Holidays are bullshit. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, et al.

[Cyrano]

And let's throw in July 4th, Veteran's Day, Columbus Day, New Year's Day, and any other "holiday" you choose. Many of these days
are no more than days off from school or work. But what do they represent?

Christmas: The day that Christ was born? Easter? The day he arose from the dead?: New Year's Day: The day on which many western civilizations celebrate the 365th (or, if you count leap year,
the 366th day on which the Earth made another rotation around the sun.)

Many, many moons ago, a friend told me that 99% of virtually everything is bullshit. He was far wiser that I realized at the time.

But the biggest piece of bullshit of all time is Christmas: Yesterday marked the "starting line" of Christmas, THE GREAT CHRISTIAN HOLIDAY. Yesterday, everyone who could walk, crawl, limp, or sprint attacked the stores like they were giving away (depending on your desires) Brad Pitt, or Angelina Jolie look-a-likes.

Thanksgiving? A long trip, driving, or flying to spend time with
our families, trying to find something to say after not hearing from each others for years. (A little mercy on this one. Many did go out of their way to go home again.)

And then there's our patriotic holidays. July 4th, Veteran's Day, Flag Day, and all the other so-called days on which are meant to make us feel "patriotic" while turning off our minds and our power of critical thinking. I ache for everyone who has ever lost a son, daughter, mother, father, brother, sister, or meaningful other in any war. But, and trust me on this, our government doesn't give a flying fuck about your loss.

And what about Thanksgiving? All it was originally, was a prelude to mass murder committed on native Americans by Europeans who were going to establish an empire from sea to shining sea. (At the time, the invaders didn't know how far their empire reach.)

So forgive me if I don't join in your holiday celebrations. But if I may, I'd like to give you my view of what we should be celebrating. -- Oh, what the hell. I can't say it any better than John Lennon did when he wrote "Imagine."

(Sorry that this was posted three times. I tried to get the first two deleted but failed. I tried to get moderator help, but they seem to be over-gorged on turkey.)

[qazplm]

1. Merry

Christmas.

[Sapphire Blue]

2. Posted 3 times... do you feel rather strongly about this?

[Cyrano]

17. See edit to original. I couldn't delete the first two and I couldn't get help from

the moderators. They must all be druids celebrating some kind of heathen holiday.

[Sapphire Blue]

21. It's okay; just thought you wanted to make sure we knew how you felt ;)

:hi: :rofl:

[ncrainbowgrrl]

52. sorry- many of us are on a "holiday" schedule.

as in celebrating time with friends and family. Others may still be passed out from too much turkey.

[Cyrano]

54. Hey, you're entitled. And thank you for all you do to keep this site civil.

And an unsarcastic wish to you. Happy Holidays, ncrainbowgrrl. And may you have many more.

[ncrainbowgrrl]

95. Thanks, Cyrano!

:hug:

I appreciate the good wishes- and especially since this weekend ended up on a very negative note- feline medical emergency- she should be ok, but she scared the #$(@ out of me and my partner yesterday night.

I feel more tired now than last weds. :eyes: So much for a vacation, eh?

[kimmerspixelated]

3. You're right, Bullshit is all around us.

There's a book on it , I intend to read. But, sometimes we need a little bs to get thru our lives. It is hard to imagine life without little celebrations now and then, and esp. for the children, so lighten up!

[immoderate]

70. I first heard this as Sturgeon's Law.

Theodore Sturgeon was a science fiction writer. The story goes, that at a science fiction convention, someone said to him, "Ninety percent of science fiction is bullshit."

Sturgeon replied. "Ninety percent of everything is bullshit."

It is a rule of thumb that has served me well. :)

--IMM

[nini]

4. Don't join in - you'll make everyone around you happy

It's easy - just don't take part.

[spoony]

15. Spot on. n/t

[MADem]

5. What's to FORGIVE? Who wants some downer, griper, complainer and curmudgeon

shitting on the celebrations of everyone else? You actually do everyone a favor who wants to enjoy the holidays by staying the hell away from them. You're happy in your misery, and they're happy not having to listen to that crap. It's a win-win all around.

If you're going to wait for PEACE ON EARTH to celebrate the concept, you're gonna wait a long ass time. But whatever....

[Cyrano]

8. Bah. Humbug.

Nonetheless, I'm sitting here counting the number of turkeys I succeeded in stealing from the Annual Republican "screw Everybody" consolation dinner.

[Skittles]

66. you don't get it

you don't see what we see - how f***ing sickening it has all become - and how it gets worse every year - it's not a BAH HUMBUG thing - we see a nation deteriorating

[MADem]

81. Oh, I get it, all right. The glass, to your mind, is half empty. I disagree.

We just took back the House and Senate. That's a cause to celebrate. America is waking up from an horrific stupor. That's a reason for joy, too. We may not have peace on earth yet, but there was sufficient goodwill towards men and women in the air to take the rubber stamp Congress away from the retarded, impulsive and petulant Monkey in the White House, and install bodies that would 'check and balance' his evil excesses.

