Those who can't stand Christmas Kand R here

[norepubsin08]

What with the Wal-Mart employee being trampled to death, the shootings at a Toys R Us, having to listen to screwed up Christmas music, the Christmas wars upon us, having to buy more stuff than we can afford, extra usage of electricity for Christmas when that could saved, watching stupid Christmas specials on tv and the incredible phoniness of many who act like that they when during the rest of the year they couldn't give a shit about anybody but themselves...K & R here if you can't stand the XMAS Season!!!!

[Ian David]

1. I used to like xmas until Captain Phonesex decided there was a war against it. n/t

[norepubsin08]

38. that was part of it for me also..I refuse to have some asshole

tell me what I need to celebrate

[Photovoltaic]

93. The Line

The line was corssed when, as a college student, I went to Target on October 31st for some reason or other to find in decorated for Halloween. On November 1st, the next day, I realized I had forgotten something and went back, to find it fully decorated for Christmas.

O'Really's "War on Christmas" exists, but as usual, he's off the mark entirely. The war on Christmas doesn't come from crazed liberals, in comes from greedy corporate elites with products to sell. I think everyone would enjoy Christmas if there wasn't some cultural/corporate mandate to buy shit.

I personally enjoy the season in many ways, but that's because the over-commercialization has encouraged me to build up my own definition of the season. The profusion of cultural trash related to it was stifling, so I abandoned it.

[russspeakeasy]

183. It is the most horrible of holidays

xmas...that's the only spelling it deserves....

[bluedeminredstate]

2. I hate the pressure!

To bake, to decorate, to buy, to spend more than I can afford on shit that no one needs or wants, to pretend I loooooove the stupid bunny slippers from my sister-in-law, to fake being joyful and happy for a 12 hour day that exhausts the hell out of adults all over this country.
If that makes me a Scrooge than sue me.

:nuke:

[Skittles]

27. who is pressuring you?

JUST DON'T DO IT

[norepubsin08]

39. it's cultural and societal

Watch "Christmas with the Kranks"

[Skittles]

142. ultimately, it is self-inflicted

I don't do any of that crap and no one can pressure me

[AlbertCat]

206. BINGO!

I never "do" Christmas. But I do feel obligated to get a gift for those who get me gifts. But then, I give stuff to my family and friends ALL YEAR LONG....why wait til Xmas? If I see something I think someone I know would just love...I buy it and give it to them anyway....even if it's July. Why not?

The BEST thing about the Xmas season is that it's the only time one can play classical music in public and not get looked at sideways. Of course, this music is around to enjoy all year. To people who say "Oh, I love Handel's "Messiah""... I say "Handel wrote a lot of oratorios and "Messiah" is but one of them. They are all as good (well, mostly) and as beautiful as "Messiah". Try "L'Allegro, il Penseroso et il Moderato" (It's in English too(Milton)....though the title isn't.) Or if you prefer something religious like "Messiah" there are tons of oratorios based on Old Testament stories (Handel, like Mendelssohn, figured out he could get the Christian AND the Jewish audience). Or the "Chandos Anthems"...which are psalms set to music. "Messiah" is not just about Xmas...only. It has the nativity in it, but then goes on for another hour and a half with arias like "I know that my redeemer liveth" and choruses like "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain"....clearly not about the nativity.

[laststeamtrain]

107. Eminently reasonable, Skittles.

"JUST DON'T DO IT".

It's really as simple as that.

Beautiful.

:thumbsup:

[Blue Gardener]

109. We're giving to food banks this year

Instead of drawing names in the family. With the devastating floods we had this summer, and a crappy economy on top of it, the food banks need donations more than we need more stuff.

[Kalyke]

184. I enjoy it.

I hate shopping, but I get done early, so... no pressure.

LOL. I did have a few last minute things to get today. No crowds, btw. Raining. Two days after Black Friday. Still stuff half off. It was funny.

In any case, cooking relaxes me. Decorating is child's play (I have two - we LOVE it) and the family is all in agreement not to spend, spend, spend (no one can afford it). The kids get the loot, the parents get to watch the kids get the loot. :)

BTW, I've never spent more than $500 on an entire Christmas in my life - from baking to presents. I start shopping in August. Get done before Thanksgiving (up until this year - budget pushed me back some). And don't go get the live tree, that we mulch, until NEXT weekend (they dry up before New Years if you get them too early).

Pace yourself, sister (brother?). It's fun if you let it happen.

:hug:

Merry Christmas and much joy in the New Year!!

[Terran]

188. Don't decorate if you don't want to, and give all the $$

you might have spent to charity in your familiy's and friends' names. You'll feel great about it.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. I got an idea for a new Xmas song.

I'm gonna call it "The Twelve Weeks of Christmas."

Enough already, fer Chrissake (soda speak). They start this shit before Hallowe'en.

[fortyfeetunder]

22. The earliest I have seen it was August

And I was thinking "already"?

:grr:

[cliffordu]

4. k&r

[glowing]

5. I love Christmas. I don't go for the marketing scam of Christmas.. but I do like Christmas.

[JFN1]

6. Can't stand it anymore

It used to be about giving - now its only about profit.

Fuck Christmas.

[Froward69]

7. Bahh Fucking Humbug!!!

no matter what you give someone it seems never enough. what you receive almost always turns out to have been on sale (incredibly cheap) or from a .99 cent store.

everyone paints on a plastic smile for one season a year.

If you somehow think "this year I will turn it around and make this the best Christmas ever"... inevitably by new years the attitude is "ban the damn holiday already"


the silver lining is it seems, is that the suicide rate goes up. (if only for one month.) a few neo-cons every year some enemies etc.

[norepubsin08]

40. I'm with you!!!

[jrockford]

72. The silver lining is an increase in suicides - what??? nt

[TexasObserver]

8. I worship the Sun and the Moon. I know they're taking care of me 24/7.

They don't require gifts.




I'm kidding about the worship. I don't worship anything. Not kidding about thinking the sun and moon are more deserving of adoration than other beliefs of gods.

[sarcasmo]

218. Well put, fellow worshiper.

[Faux pas]

9. Christmas Sucks! Denis Leary's Christmas song is my fave.

Old Saint Nick's got Bourbon breath
It's so cold you could catch your death
A cop sold me some crystal meth
It's a merry fuckin' Christmas

Everything's so Christmassy
The streets are twinkling with frozen pee
My priest just sat on Santa's knee
It's a merry fuckin' Christmas

All the kids go to bed each night
To dream what Santa brings 'em (brings 'em)
Unless they're Jewish or Muslim
Or some other gyp religion

Crappy toys flyin' off the shelves
Midgets dressed up to look like elves
Spread good cheer or burn in Hell
It's a merry fuckin' Christmas

Cracklin' fires to keep me warm
And my collection of Asian porn
Cradle my bells and work my horn
It's a keep-on-truckin'
Last-year-suckin'
Midget-chuckin'
Slap-the-puckin'
How-much-wood-could-a-woodchuck-chuckin'
Merrrry fuuuuckin' Christmaaaaaas

Ho-Ho-Ho

[Triana]

10. I like the time off work...

...the rest of it, the commercialism, the hype, the goddamned decorations being put out on store shelved BEFORE THANKSGIVING even, the goddamned crowds in the stores, the goddamned religious stuff - not so much.

