married Jewish guys, so we don't go overboard with any Christian themes.

[stonemonkts]

Truthfully, nothing about this time of year offends me, or causes me to feel indignant. I am mostly indifferent, and that comes from being able to ignore much of it (no cards, no greetings, no gifts, etc...).

I suppose the feeling I get is akin to waiting in line at the DMV for three hours...a sort of dreadful ennui.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Where is "None of the above"?

[cookie]

I love it all! Christmachanukwanzafestiwali! Lights, food, music, parties---I live for that stuff. My favorite business all year is playing Christmas parties.

The happy holidays/merry christmas thing makes me nuts, though. I got no problem with Christmas so go ahead, wish me a merry one. I say happy holidaze because it covers all bases including the new year. What I hate is folks who take it as a political statement and shoot back the words "Merry CHRISTMAS" with a twisted ugly look on their faces.

Hey, well fuck you too!

[Vince Kargatis]

I'm curious about positive answers to the first two.

Is the first an objection to the use of public land, or the existence of public land? Is Christmas special in this regard? Are Halloween or New Year decorations out too?

Same for the second, I guess. Are Halloween and Thanksgiving (two holidays likely to garner decorative school celebrations) no-nos in public schools? What holidays would be ok?

[jesus marion joseph]

Being the son of a German native, we always did Christmas pretty large when I was a kid. I still like Christmas decorations, eggnog (spiked), and hot mulled cider.

[GoodSpeak]

Originally Posted by Tom Storer

How do you react?

You know, it is people like you who make it so every damned thing has to be run through some pre-determined social meat grinder so it all comes out the same and offends no living soul on Earth.


Heaven forbid we should have any diversity in America [ohmygod ] ....unless it supports a culture or religious belief that isn't Judeo-Christian based.

Killing a culture or religion in favor of secular or non-Christian beliefs is absolutely hypocritical at the very least and total bullshit at best.



I pine for the day when people who support this insatiable and unjustifiable anti-Christmas crap crawl into a hole and just die out.



Amazing arrogance.

[GoodSpeak]

Oh...and Merry Christmas.




Sue me.

[kenny weir]

Originally Posted by GoodSpeak

You know, it is people like you who make it so every damned thing has to be run through some pre-determuned social meat grinder so it all comes out the same and offends no living soul on Earth ... I pine for the day when people who support this insatiable and unjustifiable anti-Christmas crap crawl into a hole and just die out. Amazing arrogance.

Sense of humour bypass?

[GoodSpeak]

Originally Posted by Kevin Bresnahan

Where is "None of the above"?

Right on, Kevin.

[kenny weir]

Me, I'd prefer the "all of the above" option - kenny "meat grindin' man" weir

[GoodSpeak]

Originally Posted by kenny weir

Sense of humour bypass?

Humor?

Geez.

I am simply sick to death of all this anti-Christmas bullshit to the point I could just hurl.

You guys don't like Christmas...then get off of my planet.


Live free someplace else where you won't be bothered with brotherly love or sacrifice for all humankind or making a place in your heart at least once a year where all men feel free to love one another and with gladness in their hearts.


Go hate on yourselves.


Leave Christmas out of it.

[kenny weir]

A suggestion for the festive season, for you:

[jesus marion joseph]

Originally Posted by GoodSpeak

Live free someplace else...

[Noj]

For Goody's sake: I like Christmas, even the music. I like giving and receiving gifts. I like seeing my family together, which is rare these days. I like chopping down a pine tree, covering it with decorations, and watching it slowly die in the living room. I like Christmas lights, egg nog, and how my Mom cooks like it's a second Thanksgiving. Christmas rocks! Glad to celebrate the birth of Christ, even if I don't worship the brother. By all accounts he was a decent fellow.

[GoodSpeak]

Kenny Weir,

Now then...

A suggestion for the festive season, for you:

[GoodSpeak]

Thanks, Noj.

You rock.

[kenny weir]

Originally Posted by GoodSpeak

Kenny Weir,

Now then...

A suggestion for the festive season, for you:

Ahhhh, that's the spirit!

I've also been told these are worth trying:

[GoodSpeak]