My glass is half full. Therefore, I celebrate. I have hope. But, hey, feel free to stew in your own breast-beating misery. It's a free country.

[liberalEd]

6. Yeah, maybe ...

... but Festivus is the real thing. Even Michael Richards can't ruin Festivus!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivus

[Cyrano]

9. I wish you were right, but I have the feeling that that lousy prick has

screwed up "Seinfeld" reruns forever.

[jazzjunkysue]

91. Festivus for the rest of us!

Thank you for that link. And now, for the airing of the grievances.

[Trajan]

7. Well hell ....

You dont seem to be any fun .....

Xmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter are actually ancient traditions:

Christmas was an adoption of the Sol Invictus festival, which were held traditionally on the first day of Winter .... a Winter Solstice Festival ....

Thanksgiving is merely an american personalization of a harvest festival .... and is really nothing more than that in the end ....

Easter ? .... Some would say 'Eastre', some 'Astarte', and yet others 'Ishtar' ...

This is the name of a goddess of whom festivals were held each spring, on or about the Vernal Equinox, which celebrated the great cycle of life and a rebirth of the world from it's winter slumber .... Like Xmas, it was co-opted by Christians to attract pagans to their faith system by drawing elements of local tradition into ecclesiastical practice ....

People have celebrated Winter Solstice, Vernal Equinox, and the year's harvest-plenty for 1000's of years .....

Well .. until you showed up to spoil the party, that is .....

[Cyrano]

19. Sorry. Didn't mean to be a party pooper. That is until you mentioned "Ishtar."

Now if there was ever a movie that was a bigger loser, I can't remember it.

Nonetheless, take my original critisicsm of holidays with a grain of salt. I do.

And as far as "spoiling" anyone's holiday, what are you doing on line when you should be out spreading cheer?

For one, I am content to live in my miserable cave of bah-humbug until something really wonderful happens on this particular planet. The last time I remember that happening was when Keith Olberman started doing Edward R. Murrow editorials. Here is a man that needs to be honored. He has spoken up during our darkest days.

[Trajan]

20. I DID bring you cheer ...

I did mention Ishtar .. didnt I ? ...

[Cyrano]

47. Yes. And I thank you for it.

[dddem]

83. Then let me refresh your memory

The Exorcist II. Hands down, the worst movie ever made.
You're not wrong about the holidays being all bullshit, but that's your choice. I choose not to spend too much time thinking about how we're being manipulated, and focus instead on things like making memories for my kids, spending time with my family (we put the 'fun' in dys'fun'ctional.)and trying to do my part to make things a little better for the next dope that comes along. It's all you can do. And being pissed off, in my opinion, is counter-productive (for me anyway. And I've had years of experience at it). On the other hand, if it's what gives you energy and inspiration, then Good for you! And hopefully, your anger will result in a positive change for another. So sincerely, I hope your holiday season is everything you want it to be.
Peace.

[11 Bravo]

10. Who pissed in your corn flakes this morning?

[nam78_two]

11. I do admit there is something slightly obscene about those of us

in affluent countries celebrating while we shit all over the rest of the world :-/...

I am no one to talk-I had a mini-thanksgiving thingie, but I do feel guilty :-/.

I remember a few years ago seeing this clip of some Iraqis sitting in a broken down cafe with bullets in the walls, watching Americans rush for Thanksgiving and Christmas day sales on some news channel :-| -gave me a pause.
We live in a strange and unfair world :(....it appears to be the human condition.

[The Straight Story]

12. Screw that crap, I see it thusly:

You're attacking the days based on a shallow perception related to yourself mainly.

They do mean a great deal to a lot of people, and not much to others.

What do they represent? A lot more than the surface value you find listed on a calendar, they are part of who we are where generations of people have come together in good ways to honor or celebrate an ideal. Sure, the ideal may take a backseat at some families, but it does bring people and communities closer together.

Like how we folks at work are raising money for adopt-a-family, then going out to buy their gifts. Hell, they could be atheist, jewish, wiccan, etc we don't know nor care.

Holidays get people to focus on things (which is why election day should be a holiday), people take in more of their surroundings and communities during this time. Sure, some would say 'well do that everyday
' but that is simply not possible as people's lives revolve around a great many other things (jobs, bills, etc).

Taking a break from it where you get no bills in the mail, don't have to work, and can join your community in making floats, celebrating, et al, is what we have at the deeper core of holidays.

[Cyrano]

23. Good thoughts. From your lips to God's ear.

[tpsbmam]

48. Self delete - responded to wrong post. Oops!

[walldude]

13. Sure the crass commercialism of the holidays

makes me want to puke. On the other hand, there is nothing in life like seeing the faces of your kids on Christmas morning. My family developed holiday traditions over generations that we follow to this day, and they have nothing to do with religion, politics, or shopping. They have to do with family. So this Christmas Eve while you are avoiding the holiday, my family will be gathering up our old blankets and taking them down to the homeless area. Then we will come home and decorate the Christmas tree while listening to Christmas Music(Trans Siberian Orchestra rules), drink warm Eggnog, and track Santa on NORAD. My kids will get to open one present and my wife and I will sit and watch them play while we dream of a better world for them than we had for us. I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing.