Yep. I wrote 'goddamned' three times. For a reason. Several reasons.

Humbug. HUM-fucking-BUG!

I'm spiritual, but not religious. I got no use for Christmas.

I'd rather kiss a Moose and let the reindeer run over Sarah Palin. She IS about to be a grandmother so the song Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer will work. I hear Hoofmark Hoochie underwear are all the rage this season. Maybe she and her Alaskan trash family can line up outside Mal-Wart and kill someone on the way in the door to get some. Pfft.

Egh.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

11. Stopped being any fun years ago

Now I spend the time working. Only thing good about it is after Dec. 21 the days start getting longer again.

[norepubsin08]

41. Same here..it stopped being fun when my dad died a week before Christmas

I was seven at the time and then we had his funeral 2 days before Christmas. I also work for a mainline Church denomination and I am just slammed starting about now!!!

[Duval]

133. My husband and I can relate to this, too.

My mother was buried on the 24th and husband's father died on the 24th. We live in NC, and usually go to Florida for the holidays. It seems to help.

[Duval]

132. YES,ayeshahaqqiqa.

I always look forward to the 21st! Whew! Glad I'm not alone.

[bunnies]

12. k&r. But I'm an atheist. We just ignore it. nt

[lunatica]

13. Haven't done Christmas or any other holiday for twenty years

No one in the family misses is a bit. There are no children involved.

But this is strictly a personal choice and I don't think there's anything wrong in anyone doing the Holiday thing if they want to. I just don't.

[Vinca]

14. I definitely hate Christmas. Lots of high expectations never met. nt

[norepubsin08]

42. It really get that way when you throw a

bunch of relatives in the mix

[Vinca]

95. LOL - Norman Rockwell turns into the Bates Motel. nt

[Myrina]

15. To me, it has always been aimed at ...

... people with money and significant others on whom to spend it.

Having never had either, all the 'made for tv movies' and "buy your darling diamonds (or a Mercedes)" {aside: who the fuck gives someone a CAR for Christmas?!?} and "office gatherings" (bring your spouse!) always manage to undermine what little sense of self-worth I've managed to hold onto.

I'd guess I'm not alone.

:spank:

[Night_Nurse]

176. No shit... how about a Lexus wrapped in a big red bow?? As if. nt

[bigtree]

16. it doesn't remind me of shopping

it reminds me of home and my family

[Creationismsucks]

17. This atheist

Loves christmas.

[MindMatter]

166. I'm an atheist, but I attend Xmas eve services

because I'm a musician. I have nothing against the religious holiday. There are certain churches where I will perform and others where I won't. If they are into the fire and brimstone, I'm not interested. But I have no animosity towards people of genuine faith who find comfort in the season.

But everything else about the Christmas season sucks big time. I stopped participating in gift exchanges a decade ago. I refuse to walk into any retail establishment from Halloween to January 15 if I can possibly avoid it. We have enough cheesy crap in our lives already. I refuse to carry any guilt for not adding to that.

[norepubsin08]

173. Me too I am a church musician also!!!

Sang in an international boy choir when I was I 11 and also at 14...at 19 ran a national singing tour for 15 months. have directed in various churches. To me, any service (the only good part of it is the music) the rest is just crap!!!)

[silverweb]

18. I'm with you.

Christmas was fun when there were little kids at home who were as thrilled with pretty boxes as with what was in them.

I hate everything about "The Holidays" now -- and not just Xmas but ALL commercialized holidays. They're nothing but high-pressure marketing gimmicks, with manufactured societal coercion to spend, spend, spend.

Consequently, I've been ignoring most holidays for several years now. My kids and I always manage to get together from our scattered locations some time around the Winter Solstice (which is what we're actually celebrating) and DO something together.

We've been skipping presents of "stuff" since they've both been in college and I'm still supporting the youngest -- but we always have a wonderful time together and that is our gift to each other.

I wish our consumer society's version of all holidays -- but especially the winter holidays -- would just fizzle and disappear.

[Owl]

19. Well said. We also have minimized the commercial aspects...

and find Christmas-time much more meaningful and enjoyable.

[silverweb]

20. Amen.

[sasquuatch55]

98. What about the economy?

Don't we little people need to keep "bailing" out the entities that will ALWAYS have more than us?

[zippy890]

151. yes. we all must buy massive amounts of stuff to save the economy

that is our duty, our role as American citizens.

so suck it up everybody and max out those credit cards! Buy buy buy, consume and save our economy.

God Bless America,

/sarcasm off

and welcome to DU

:hi:

[silverweb]

189. Nope.

Let it crash and burn, and hope the crooked bastards burn with it.

We "little people" should develop our own underground economy, just like Argentinians did during their darkest times, until the "real" economy is once more subject to law, and regulated into some semblance of honesty and fairness.

[fortyfeetunder]

21. When I see holiday stuff in August...

and this massive commercialism.

I won't go into the personal stuff...

As I said before, if I could take a pill around Thanksgiving so I'd wake up on Jan 2 that would be OK.

[texanshatingbush]

123. If you find some of those pills, please share!!! n/t

[Tigress DEM]

23. I hate the Comercialism of Christmas, but the REAL Christmas isn't about shopping.

I've been asking myself, "Who would Jesus trample to get to that last laptop on sale?"

I used to love Christmas Carols, but when they start in July and when they're just used to get you in the "mood" for shopping....

BUT giving someone a nice present and seeing them happy isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I just hate being swept up in any plasticized trend. Having the love of Christmas in your heart has to be a year long goal for any real Christian. No one is perfect and we all make mistakes, and we try harder during the holidays, but if it's what you believe it doesn't stop on the morning after the wrapping paper is put away.

[Dappleganger]

24. Totally agree with this...

it has become a holiday for MONSTERS.

But so has Halloween, Easter, etc.

[norepubsin08]

49. Me too, but the greedy mother-fucking corporatists

have high jacked the damn holiday!

[OneBlueSky]

25. sign me up . . . I despise the "holiday season" . . .

and I won't get caught up in that Wal-Mart kinda nonsense . . . what little shopping I do, I do online . . . then I just grit my teeth and wait for January 2 to arrive . . .

[LWolf]

26. I'm ambivalent.

I like frosty air. I like evergreens and pretty lights. I like the music, even when I don't relate to the lyrics. I like the treats, the laughter, the fun.

I don't like the shopping frenzy, the commercialization, the cultural pressure to buy and give gifts, the xtian takeover.

I like the "xmas spirit" as long as no one tries to force theirs on me, or force me to have it.

I don't like the automatic assumption that I'm supposed to celebrate 24/7 from black friday until January 2nd.

[ColbertWatcher]

28. If "youth" is wasted on the "young" ...

... Christmas has been ruined by "Christians."

[valerief]

178. LOL!!! Insightful! nt

[trusty elf]

201. Smirk 'n Sneer's Xmas card

:hide:

[Holly_Hobby]

29. My husband and I do not participate in any Xmas crap

We stay home, watch movies and have sex.

Our families don't understand (we don't have kids). Our co-workers don't understand. And we don't care if they understand or not. :)

[norepubsin08]

43. Sounds like fun to me!!!

[jrockford]

73. Then why don't you do that rather than succumb to this "pressure"?

[L0oniX]

30. Christmas is a capitalist suckers game ...you loose!

I will never participate in it.