[MoseyWalker]

14. I'll be spending most of the upcoming holidays with my brother

who believes as you do. I can only say that I could use some reason to celebrate, or at least feel a part of something good larger than myself - and I'm not talking about the commercialization or overbearing, as another poster stated, 'surface' ideas.

Sharing good thoughts with friends and family is a good thing in my mind.

I certainly am not looking forward to being with someone who detests almost everyone and everything (who don't absolutely agree with him), and never lets me forget it.

edit to say he's a good guy, but difficult to get along with during normal times, and these are not normal times.

[Cyrano]

51. Hey, MoseyWalker: Whatever your brother thinks, please know that

you're not alone in your "good thoughts." I don't know how many people have read your post, but, trust me on this, you're not alone in your beliefs. You, I, and so many others here are the real majority in this country. The talent of the thugs is making you, I, and so many of us feel like lepers who have been cast away from "worthy" beings. It's all bullshit. The "Moral Majority" are neither. We are the moral majority. (No bumper sticker ripoff intended.)

You, I and millions of others are on the side of civilized history. And you're right. These are not "normal times." But at some point, the vast majority will stand up and say "never again" to the obscenity of those who have held the reins of power for the past six years.

[Zensea]

16. Is your post part of the 99% that is bullshit? -- I vote yes

I got paid double time for working on Thanksgiving and I could have taken the day off and been paid anyway so I essentially got paid triple time.
Same for the day after Thanksgiving.
I'm not going to complain about that kind of "bullshit."

[Codeblue]

55. I would

Why work on Thanksgiving? Is money really that important? I'd never work on Thanksgiving. It's almost like working on Christmas day. I'm gonna take ANY days off that they give me and spend the time with my family and friends.

[Zensea]

64. My family is thousands of miles away, that's why

It was my choice to work. I didn't have to do so. No one forced me. I'll take the time off some other time.

[ruiner4u]

18. .....

[MadHound]

22. Holidays are what you make of them

I'm not a Christian, but I do celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, and to a lesser extent Easter. It is a time for us to get together with friends and family, catch up with our lives, enjoy the company and relax. We don't lay out a lot of money, and everybody participates in bringing the meal together. It's a great time, and frankly I wouldn't want to see it disappear. Fourth of July is the same way, except we do get the chance to blow things up, something that always gets a thumbs up in my book.

Memorial Day is a day to honor our soldiers, and I do. Labor Day is a day to honor the worker, and I do. These are again chances to get together with friends and family, or if nothing else, take a break, catch up on what's going on, and decompress.

You don't have to buy into the materialistic crap that surrounds the holidays, and frankly I think that you're a fool if you do. Remember, those who are close to you don't give a damn about what you give them, they just want *you*. And if they are insulted that you didn't get the latest whiz bang thousand dollar whatzit, well joke 'em if they can't take a fuck:shrug:

Look, we don't get enough vacation time in this country as is, and if nothing else, even if you don't participate in the festivities, this gives you some much needed time off. Yes, the premise for some of our holidays is bogus BS, but hey, it's still time off, and I will never, ever whine about that.

[Cyrano]

24. Nor will I, whatever the reason. Any time we retrieve from our

business world that we can turn into a days that count to us, is just one more victory. Enjoy your time with your family, friends, or whoever.

It's one more day of freedom from those who have us enslaved under the catch-all title of "free enterprise." It may be a "free ride" for them, but it's servitude for those of us who work for them.

[1620rock]

36. Hey, why not celebrate Christmas by volunteering in a soup...

...kitchen? Thanksgiving, same thing. Then have nothing but a small bowl of white rice for the entire day. That is all the nutrition that half the people on the planet will have this day. Easter? Plant some seeds or trees, renew life and add some oxygen to the planet. Lots of ideas along these lines for you to get something out of the holidays by putting something into them. :think:

[nam78_two]

57. Great ideas

:) :thumbsup:

[kstewart33]

25. I love the holidays.

Regardless of your religion or whether you have a religion at all, Christmas is a time to celebrate all the good things you have, especially your home, your family, your marriage. At least IMHO, that's what's great about it.

Lighten up, dude!

[Cyrano]

26. Holidays are bullshit. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, et al.

And let's throw in July 4th, Veteran's Day, Columbus Day, New Year's Day, and any other "holiday" you choose. Many of these days
are no more than days off from school or work. But what do they represent?

Christmas: The day that Christ was born? Easter? The day he arose from the dead?: New Year's Day: The day on which many western civilizations celebrate the 365th (or, if you count leap year,
the 366th day on which the Earth made another rotation around the sun.)

Many, many moons ago, a friend told me that 99% of virtually everything is bullshit. He was far wiser that I realized at the time.

But the biggest piece of bullshit of all time is Christmas: Yesterday marked the "starting line" of Christmas, THE GREAT CHRISTIAN HOLIDAY. Yesterday, everyone who could walk, crawl, limp, or sprint attacked the stores like they were giving away (depending on your desires) Brad Pitt, or Angelina Jolie look-a-likes.

Thanksgiving? A long trip, driving, or flying to spend time with
our families, trying to find something to say after not hearing from each others for years. (A little mercy on this one. Many did go out of their way to go home again.)

And then there's our patriotic holidays. July 4th, Veteran's Day, Flag Day, and all the other so-called days on which are meant to make us feel "patriotic" while turning off our minds and our power of critical thinking. I ache for everyone who has ever lost a son, daughter, mother, father, brother, sister, or meaningful other in any war. But, and trust me on this, our government doesn't give a flying fuck about your loss.

And what about Thanksgiving? All it was originally, was a prelude to mass murder committed on native Americans by Europeans who were going to establish an empire from sea to shining sea. (At the time, the invaders didn't know how far their empire reach.)

So forgive me if I don't join in your holiday celebrations. But if I may, I'd like to give you my view of what we should be celebrating. -- Oh, what the hell. I can't say it any better than John Lennon did when he wrote "Imagine."

[mike_c]

27. take the days off and make up your own-- I mean it.....

I'm serious. You'll feel good about celebrating Christmas if you don't celebrate the xtian holiday but rather take the opportunity to celebrate something that's meaningful to you, in your own way. Start your own family tradition. Same for Thanksgiving and the other holidays.

I generally feel the same way you do and don't celebrate most holidays because most are not particularly meaningful to me. But we do have the days off, and we could celebrate whatever we want.

[lectrobyte]

28. 99% of everything is bullshit. But for someone who doesn't get to

see a lot of their family that much, Thanksgiving is kind of special, in spite of the hassles. But forget all this Black Friday X-mess stuff, though.

[BlueStorm]

29. Heh.. I was thinking of writing a rant thread onthe holidays last night..

Looks like you beat me to it Cyrano.

I am beginning to hate Christmas myself. Not the family gathering stuff but the fucking COMMERCIALISM...everytime I got to my sister's the kids always go "Aunt Cussy, can you get me this, can you get me that?" It's really unnerving.

Blue

[elocs]

30. To those who are so bent out of shape by holidays: GET OVER IT!

Take the day off and either celebrate the holiday or not, or celebrate whatever you like. Stop making it your mission in life to spread your vitriol and hatred of holidays to any who will listen. You are not the center of life on this earth. There are many who find joy in the holidays to one degree or another. It is a time for people to be happy, for children to have joy, and for family and parents to see children and relatives and enjoy one another's company. Is everything about holidays perfect--obviously no. Life is not perfect. Deal with it because the world does not work exactly the way you like it to work. What a cold and miserable life you appear to lead. To be sure I am spared anymore I think I will X you. Good luck with your life if you call it living.

[Nobody]

82. The reason you see these kinds of rants at this time of the year

and never any other time of the year is that it's so in your face obligatory.

Take St. Patrick's Day as an example. I live in the next city over from extremely Irish St. Paul (MN). I'm also part Irish. Not everyone is, and not everyone cares. You can go through your entire life without having the Irish Tenor Competition shoved in your face from January to April. You can go grocery shopping in downtown St. Paul and never once in your life hear Danny Boy, even on March 17th. You don't have to watch the parade, you don't have to order green beer, you don't have to greet everyone with Erin Go Braugh. No one expects it of you, and if you do participate, so what?

On the other hand, if you try to opt out of the commecialism of Xmas, you are vilified up one side and down the other. You can't walk into a bagel shop or a hardware store without hearing Silent Night. I saw Christmas decorations in the grocery store and heard the accompanying Muzak (which to be fair I hate anyway) in early October. We hadn't even gotten to Halloween and yet there was Xmas music and decorations and How Many Shopping Days Left commercials. It gets earlier every year, and no way can you avoid it.

It's not Christmas per se, it's the Season of Greed I object to and want to opt out of. If that was even possible, there would be no ranting about it.

[Retrograde]

31. maybe, but I like the parties

I'm expecting 20 friends for dinner in a couple of ours (why, yes, Mr. Retrograde and I celebrate Thanksgiving on Saturday: that's our tradition.) I'm always happy to observe anyone's holiday, especially if it involves pumpkin pie. If you don't want to - well, more pie for me.

BTW, marketing aside, Christmas is not the big Christian holiday. That's Easter, the basis for the whole religion. And later history notwithstanding, Thanksgiving started out with good intentions as "Thank God only half the colony died off this year, and it looks like we may just survive the winter". Flag Day is, of course, very important as it's my wedding anniversary :)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

32. So...don't celebrate them

Just enjoy the day off from work or school, sleep in, watch a couple of movies, take a walk, whatever.