[earth mom]

31. I'm sick of it all too. But when you have children, what choice do you have?

I'd much rather have our family celebrate the Winter Solstice as someone mentioned upthread and enjoy the beauty of nature this season. But we can't do what because our kid won't understand. I told my husband the other day that I just want Christmas to be over. I want to buy all the presents immediately, wrap them and give them to each other NOW. I don't want to wait or go through the long drawn out process and have a night of no sleep on Christmas eve wrapping presents. If only we could get it over with now!

The only upside this year is we will be doing the majority of our shopping online. I already have Christmas cards that I purchased after Christmas last year and we found a great, reasonably priced place to buy our tree at last year; so getting a tree won't be the hassle it was other years when it was near impossible to find a pretty tree tall enough for an 11 ft ceiling.

So...the details won't be so hellacious this year, which should make the holiday tolerable, I guess. :shrug:

[norepubsin08]

36. tell that Jesus never exited and therefore there is no need to

get presents and they whine about it, tell them they are a bunch of ungrateful little brats

[earth mom]

57. I'm agnostic so Christmas is not about religion for our family.

But not having Christmas would break my kids heart and I'm not going to do that even though it would be easier on me. Simple as that.

[unapatriciated]

167. my children are grown and we are 3,000 miles apart...

but they will tell you their favorite Christmas was in 1978, their dad was just out of the military and jobs were hard to find. We had a Charlie Brown Tree (we paid $4 for) we did handmade decorations (I still have them ) and we continued to do that every year. They received a stocking and one gift each, yet it was and still is their favorite Christmas.
Hubby and I do not exchange gifts we pick a charity, sadly once again we will be doing care packages for http://www.anysoldier.com/

[earth mom]

186. Sounds like a special Christmas. And Charlie Brown trees are my favorite.

:)

[Sebastian Doyle]

32. A Christmas carol we can all sing along with

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbTULjLtKP4

[norepubsin08]

46. I like it-thanks!

[Cleita]

33. My husband died three days before Christmas so it has been a sad time

of year for me since then.

[norepubsin08]

50. My dad died a week before Christmas when I was 7

his funeral was two days before Christmas. On Dec 16th when I was 14 my mom was diagnosed with inoperable cancer...those memories always come back...for many years inspite of that..I loved Christmas,. but the corporations and culture wars have ruined it for me!!!

[Cleita]

55. I'm sorry that you have a double tragedy to be

reminded of. I do try to think that my husband wouldn't want me to be unhappy so I put up some decorations and a tree to cheer myself up. I'm sure you do the same. I agree that what is a sacred time of year for many religions and cultures has been turned into a grab for money by the greedy corporations.

[ScreamingMeemie]

34. I can stand it.

Yes, I am kicking because I can stand the nice parts of Christmas...it's the other parts I don't like so very much.

[alarimer]

35. I hate it.

Hate the music, hate the crowds. Hate the greedy people most of all. I think I will stay in my cave until it's over. I ventured to Best Buy today. Big mistake. All of my shopping will be done online this year.

[norepubsin08]

37. me too!!!

[HarveyDarkey]

44. As an atheist...

K & R, if I can "R" as a newbie.

[norepubsin08]

45. I think you can!!!

[tbyg52]

58. Hey, HarveyDarkey!

Welcome to DU!

As an atheist, I used to kinda like it anyway, but I sure don't like what it's turned into over the course of my lifetime.

[HarveyDarkey]

64. Thanks for the welcome

N/T

[Pastiche423]

47. K&R!

I ignore it.

[dkofos]

48. Bah-humbug

[Lydia Leftcoast]

51. The older I get, the more I dislike the materialistic aspects of Christmas and

appreciate the spiritual aspects.

[Midlodemocrat]

52. How incredibly sad.

It's actually pathetic that you feel the need to partake of the music, the malls, the lighs, and the specials and spew shit about it.

Here's an idea.

If you don't like Christmas, don't participate.

[SammyWinstonJack]

113. !!

:thumbsup:

[Laelth]

53. Call me the Grinch. n/t

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.

:dem:

-Laelth

[asteroid2003QQ47]

54. K&R n/t

[janedum]

56. What's "K&R"? nt.

??

[gratefultobelib]

61. K & R is "kick and recommend." Posting a response gives an OP (original

post) a longer life (the kick), and giving it a recommend by clicking on the recommend button at the end of the OP will send it to the Greatest Page, if the OP gets 5 or more recommends. You can't recommend until you get a certain number of posts. Hope that helps!

P.S. I shouldn't be responding in this thread since I LOVE Christmas!!

[Dervill Crow]

62. kicked and recommended.

Welcome to DU. :hi:

[malaise]

59. I hate the shopping and commercialization but enjoy the family and friends

getting together.

[Dervill Crow]

60. Strangely enough, I hated it more when I was a Christian.

It's a very Pagan holiday. I hate the commercialism and pressure to buy things I can't afford. I thought it would be fun this year because I have grandchildren big enough to enjoy it, but it still sucks.

On edit: Lest the first sentence above give anyone the wrong impression, the Pagan aspect of the holiday (Yule was high-jacked by the early Christians) is NOT what I dislike about the holiday, and the commercialism is NOT Pagan.

As they say, "The Season is the Reason."

[xenu loves you]

63. When I get enough posts under my belt, I will rec this with pleasure

I cannot stand this time of year these days...Too much consumerism, but also, too many people who cling to the holidays because they haven't much of a life.

Short story: I had a boss who was very stoic. She didn't seem capable of smiling...I saw a pic of her on vacation and even then she posed for the camera with that blank face. When xmas rolled around, she started humming and being in a charitable mood. It was very...odd...and silly. Because then she went back to her "normal" self later. And she didn't realize that it was all an illusion.

[Hubert H. Hubert]

65. You make the Baby Jesus cry

[buzzycrumbhunger]

66. FL's double whammy: Holidays = tourists

For that reason alone, I fucking hate it. Our population triples because everyone sends Grandma and Grandpa down here to drive too slow and complain about how everything's better/cheaper/nicer "up north." Forget that they're each taking 20 Rx meds and shouldn't be allowed to drive at all. Why do you do this to us? They're also the ones responsible for the 45,000-light displays that keep you up all night because 70-degree weather and retirement are a dangerous mix:





But I digress. . . I did Xmas for the kids' sake and we all agree it's much better now that we don't acknowledge it as anything but solstice and Yule. Totally de-stresses this time of year to put no pressure on ourselves. Goddamn it anyway--I stayed in a lousy marriage for 20 years for their sake, too, and they couldn't tell me that would've been okay to jettison these things until now? :P

[Duval]

137. "Why do you do this to us?"

Well, I lived in Ft.Lauderdale for 15 years and loved it.Your boat parades on the Intracoastal is absolutely gorgeous, and I especially liked the ones who would dock at a house and sing carols. Also,
it affords us a super time by not having to deal with arthritis when it gets cold in NC. The sunshine gives us a boost. Most people we see appear to be happy(we go to the coast). I well remember what we all called "the blue-hairs", referring to older people who drive. One of these ran a stop sign in the 70s and totaled my "74 Toyota(which cost $5,000.00). However, we aren't on prescription drugs that would hamper our driving. Actually what really hampers driving are so many idiots on the road. :-)

[eridani]

67. Merry Thanksgivoween!

http://www.toilette-humor.com/halloween/thanksgivoween.shtml

[Maraya1969]

68. I just wait for it to be over. I treat it like another day and if I am going to give gifts

they are gifts to charity in the honor of that person's name.

[Duppers]

190. bravo. a great quote...

The only gift is giving to the poor; all else is exchange.

Thiruvalluvar

[southerncrone]

69. I absolutely despise it!

It is the most disgusting, disruptive activity we must endure.

You have nailed it perfectly!

[DUlover2909]

70. I make my ghola do all the working, shopping, and celebrating.

[Occam Bandage]

71. I would be highly suspicious of anyone who dislikes Christmas.

Nothing says self-importance like finding good things people like and declaring moral disdain for them.

Of course, I might as well saying "nothing says self-importance like posting on DU..."

[amborin]

74. we've been ignoring xmas for years; it's also easier here in diverse so cal n/t

[judasdisney]

75. Everyday Is Halloween

in my heart

[stuntcat]

171. That's the only one I look forward to.

It's the one I really decorate for too, I go all out!

For Christmas I'll wait until a week before and pull the plastic bag off our tiny tree that's in the basement. No decorating, just plug it in. I send cards because we're an old married couple so it's expected. I buy a gift for 4 or 5 people closest to me because they like Christmas, well except for my aunt who won't celebrate it at all.

[VPStoltz]

76. Just another created holiday.

How is it that the birth of Christ gets very little play in the bible but it's the biggest stinkin' thing in capitalism. We even get a day off to celebrate it.
Easter, on the other hand, which is the highest of Christian holidays gets - maybe - an egg search and roll and dinner at aunties. NO day off for the Christians because hey, it's just too bad your high holiday lands on a Sunday anyway.
It really is crazy.

[asteroid2003QQ47]

85. Sunday isn't a Christian holiday? How much more do you want? n/t

[VPStoltz]

174. I meant the hypocrisy of a Federal Holiday other than Sunday.

I personally don't support either - it has always been a point of contention with me.

[demwing]

77. Dismal?

What else can I be when I live in a world full of fools babbling "Merry Christmas" at one another? What's Christmas but a time for finding yourself a year older and not a day richer? There's nothing merry in that. If I could work my will, nephew, every idiot who goes about with "Merry Christmas" on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a steak of holly through his heart.

Ebenezer Scrooge

[dickthegrouch]

78. If I ever hear any of those songs again it will be too soon

The principal reason I despise Xmas is the same 5 insipid songs repeated EVERYWHERE.
It's cruel and unusual punishment to have to hear them.

[asteroid2003QQ47]

86. X-mas cheer for you (and you thought you hated X-mas songs)

I Want A Blow-Up Doll For Christmas

I want a blow-up doll for Christmas.
I want a girl I can inflate.
I saw one like I want in a girlie magazine --
The one that I hide between my mattress and box springs.
I want a blow-up doll for Christmas.
Hurry up, Santa, I can't wait!
I want a blow-up doll for Christmas,
'Cause I know that she'll be the perfect mate.

She must be heavy-duty to resist wear and tear.
She'll come with a special set of sexy underwear.
I'll dress her like a hooker, then dress her for the prom,
Then let her air out, fold her up and hide her from my Mom.

She won't talk so I won't have to call her on the phone.
I won't have to comb her hair because it's printed on.
Her lips will be shaped like an "O" and painted ruby red.
I'll have to hide her from my friends -- she'll be a real airhead.

Oh, I want a blow-up doll for Christmas.
I want a girl with vinyl flesh.
She must have a pretty face up above her neck.
The rest of her body must be anatomically correct.
I want a blow-up doll for Christmas.
I think I'll call her Judy or Beth.
I want a blow-up doll for Christmas,
'Cause real girls, they scare me half to death!

[norepubsin08]

111. that's quite the song!

[Beam Me Up]

79. Right. But celebrating the winter solstice DOES make a kind of sense.

I don't celebrate Christmas. I'm not a Christian, for one thing. I do, however, celebrate the Winter Solstice. I don't necessarily make a 'big deal' out of it (although some years I really get into it).

I don't have any specific tradition. I just sort of 'make it up', using some of the traditional Christmas elements which are about the return of the Sun and the triumph of light over darkness -- and all that represents..

[Lucian]

80. I fucking hate Christmas!

I have been hearing Christmas music since November 1st and I'm fucking sick and tired of it! Bring back the secular holidays already!

[ProdigalJunkMail]

81. in case you haven't noticed

christmas is now the MOST secular of all the holidays...it is the celebration of consumerism and nothing more...

sP

[Lucian]

82. Touche.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

83. it is a sad state of affairs

how christmas has fallen from what might have been a celebration of 'peace on earth and goodwill toward man' to the mess that it is now. i often ask myself how so many people can be so bent out of shape over christianity...and then i need look no farther than right here to see a lot of why...

we keep it simple...even with little ones...how it got to where it is today is a testament to the advertising agencies of the US and the pack mentality in this country...

and now...what the hell am i doing typing on DU at 4:20 in the morning???

sP

[asteroid2003QQ47]

87. 4;40 AM-Harvey Milk bent out of shape over Christianity, you think?

“More people have been slaughtered in the name of religion than for any other single reason. That, my friends, that is true perversion.”
--Harvey Milk

[comrade snarky]

158. I ask myself the same thing some days...

I don't celebrate Christmas myself.
I celebrate the yule or Short Day as I call it. The "Ya! The days are getting longer and we wont all die in darkness!" day. I do what's fun and leave the rest. My family gets together and orders a feast of take out Indian food. Yum!

It's funny though, the modern conception of Christmas as a family holiday isn't that old, barely 100 years. Really the way it's celebrated now is a Victorian backlash against what was a drunken, decidedly adult holiday. In the early years of this country Christmas was discouraged because of it's unsavory reputation. It was banned in Boston in the 17th century.

Let's get back to that! Damn Puritans.

[mr blur]

84. K & R (nt)

[Mrspeeker]

88. Yeah not down with X-Mas

Im down with a day with my family and loved ones, free from all the BS that comes with the sale of X-mas to us!

[PatrynXX]

89. define stupid tv shows..

no Christmas isnt the best time of the year, but Its a wonderful life is hard to beat. Normally I watch 3 movies each year....maybe Rudolph :P

3. Miracle on 34th street 2. Scrooge (1951) 1. Its a wonderful Life. No I-ll be the first to blast A Christmas Story. Thats more to the marketing side of Christmas. Right up to the fucking leg lamp. Cant stand that movie.

Guilty pleasure I guess to get the old C9 size outdoor lights.. The LED ones are way too bright. Fortunately I have them all on timers now. No I dont have massive fancy displays. Just enough blue lights to make mom happy. LEDs are still too expensive. Christmas lights during this time of the year cheer up the place. And frankly provide some security. More light, less places for goons to hide.


One final point. Christmas isnt Xmas. One way to get some people I know steamed is to call it Xmas. So Im not entirely sure where your going with this. But Ill leave this with a bah humbug. Just something about winter that causes problems. Neighbor across the street died earlier this month. Our dog died at the end of January and in 1996 about a week or so before Christmas grandpa died. But we still forced ourselves to put up some Christmas decorations.