I had friends in Oregon who didn't celebrate Christmas. They did the above things or else they went to downtown Portland to Powell's Books, which stays open on its normal schedule on holidays, and hung out with the other non-celebrators.

[acmejack]

33. Work!

I once got Triple time and a half at GE on Christmas day. HO HO HO! I used to work on every Holiday I could, it was slow and it made for an extra fat pay day. A lot of the time you got a comp day too. And you get a gracious way to get out of the festivities, "Damn I have to work-again!! I always like the $Holidays$!

[lynne]

34. Certainly your choice to not celebrate -

- but I can't help but to feel a bit sorry for someone who feels that they have no reason to be thankful and no desire to have extra time with their friends and family.

You could use holiday time to contribute in some fashion to society. Volunteer at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving. Distribute toys to orphans on Christmas. Visit hospitalized Veterans on the 4th of July. There are ways that you can use holiday time to make a difference in someones life instead of writing off the day as total bullshit.

[pansypoo53219]

35. can i still celebrate

the war on christmas?

[Cyrano]

37. Holidays are bullshit. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, et al.

And let's throw in July 4th, Veteran's Day, Columbus Day, New Year's Day, and any other "holiday" you choose. Many of these days
are no more than days off from school or work. But what do they represent?

Christmas: The day that Christ was born? Easter? The day he arose from the dead?: New Year's Day: The day on which many western civilizations celebrate the 365th (or, if you count leap year,
the 366th day on which the Earth made another rotation around the sun.)

Many, many moons ago, a friend told me that 99% of virtually everything is bullshit. He was far wiser that I realized at the time.

But the biggest piece of bullshit of all time is Christmas: Yesterday marked the "starting line" of Christmas, THE GREAT CHRISTIAN HOLIDAY. Yesterday, everyone who could walk, crawl, limp, or sprint attacked the stores like they were giving away (depending on your desires) Brad Pitt, or Angelina Jolie look-a-likes.

Thanksgiving? A long trip, driving, or flying to spend time with
our families, trying to find something to say after not hearing from each others for years. (A little mercy on this one. Many did go out of their way to go home again.)

And then there's our patriotic holidays. July 4th, Veteran's Day, Flag Day, and all the other so-called days on which are meant to make us feel "patriotic" while turning off our minds and our power of critical thinking. I ache for everyone who has ever lost a son, daughter, mother, father, brother, sister, or meaningful other in any war. But, and trust me on this, our government doesn't give a flying fuck about your loss.

And what about Thanksgiving? All it was originally, was a prelude to mass murder committed on native Americans by Europeans who were going to establish an empire from sea to shining sea. (At the time, the invaders didn't know how far their empire reach.)

So forgive me if I don't join in your holiday celebrations. But if I may, I'd like to give you my view of what we should be celebrating. -- Oh, what the hell. I can't say it any better than John Lennon did when he wrote "Imagine."

[rzemanfl]

38. But not Bunny Easter. See below:

[lectrobyte]

39. Hilarious, thanks!

[rzemanfl]

40. Perry Bible Fellowship has some of the wildest cartoons on the

net, some make me laugh out loud, even though I live in double Bushworld, Jeb AND Dubyah.

[Bluebear]

42. :)

[Joey Liberal]

41. We need a "Topless Women" holiday

That would be a worthy day off:)...........

[Clark2008]

45. Only if we have a cute man butt day...

[Dick Diver]

43. To many people these holidays represent something significant...

"So forgive me if I don't join in your holiday celebrations. But if I may, I'd like to give you my view of what we should be celebrating. -- Oh, what the hell. I can't say it any better than John Lennon did when he wrote 'Imagine.'"

No one has to forgive you -- they just don't HAVE to give a rat's ass what you think, however. Don't celebrate the holidays you don't agree with -- NO ONE CARES. Have a Merry Christmas.

[Cyrano]

53. Hmmmm, lack of foregiveness. "No one cares a rat's ass what you think."

I was under the impression that the season was about caring for others whether they cared for you or not. Nonetheless, have a happy holiday.

[Dinger]

44. I See What You Mean, But . . . .

and I mean that. However, I am a Christian, a very liberal Christian. I'm sure you meant no disrespect, and I agree 100% that the bullshit during the holidays flies like * when it comes to serving your country. I avoid teaching Thanksgiving to my third graders, but I recently read about a third grade teacher who did approach the subject in a way I think my students could appreciate and learn from. You do make some excellent points in your post, but I can't help feeling kind of strange about the way your post made me feel about believing in Christmas and Easter. I respect all people, no matter what they believe in. My sister is a Pagan, and my best friend is an Athiest. I have learned much from both of them.

I am going to proudly recommend your post Cyrano (if it's not too late to). The reason why is that it made me think, it just made me feel like maybe I don't belong here.