Marketing ruins it. Indeed. And on christmas lights.... another annoyance. Year round lights. Christmas lights that have been built into the house. LAZY!!! Now thats a waste. Those are just simply unoriginal line lights. Boring. (no dont watch a desecrated colorized version of Scrooge either (Alister Sim , everyone calls it A Christmas Carol, but the title at the beginning says Scrooge so thats what I call it.) Speaking off subject... Id almost take a colorized version over what Ive heard Disney is doing to Beauty and the Beast. Transforming 2d animation to 3d animation. Walts really going to have some heads roll when he breaks up his grave and comes after them. Might as well infused Star Wars 4 5 and 6 with a complete CGI do over and it will suck just the same. Okay going back to the snow now at 5am... finished watching The Mummy in blu ray on my parents player. have First Blood blu ray lined up. Thank goodness for Netflix.

[jdadd]

90. My ex made christmas a big production.....

I think thats what did it for me..

Bahh Humbug!!

[deutsey]

91. Here's my take on it.

This link goes to a column I wrote recently:

http://dudespaper.com/no-frame-of-reference-2.html/

Although a little tongue-in-cheek, I do believe there's a real reason for the season that cultures around the world have celebrated for centuries, and it doesn't involve hyper-capitalism, sugary Victorian sentimentalism, or stale piety.

[FraDon]

92. k&r • against this tyranny of the majority ...

As a non-practicing heathen, I have been regularly offended & occasionally oppressed by the arrogant, falsely righteous hubris of Christian privilege, for over 50 years. I defend and celebrate others who keep their holidays (and Holy days - if any) to themselves & their folk. I simply object and reject their assumed "rights" (let alone "duty") to impose their will and worldview onto others. • Live & let live.
.

[Buzz Clik]

94. I like Christmas a lot.

:shrug:

Kick, but no rec

[Martin Eden]

96. You've let the Bill O'Reilly's and Walmarts of the world ruin Christmas for you?

Then you've let them win.

Sorry, but I REFUSE to let them win.

[Christa]

97. K & R

I hate it.

Winter is a lovely season spoiled by the Christmas hype.

[RoccoR5955]

99. Xmas is nothing more than a consumerist holiday any more.

It's all about the money these days. I guess it always has been, at least in my 53 years. Not to mention, the stores seem to be putting out Xmas stuff earlier and earlier each year. It'll probably be out on the 4th of July by the end of my lifetime!

[TAGGLINES]

100. I Played My Drum For HIM ...

Pa rup pa pum pum...Sad...we've been reduced to greed filled hogs grubbing at the proverbial trough...I used to love Christ-filled Mas...Silent Night...Holy Night. I pray that it is. :cry:

[texastoast]

101. I play my drum for

Him and Her.

[norepubsin08]

114. I used to also

that's why it annoys me so much now!!!

[onager]

136. Stupidest Xmas song ever written.

"The Little Drummer Boy," that is. Imagine some brat wandering in while you're trying to get a newborn baby to sleep, and BANGING ON A F!CKING DRUM?

"Joseph, dammit! Break that drum over his head, shove the drumsticks up his butt, and kick his clueless ass so hard he lands in Damascus!"

"Oh, why don't you tell his OTHER Dad to do it? He's all omnipotent and stuff."

Fundamentalist Atheist here. I still like the holiday season. It's genetic. When it comes to decorating, my Mom makes Clark Griswold look like Scrooge.

[TAGGLINES]

219. The Thing About Zealots Is...

They're typically humorless...Fundamentalist Atheism...WTF is THAT??...

Sooo...y'all go on w/ yer sad assed 'ain't no God' mantra...:boring:

Fool...

[Clear Blue Sky]

102. Festivus - for the rest of us...

[Stump]

103. I don't like all the bullshit either...

but, seeing my 2-year old's eyes light up on Christmas morning will make it pretty cool for me.

[ThatsMyBarack]

104. I don't like holidays at all anymore.

I prefer to find other things to celebrate, such as:

1. I win a skating competition in which I generally expect to come in last.

2. A cable station starts airing certain shows from my childhood which, as I was told by "experts" on the Internets, they couldn't air before because the corporate a$$wipes that "owned" them were charging too much $$$$ for the rights and all that jazz.

3. A new cable station is created, which airs tasteful gems of classic programming without a lot of popups, SCAMfomercials, and other shit to make a buck and make decent viewers mad!

[CaptJasHook]

105. What do you expect from a fake holiday?

The real day of celebration is solstice. That is the day to celebrate the return of the light and the promise of summer.

Catholic priests stole the holiday from the Romans and other Pagans in order to sell their own lies. Of course the day has been cheapened. Even the life of the supposed celebrant, Jesus, has become banal. A fitting tribute to the colonizing fucks who conquered the world with Christianity.

[norepubsin08]

115. wow

[The Wizard]

106. It turns people into

obsessed lunatics. Remember the Cabbage Patch Doll insanity where people were beating the crap out of each other in order to buy an over priced piece of junk.
I say celebrate Christmas as the Pagans intended, with mead and bonfires.

[pipi_k]

169. I remember all that cabbage patch insanity...

a couple of the women I worked with at that time were planning their shopping strategies...like Generals would plan a battle

It was amazing...disturbing...sickening...disgusting...pathetic


Their kids reeeeeealllly realllly wanted those things, and bigod, those women were going to do or die to get them.

So I guess they finally did get the stupid things, and I guess their kids were thrilled for all of, oh...two days.

Then the dolls were forgotten as the next newest "Must Have" toy came out


There are kids all over the world (and here in the US) who won't even have a decent meal on Christmas, never mind the rest of the year...and what are parents doing?

Whoring themselves out for those toys their kids just GOTTA have.

Sickening.

[quickesst]

108. There are times...

...when I'm reading DU, that I feel like I'm living in the only sane part of America left. No stampedes, no killing. Just liesurely holiday shopping in anticipation of Christmas. It seems as though the rest of the country has pretty much fucked up everything we still take great pleasure in down here. We have the kids, and grandkids down, everyone gathers for Christmas dinner, and on Christmas Day, after giving our own personal thanks, open gifts. Of course the greatest gift is watching the grandchildren get the toy they've been talking about for the last six months, the excitement, and the hugs that come after. They're the same hugs we get for just being there, so you may keep your trap shut about "buying affection". That's bullshit, and if your life is so fucked up you can't enjoy a simple holiday anymore, guess what, I don't feel sorry in the least for you. I do feel sorry for the other family members who's holidays are ruined by some self-righteous dipwads who believe their own over-inflated "progressive" egos are more important than the happiness of their own families. Glad the Christmas haters are anywhere but here, and if that makes me a freeper or a troll, I wear the label proudly. Better than being the Grinch who stole Christmas. Thanks.
quickesst

[norepubsin08]

116. You live in Arkansas the home of Wal-Mart

that's the biggest offender of Christmas and lot of what else is wrong with this country..your state turned a blind eye to their bullshit!

[quickesst]

139. I was born here...

...into a family that has worked all their lives for what they have. I just didn't have the time to attend the board meetings to influence the direction walmart took. Yeah, we have Walmarts, but we're not trampling each other to death to get in, and your statement as it concerns me and my family is just about as ignorant and inane as is possible. There are a lot of states with less than stellar corporate entities, but I am not stupid enough to blame the people that live in these states for what corporations, usually with the power of the federal government behind them do. I'm from Arkansas, which is the home of the corporation known as Wal-Mart, so I share the blame for a worker being trampled in another part of the country. Brilliant logic. The trampling, in my opinion, says more about the people who participated than it does the walmart corporation. They're just doing what they're expected to do. Make money. Those people made a choice to act like madmen/women. Noone put a gun to their head and made them stampede the stores. They had a choice.

" You live in Arkansas the home of Wal-Mart
that's the biggest offender of Christmas and lot of what else is wrong with this country..your state turned a blind eye to their bullshit!"

That's not the dumbest goddamn thing I've ever read on DU, but it's up there in the top ten. Be careful, I'm in construction, and most doors you walk through are only about thirty-six inches wide. Don't want you to scrape your ears getting through. Thanks.
quickesst

[humbled_opinion]

110. THIS THREAD MAKES ME CRY

Respectfully,

SANTA

[FraDon]

119. Were, Santa, can I buy one of those litte "Santa on the Cross" wall thingys?

I looked in antique shops all over Kyoto. • I'm plum stumped.

[cactusfractal]

112. Noooo.. I'm sick of the "War On Yule"

Johnny-come-lately Christians and their redefinition of the ancient winter solstice holiday are to blame. Everyone knows that Yule is the real winter holiday, and the mythical birthday of some retreaded allegedly-born-of-a-virgin Jew doesn't make Yule "Christ"mas.

;-p

[treestar]

117. I hate the commercial part, but love the rest

I don't do any decorating, but appreciate that of others, though it's a little weird that it's up already, but I can appreciate people using the time on Black Friday to just get it done.

I love the turkey and mashed potatoes, and the family parties but mainly the kids. Also love the Christmas carols - old fashioned ones, not the junk on the radio. One radio station in my area has started to play nothing but Christmas junk songs, even before Thanksgiving!

[pipi_k]

118. I HATE Christmas, prefer to look at it as

The Season of Light

All the Christmas lights are about the only good thing about the season



My favorites are the blue ones

[norepubsin08]

120. that's just a waste of electricity

we could be conserving that...and having that much more for when we really need it...also keeping our electrical rates in check...also I feel it's unconstitutional to use my taxpayer dollars on electricity for a town Christmas Tree!

[humbled_opinion]

127. So then when they go back...

To burning candles on the ends of the boughs and they burn down the town will you fight against that too?

[norepubsin08]

128. yup!!!

I was born in Germany and we used to do that...scared the shit out of my parents!!!!

[humbled_opinion]

130. Grinch stay out of Whoville....n/t

[pipi_k]

129. Whatever...

they're going to do it anyway.

And I'm certainly not going to ravage the neighborhoods with nasty letters or go knocking on people's doors telling them they're being wasteful.

I don't put up lights myself for that very reason. Electricity costs enough where I live as it is.

But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy someone else's display

and it doesn't even have to be a Megalight blowout

just some nice tasteful blue lights outlining the house or out in the bushes in front of a home will make me happy.

[Auggie]

121. The Atheist in me can no longer look the other way

I find it more annoying. Loved it as a kid. But as an adult I'm way out of integrity.

[uppityperson]

122. Love the holiday and the "season" but hate the commercialization of it.

It is good to have something positive during the Dark Time of the yr, annual time to take time to spend with friends and family I otherwise don't get around to seeing enough.

I hate the commercialization attempts though.

[RetroLounge]

124. Eh, I ignore it, being as I'm not Xtian-Jesus-Believer

But I play along because I have kids who still believe in Santa Clause.

and I like the few days off of work too.

RL

[penndragon69]

125. I hate corporate christmas.

christmas has been a lie for over 1000 years. It's nothing but greed and indoctrination into
a cult of control and perversions.

The only thing i like is my vacation time, but i'd rather take my week of vacation whenever i want to during the year,
not when the company mandates me to. Since i also hate the winter season, it's a double whammy.

It's time to Nuke Sana's workshop for the good of the world!

[Towlie]

126. "Deck the office with smart technology, fal la la..."

:puke:

[jimmil]

131. It's a celebration of..

greed and gluttony..

[Iwillnevergiveup]

134. Some aspects of Christmas

are really offensive - the crowds, the commercialization, the hype, the forced cheer.

But, I really do enjoy mailing out and receiving cards. I even like the "family letters." For me, the keys to enjoying the season are pacing and being around people you love.

Shopping online is awesome - saves time and wear and tear on the car and my nerves. Baking is cool -and gifts of homemade cookies are always appreciated. Don't take too much time. Our family always watches Chevy Chase's "Christmas Vacation." It's silly and juvenile, but still a hoot. Otherwise, the TV is OFF! Making long distance phone calls to friends, having near friends over for a pot luck, donating clothing and food items, listening to beautiful music...these are all things that go over any time of the year I believe.

So guess I don't hate Christmas - it can be a fine time with a focus that works for individual preferences and a little bit of effort to be in touch with those we care about.

[stpalmer]

135. I'm so stressed out at Christmas

The focus on spending, worry about whether someone will like what you got them, the stupid extra things we have to do at work when we were already overloaded by our boss...Christmas is only good for Christmas break. The infuriating politics of "Christmas" vs. "Holidays" with "christmas" winning pisses me off. It's just a word, but dammit if "Christians" don't make it unfairly political anymore. Many times my husband and I have decided to boycott Christmas and go on vacation instead, only to have guilt heaped upon us by his mom and dad. Our son is grown, so Christmas just isn't the same anymore, and the stress to joy ratio is out of whack. Maybe we'll get grandchildren and have joy again.

[varelse]

138. I ignore Christmas

No one close to me celebrates it anymore, either. If you can't stand it, turn your back on it. You're a free adult living in a free country, and you can choose to do that. You can even tell your friends and family *why* you're no longer "celebrating" this commercialized holiday.

[Arugula Latte]

140. I like to celebrate the true Reason for the Season -- The Solstice

I've become more Scrooge-like about Xmas with every passing year ... Xmas is just way, way, way overblown in this country. I'm just so bloody sick of it all by December 1st.

Still, we do the tree and presents thing for the kids. When they get older we'll scale the presents back considerably.

[defendandprotect]

141. Folks ...it's about WINTER SOLSTICE ...always has been --!!!

The Christian Church took it over because they couldn't fight it ---

[Peggesis1]

143. First day of Advent and I'm feeling very counter cultural

Happy New Year to all you liturgical church year folks who may be out there.

I found out how counter-cultural I am when I went out today to get the fixings for my Advent wreath. Last year and in previous years I made my wreath at church where we all sat aroung together, sticking fresh holly, ivy and evergreen pieces into our seasonal works of art.

This year I thought I could go over to my friendly neighborhood craft place and get candles, candle holders and a round piece of spongy stuff. The place was ablaze with Christmas stuff, but no one working there had even heard of the season and (other than candles) didn't have anything useful for the project--unless I wanted plastic greenery.

After visiting three stores I came up with something that will do.

To the person who said that "The Christian Church took over solstice because they couldn't fight it," there is some truth in the statement. I don't see this as particularly hostile, though. Every culture has or should have a time of preparation and quiet contemplation. Midwinter is a natural time for this. Placing the birthday of Jesus three days after the "death" of the sun was good marketing sense, but it also feels like a very natural place for it.