I hope this post isn't a mistake on my part, because DU is so important to me, and I love everyone here. I'm so thin-skinned about getting blasted, but if I get it, then I guess I have to take it.

Peace,

Ding

[mondo joe]

46. You might consider each holiday to be a free pass to do or feel whatever the fuck you

feel like.

I don't give a shit what an holiday was originally. I know what it means to ME - which has nothing to do with what it means to anyone else.

[Sherman A1]

49. Without Christmas

We wouldn't have Egg Nog and me LOVES Egg Nog. So while I am no real fan of the holiday itself I will certainly enjoy some of the perks of the seaon,

I need some Pumpkin Pie.....

[InvisibleTouch]

50. I somewhat agree, but mostly don't.

If by "bullshit" you mean we're not really celebrating what we think we are, because in actuality it's just an excuse to eat/drink/spend/etc., then sure, one could say that all holidays dating back to the dawn of time are an excuse to let go of life's daily grind for at least a little while. I don't think there's anything wrong with that - it may even be a psychological necessity.

Of course a lot of the hype around the holidays today is driven by big business, which stands to make a profit. It's up to us to choose whether we want to participate in that or not. I have to say, it's fun to both get and give presents, but there's no reason to take it to extremes.

As another poster has already said, the holidays are what you make of them. If you hate the spending frenzy as Christmas approaches, don't take part, or find a way around it. If you can't stand your family, don't feel guilty about avoiding them. Do your own thing. If you're content spending the holidays alone (as I am, generally), then do that, and enjoy. Who's to tell you otherwise? Who says the days themselves have to have any particular significance to you, beyond just a chance to relax?

Myself, I'm not a Christian (nor of any other spiritual tradition, for that matter), so this time of year doesn't have a religious significance to me - but I do enjoy the trappings and decorations and some pleasant memories. I do find it really interesting how so many traditions celebrate a Winter Solstice holiday (and a Spring Equinox, among others). I guess that comes from having Wiccan friends who celebrate their holidays right around Christmas and Easter, but aren't offended that society at large seems to have co-opted their much older traditions. Having some perspective on the history might make it more fun, or at least intrigueing for you. I'm happy to let people celebrate whichever holiday they like, in their own way. Me, I'll just enjoy the colored lights at this time of year. :)

[SmokingJacket]

56. The popular culture and media make them all suck.

Every time I watch television while visiting my relatives, I feel nauseated at all the "shopping" and "holiday glow" and what have you I'm supposed to be experiencing.

I don't have teevee at home though, and feel perfectly free to celebrate my day off in my own way, and enjoy holidays that way, quite a bit.

Don't let the corporations get you down!

[Raine]

58. I have my issues with holidays but

I still kind of like them because they differentiate one day or one season from another and give you something to look back on whether the memory is good or bad.

[kineneb]

59. now hang on there just a minute

we had really nice Thanksgiving. And it was all about the meaning of giving thanks.

That for which we gave thanks (to whom/what ever):
1. Still being alive- the "family" of friends were all present at the table

2. The dialysis machines and health team that keep Hubby alive (see #1)

3. Being able to have a real Thanksgiving meal- both we and our friends are living at near poverty level.

4. Working for nice people: The church where I work donated lots of fruit and vegetables to me, which really made the meal possible.

So don't get all grumpy. Sure, holidays can be a bummer. So can life.

Another view is that every day one wakes up, is a day to celebrate: you are still here.

[JVS]

60. No present for you. And if they need someone at work, I'm giving them your #

[seabeyond]

61. this is ONLY your perception. your reality to live. others DONT live

this. it is much more meaningful for so many others than what you are able to even kinda grasp. your loss. and maybe in time you may be able to value and appreciate all the gifts (nonmaterial) and opportunities during this season. and maybe not. but that isnt the rest of our problem.

[mtnsnake]

62. LOL!

I like your style!

[DemBones DemBones]

63. Don't celebrate them then. Or volunteer to work on holidays, and

allow those of us who enjoy celebrating them to do so.

Every culture that I know of has had holidays and they don't all revolve around commercialism. Many of us celebrate Christmas without engaging in the shopping orgies.

[Skittles]

65. those shoppers sickened me

Cyrano, I AM WITH YOU - it appalls me what Christmas has become, what every holiday has become

[Spider Jerusalem]

67. Eh.

Christmas, at least, is just a thin Christianising of the ancient pagan solstice festival. The Feast of the Unconquered Sun. Saturnalia. Easter? Same thing, only on the spring equinox instead of winter solstice. Thanksgiving? The fall harvset festival, and traditionally, rejoicing over a successful crop and avoidance of famine (something to be grateful for in the days before modern agriculture).

The civic holidays don't have these cultural traditions, being meant more to foster a sense of national unity, but they exist for a reason, too.

The fact that American culture has commercialised things to an absurd degree doesn't make them "bullshit"; that's a historically and culturally ignorant attitude.