[defendandprotect]

154. Simple pine wreaths spoke of NATURE not Jesus ....

obviously, which seems to be why the great effort to create something that doesn't exist --

"The light of the world" is the SUN ... not the "son" ---

The plain wreath was long good enough for even RCC.


To the person who said that "The Christian Church took over solstice because they couldn't fight it," there is some truth in the statement.

There is more than "some truth in that statement" -- that is ...

CHRISTMAS WAS A PAGAN CELEBRATION.

Part of the OLD RELIGION based on NATURE --




The Advent wreath is the most common symbol of Advent. Each piece of the Advent wreath symbolizes some part of our preparations of Jesus' birth on Christmas day. The circular shape symbolizes eternal life; the purple advent candles symbolize our waiting or repentance; the pink advent candle symbolizes our joy of Christmas; the light from the lit advent candles symbolize Jesus as "The Light of the World." Many styles now exist from the traditional evergreen pine based advent wreaths to contemporary metal based advent wreaths. Advent votive candle holders have recently become popular due to their contemporary design and compact size easily fitting into small spaces or placed on fireplace mantles. Advent wreaths usually come with directions on praying the devotion, but we recommend a good Advent prayer book to accompany your time with the Lord. Visit our informational page to learn how to pick the correct replacement Advent Candles.

[Peggesis1]

157. I don't know what all the hostility is about...

There are many ancient religions, not just one. Christmas, however, is not a pagan celebration, at least not in the way you seem to mean it.

It looks like you cut and pasted something at the bottom of your post that probably came from a web site which explains how to use an advent wreath. I don't need instructions or books to follow my traditions. I expect you don't either for yours.

Are you, by the way, a traditional follower of one of the northern European nature religions? Whe way you wrote (in caps) OLD RELIGION and NATURE suggests that these things are close to your heart.

[defendandprotect]

161. Christian holiday has pagan roots. --If you find truth "hostile" . . .

I'm afraid that's your problem --

This quintessentially Christian holiday has pagan roots. Centuries ago, Germanic tribes celebrated the winter solstice by lighting fires and candles and bringing evergreens into their homes to symbolize the returning light and the coming of spring.

Christians, in a bid to convert these "nonbelievers," followed their timing and adapted their rituals: They designated Dec. 24 as the night of Christ's birth and made the evergreen tree a symbol of the Christmas holiday.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/22/HOA9TS8A0.DTL&feed=rss.homeandgarden

Of course there is no proof Jesus ever existed -- much doubt of that --

A myth -- much distorted now -- intended to teach like every other oral myth before it -

Unfortunately 3% could read/write by then -- generally priests of organized patriarchal

religions -- and this one got written down. The "placement" of his birth at this time

of year is not coincidental --


It looks like you cut and pasted something at the bottom of your post that probably came from a web site which explains how to use an advent wreath. I don't need instructions or books to follow my traditions. I expect you don't either for yours.

Amazing I have to explain to you that I was pointing out the ORIGINAL TRADITION was a

simple green pine wreath -- no add-on's to try to create RELIGIOUS significance --

It is insecurity which demands this need -- like adding "under god" to pledge.


Are you, by the way, a traditional follower of one of the northern European nature religions? Whe way you wrote (in caps) OLD RELIGION and NATURE suggests that these things are close to your heart.
Peggesis

I'm a recovering Catholic who considers universal spirituality more likely --

but not having anything to do with "sky gods" --

Yes, I respect Nature -- we are part of Nature --

"Nature never doth betray the heart that loves her--"


PS: I'm capitalizing words in the old tradition of DRAWING YOUR ATTENTION TO THEM --

[Peggesis1]

163. I can tell by your reply that someone has hurt you badly, probably in the Roman Catholic Church

Truth is not the private possession of any tradition. Yes, there are things Christians do this time of year with lights and evergreens that are the same or similar to what our pre-Christian ancestors did. Human traditions are complex and humans are pattern-seeking and symbol-using creatures.

By the way, I would trust the wisdom of the San Franciso Chronical on many things, but they're oversimplified the issue of Christian use of pre-Christian symbolism. Thanks for the source citation, though. It's always a good idea to cite your sources.

I hope you find peace. (Maybe you are peaceful enough already when the topic of discussion doesn't have anything to do with church issues.)

[defendandprotect]

165. The RCC has hurt many ..nature, women, native Americans, Africans enslaved here --

Jews over a thousand years or more --- plus the Crusades ...

RCC has brainwashed children, inspired Hitler, abused native children in their

"church schools" and stolen land from them --

Created hatred and intolerance for homosexuals --

It has distorted love and normal human sexuality --

Re the PAGAN ROOTS of Xmas ... you will find thousands of articles on this on

internet and your library. I picked up the first that came up.

The Christian church as all information on this acknowledges could not change

this pagan celebration so they stole it --

Easter, of course, is also based on a PAGAN celebration of fertility and goddess.

There will be little peace in the world -- nor sanity -- as long as organized

patriarchal religion stands.

AND .. btw, presumably you are female?

Why would any female support organized patriarchal religions ...???
*********************************************************************

[norepubsin08]

180. I was at the Episcopal Cathedral in Toledo in May of 2007

Beautiful Service

[Peggesis1]

208. We don't have an Episcopal cathedral in Toledo, but I'll bet you mean Trinity Church downtown

We don't have an Episcopal cathedral in Toledo, but I'll bet you mean Trinity Church downtown.

Yes, particularly in recent years Trinity has been doing seriously transformative things. Very creative liturgy. Libby, the new priest, has inspired a lot of that. She's good. As with any important transformational stuff, though, the people are the real change agents.

I'm probably not going to try responding to young "Defendandprotect." Somebody seriously hurt that kid.

[norepubsin08]

215. yup that's the one..I was staying at the Seaview Hotel

[norepubsin08]

179. Thanks I work for the church

I had to drag out our huge Advent wreath and find the right candles for it, change all the other accutraments at the church yesterday.

[OwnedByFerrets]

144. K and R

[mt13]

145. i am sorry...

but i LOVE Christmas. i love the season, the weather, the music, the smells, the lights (the simple ones are the best!)!

i HATE the commercialization. this year, i am returning to my old ways: i am only shopping Main Street, supporting those wonderful little mom & pop shops that i have always found to be so much more pleasant than the big box stores or the internet. all gifts will be thoughtful and meaningful to those on my list, a list that has dwindled to only those few that i really care about.

my mother died on Christmas Eve 7 years ago and Christmas was always her favorite. it makes me sad that she isn't here to see my boys growing up into the fine young men she envisioned them becoming, but i still love it. up until my eldest son was 3, we would alternate between grandparents yearly but i put a stop to that. we stay at home and in our pajamas all day! we open our gifts and watch movies and eat lasagna. it has become a lovely tradition that i hope my sons will carry on when they have children.

you may say christmas is the celebration of the winter solstice but i add that it is really the celebration of family and love and remembering those gone.

merry christmas to all and to all, a good night!

[SOS]

146. We dropped out several years ago.

No presents. Just a few decorations and a nice dinner.
That's it.
We refuse to participate in the commercial aspects any more.