[Mr_Spock]

68. Grump

I think Christmas is fun - love the Pagan holiday with it's fat Finn in a red suit. My Jewish children love the gifts they get from the fat Finn and I enjoy watching them enjoy the day.

[roguevalley]

69. make your own memories. this is the first thanksgiving without my

dad. I would give an arm to have him here. Holidays are what you make them. At our house they are about family, memories and love. I wish you all of this, cyrano.

[immoderate]

71. I enthusiastically observe any holiday...

where the food is good. This includes any religious observances, even though I have no god.

--IMM

[Maraya1969]

72. Christmas and consumption go hand in hand and it is one reason

I do not buy many gifts. I see all the wrapping paper and plastic and styrofoam and bubble wrap and all I can think of is it is all going to pollute the earth. It does seem as if the worst in materialism is expressed on Christmas.

I donate money to charity in people's names as gifts and I buy things for toys for tots and some other things. I feel good using my money that way on Christmas. But I do not have any children so it is kind of different for me.

[JCMach1]

73. Oh please, this post happens every year and it's the same BS

each time...


Holidays are about LIFE and LIVING!!! Now get over it!!!

[mtnsnake]

97. haha, I love the annual holiday posts then. Funny in a black humor kind of way

and they have some merit to them, besides. Cheers!

[shadowknows69]

74. I'll throw you a hearty Bah hum bug on that one Cyrano.

Just more distracting merriment to keep the people sheeple and let us collectively turn a blind eye to the horrors that are committed daily and have been committed throughout history in our names.

[NuttyFluffers]

75. yay! an ally! let's go celebrate! i'll bring the wine in a box and a Chopin compilation!

you supply the darkness, cold plain oatmeal, and images of suffering and destruction projected on a wall. it'll be the best holidays EVAH! ...gonna ride high on a deep depression, i'm only happy when it rains...

:banghead: :rant: :cry: :beer: :spank: :evilfrown: :(

[eridani]

76. Well, we could at least consolidate then, no?

http://bigpicture.typepad.com/writing/2005/10/merry_thanksgiv.html

[WilliamPitt]

77. Want to have a party with Christian history?

Read about Emperor Constantine of Rome.

And why Christmas and Easter fall on the calendar when they do.

Hint: politics.

Enjoy.

[dysfunctional press]

78. what's it like to go through life so miserable...?

just wondering... :shrug:

[NJCher]

79. I challenge you to re-think your curmudgeonly stance

I see your point, but basically I agree with MadHound--that a holiday is what you make of it. There is a responsibility that you have, too, you know, and that is the way you choose to react to the holiday.

The way you are reacting is as if the world doesn't present you with an acceptable way to celebrate the holiday. Well, I don't buy it because we all have the freedom to interpret and do with the holiday what we want. Where is your creativity and your spirit of fun? Take the day (or long weekend) and do what moves your spirit.

But as I said, I think I do understand your point and your general grouchiness about it. The way the corporate press presents the holidays doesn't agree with me, either. I loath the idea of all the dumbass fools out there breaking down the gates to get into a store at 5 a.m. And I especially loath how the media commentators "chuckle" about it. Yech. So I watch none of it--well, almost none. I tune in just long enough to see that they haven't changed. Then I go back into my own holiday celebration mode.

I challenge you to re-think your curmudgeonly stance and find a way to make the holiday meaningful to yourself. With your current position, you are cheating yourself from some heartwarming, restorative times.




Cher

[earth mom]

80. I hate the rampant and ugly commercialism of the holidays!

And trying to hold on to the essence of what the holidays are about is becoming more and more difficult every year because the message to buy! buy! buy! is so loud, pervasive, relentless and inescapable.

Whenever it all gets to be too much, I watch a couple of old holiday movies like Scrooge or It's a Wonderful Life. These movies put me in the holiday spirit in a way that no amount of shopping and buying will ever do. Sad that to enjoy the season, I must check out of it first.

[happydreams]

84. A warm fuzzy feeling.

It's weird. I like to kick back during these times and enjoy the sound, but not neccessarily the words, of Christmas Carols. Anymore I just do it and don't think about all the Christian stuff and just pig out on the food candy and presents.

Christmas, Thanksgiving have alot to do with the harvest period which no longer has much meaning in our modern society.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

85. the holidays are what you make them

You're not getting invitations from too many people. Maybe you can hang out with the rest of the grumpies and leave the rest of us alone.

Thanksgiving is about being thankful for what we have now. Yes it started as mass murder and colonialism but that's not what it's about now.


THe xtians stole all the holidays from the pagans. Big deal.

You don't like the stampedes at the malls and the commercialism? Then don't participate. I don't spend myself into debt.

You sound like my ex husband who didn't want to buy anybody anything, because he "didn't want society tellin' him he HAD to get somebody a present" which was actually a cover up for "I'm a cheap bastard and don't want to spend money on anything for anybody else." However he did accept Xmas presents and birthday presents for himself with no problem. He also told me I was egotistical once because I expected a cake and presents on my birthday. What a fabulous shrink (not).

I celebrate a totally secular Xmas with very little in the way of presents. I make fudge for people.

The ex just couldn't understand why I cried bitterly when he didn't get me anything -- zip, zero, zilch -- for xmas when I had bought him a cashmere sweater at the tall mens' store. Because I expected him to get me something -- like maybe a $5 mug or something -- for xmas, that meant I was greedy.

I think he was related to the Grinch, because his heart was probably invisible.



The question I have about the holidays is this:Is not there something fundamentally WRONG with our economy when 40 to 50% of the year's income of merchants is due to Christmas?? Doesn't that mean our economy is seriously messed up? I never see anybody else ask this question. That's the bottom line question, not just the materialism of it.

[Dorian Gray]

86. Holidays...

are simply what you and your loved ones make of them. They can mean nothing. They can be materialistic. Or they can be family oriented occasions meant to mark important milestones or remembrances.

[Justpat]

87. They are all culturally mandated spending sprees.

And I detest every one of them. I stopped doing the Christmas thing
many years ago and consider it one of the best things I ever did
for myself.

[jazzjunkysue]

89. Exactly. If you've ever worked in retail before christmas,, you get it.

This is all about business.

I keep my list as short as possible. I took my daughter to a broadway show instead of dragging something home to wrap. And I buy my sisters something really practical and under $10 like a CD or a travel mug. This year it's a windshield defroster, $9.99.

Christmas should be for kids, not a reason to exchange boxes with adults.

[cwydro]

88. I love holidays!

A day off work is a good day to me.:)

[SammyWinstonJack]

90. Most everything seems like bullshit these days, doesn't it?

I have become so jaded. Thanks a whole bunch George bu$h , you jerk! :argh:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

92. guess what?

I am thankful although I have no relatives to celebrate with. They are taking the long dirt nap and I have nothing in common with the cousins who are still kicking. My only kid is in college thousands of miles away.

I can't enjoy a day off because I've been unemployed for several years. But I enjoy cooking and taking the food to my local atheist gathering (disguised as a U-U church) and then singing songs after the meal.

But I don't let it get me down too much. Think of all the money I'm saving.

You could give a donation to the Heifer Foundation as a gift in someone's name, which is a good idea, or some other charity.

Another one is Seva Foundation, which does things like remove cataracts from people in poor countries.

[jazzjunkysue]

93. Christmas is a pagan holiday about a yule log. It's not christian at all.

Just like the Jewish holdays, the early christians tried to walpaper over the traditional pagan customs by teaching young children that the symbols were created by the church.

Thus, we sacrifice a son at Passover and easter, in the same week.

Easter is about fertility, and the earth coming back to life(the end of winter), not jesus. That's why we have bunnies, eggs and chicks. All pagan fertility/birth symbols. Easter is really a pornographic celebration of all things carnal.

Christmas celebrates a birth of a hero just as Judas Maccabee becomes a military hero in Channukah. He makes the lamp oil last far longer than it should and re-dedicates the temple after he steals it back from the Syrians.

Thanksgiving is sukkot. You eat alot outside, thanking god for the good harvest.

If you ever live a year with a christian and a jew, you'll find out all this stuff is the same.

But you'll have to read up on pre-historic cultures to know that it was all about the sacrifices made to the gods to bring back the sun every spring.

Religion is man made. If you use it to love and enjoy your family, then have at it. If you use it to marginalize or harm people, then you're just plain wrong.

[Lilith Velkor]

94. Imagine there's no bullshit. It's easy if you try.

[BoneDaddy]

96. I totally disagree

John Lennon did not, ever, imagine a world without joy. His main point was not that these things exist, but our attachments to them. If holidays cease to become less the collective consumer activities and more the understanding of how life and the world works (through seasons, death and rebirth) then we will be free of much of the superficiality that exists around "holidays". For me and my family, we revel in the holidays. Fun, laughter, families. That is what it is all about anyway.

Don't fall into the trap of being the "opposite" of the idiots, it is still an idiot position.

[QuestionAll...]

98. agreed. Holidays are for selling crap you don't really need the...

other 364 days a year.

corporate interests supported by farmed idiotcy.

[roody]

99. I always noticed that the "holidays" were a huge amount of work

for women.

[Bouncy Ball]

100. Like someone else said, holidays are what you make of them.

We don't engage in the consumer frenzy at Christmas. We just do what we want to do, which makes it nice and keeps us from turning into grumpy-ass fools who can't seem to enjoy themselves on any day of the year.

If the consumer frenzy drives you crazy, get out of town. Go for a hike in a nearby national or state park. Sit on a dock and stare off into space. Experiment with different recipes in your kitchen. Color in a coloring book, do a jigsaw puzzle, carry out a masturbation marathon, whatever, but there are loads of ways to avoid the stuff so that it doesn't make you so bitter.