[mamameow]

147. godliness!!!

i love christmas until godliness replaces goodliness. it seems when people bring their god and their pressure to believe in their god, holidays loose. they are not fun anymore, doom and gloom comes with their godliness. i'll take an atheist over a christian anytime.

[southern_belle]

148. Christmas depresses me

I'm glad when it's over. :cry:

[southern_belle]

dupe

[southern_belle]

149. Christmas depresses me

I'm glad when it's over. :cry:

[Sheltiemama]

164. Me, too.

For some reason, that time of year has been a time of illness and death in my family. Too many sad associations.

[stuntcat]

172. me too

the crazy anticipation you can't escape, then it ends in huge piles of trash on everyone's curb.

[DesertFlower]

150. can't stand it.

i liked it when i was a kid.

[pansypoo53219]

152. Xmas was ok in the 70's,

80's not bad, bad. but it's been getting worse ever since. never ending carols on teevee and the radio taint helping.

[trickyguy]

153. You got to learn how to "do" Christmas so it pleases you. Don't get sucked in.

[Initech]

155. I used to like Xmas but I hate what it has become.

I'm sick of people telling me I shouldn't shop at x store because they dont say "Merry Christmas!". I'm sick of stores putting out Christmas decorations in the middle of fucking September. I'm sick of all the crap surrounding "Black Friday". We're literally one step away from having a giant Santa blow the shit out of everything like on Futurama.

[debunkthelies]

156. K&R

Christmas=Depression.... For me that is:hurts:

[Agony]

159. Right about when the winter solstice is happening we have plenty of quality family time

without all the bullshit... then things slide downhill for a bit until the next big bonfire around the turn of the new year!

christmas? what's that?

In Happiness, Joy and Awe! Peace to ALL!
Agony

[DollyM]

160. Just like Halloween gives us a chance to dress up and look silly . . .

Christmas gives us the opportunity to decorate and bring some light into what is a dark time of year for most of us in the country. I have a business and Christmas takes over my life time this time of year with making dolls so I haven't decorated in a long time but I do enjoy seeing the lights and decorations. Sometimes you just need to slow down and have a little silly fun in your life and holidays give us that opportunity. Too many sad things in the world to concentrate on, we need to lighten up sometimes or we would all go crazy.

[StClone]

162. I don't have time for people that can't find themselves

A few seconds of joy in the real meaning of christmas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsW_W3KHEso

[Deja Q]

168. Oh look! Something that lots of right wingers will use to spin and call DU names for!

Though these days, they'd probably have a point too... :(

I could infer from your post your actual meaning transcends a mere holiday, but I will not put words built from guesswork into your mouth.

[Greyhound]

170. Missed it, here's a kick anyway.

:kick:

[mainer]

175. I would love Christmas if it weren't for the gift-giving.

I don't want to receive anything. I don't want to be expected to shop for anyone. I propose that for Christmas, we each choose a charity to give money to, and have done with it. Then we just get together, have a nice dinner, drink eggnog, and enjoy each other's company. Doesn't that sound like a better way to celebrate the season?

[Duppers]

191. I totally agree......in case you missed the quote above....

The only gift is giving to the poor; all else is exchange.

Thiruvalluvar

[valerief]

Hate it. Brings out the worst in people. nt

[Night_Nurse]

177. Wonder if the Three Wise Men would've shopped at WalMart? nt

[haydukelives]

181. kickaroo

I hate everything about Christmass

[D23MIURG23]

182. Missed the R period, but here is my kick.

[Quantess]

185. Christmas would be great if it didn't last TWO MONTHS.

That damned Christmas music gets played starting Nov 1, until New Years Eve.

I actually heard someone say Merry Christmas the day after Halloween. He said, to a couple he was chatting with, "Merry Christmas! I hope you don't mind me saying that...I just love Christmas SO MUCH!!"

[riderinthestorm]

187. I'm with this group unfortunately. Christmas exhausts me.

Between shopping for gifts for clients, family, friends and "others" (kids' music teacher, the newspaper delivery person who shamelessly trolls for a hand out, the postman etc.) - the season just is about a crazy fucking non-stop commercial handout.

I love to surprise my newspaper delivery guy with a mug of hot chocolate now and then throughout the year. He LOVES it. But that doesn't relieve me of my guilt over the fact that he is trolling for a tip when he slips his name and address into my Sunday trib this week.... He wants cash or a gift. I have to shop for a gift for my clients - something that "means" something to them but won't break my bank. And on and on and on. By the time I get around to shopping for my family, I am deeply resentful and relying upon credit cards and hating all of them.

I HATE this season by the time 12/25 comes around. HATE it. Hate the music, the pressure, the inevitability of the grotesque expense. It drives me mad. I wish I could escape the merry go round but how? I don't have time to "craft" some home made specialty. No ability to stitch up some lovely thang. I KNOW the season is supposed to be about the "feelings", and "love", and "traditions" but for those of us in the small biz world, the tremendous pressure in that arena alone is intense. And that doesn't include the "others" who (desperately) rely upon the small bequests of gift cards and tokens to survive (one example being my daughter's music teacher who replenishes her stock music for her students out of gift cards from xmas - perpetuating the vicious cycle I feel immersed in....).

When did the holiday become this horrid round of expectations? And as a business, if you don't "live up" to pandering to your clientele, you definitely suffer.

[meowomon]

192. Bah Humbug!

[Khaotic]

193. Gut Christmas!

[shadowknows69]

194. A state sponsored religious holiday in a country forbidding such things?

What's not to love?

[guidod]

195. A huge K & R for this thread...

Christmas is nothing more than another chance for big business to take your money away from you. Out here, Thanks Giving and Halloween are just as big as Christmas. People decorate their houses with displays and lights just as they do on Christmas. Idiotic and dumb.

[JohnyCanuck]

196. A Monty Python Christmas carol just for this thread.

Warning, if you are offended by swear words, don't bother listening.

http://view.playlist.com/additem/806129
(Click on the "play to preview" button to listen without adding to your playlist)


'

[GAtomboy]

197. Wow... scrooge post

While I agree with a lot of what people are saying here as far as retailers look to commercialize the holiday and buying gifts and spending time with family can be exhausting, ultimately you have control over what Christmas is for you. Choose not to go overboard charging Christmas gifts that you'll be paying on for the next year, don't feed the retail monster. Try to find the positives of family (yes they can be exhausting, some more than others) but you never know when you won't have that family member. Buy gifts for families/children less fortunate, volunteer at a soup kitchen, and if you are religious/spiritual don't wait until Christmas eve to go to church. My partner and I choose not to go crazy buying gifts for everyone under the sun, we have traditions our children will hopefully remember with fondness, and we "watch stupid Christmas specials" together as a family.

[proReality]

198. I dislike any holiday where people expect gifts or occasions where one feels

guilty if they don't give a gift.

I prefer spontaneity over greed and/or guilt.

[onehandle]

199. Here's a good thread that shows why the party sees DU and FR in the same light.

Too funny.

[EnviroBat]

200. This year especially, I'm dreading the lonliness...

I've been with the same woman for the past 11 Christmas's. She's gone now, and I don't know if I can handle the coming "Silent Night", if you know what I mean. All of my friends are married, and my family isn't much comfort because of their raging dysfunction. Maybe I'll drink myself into a coma, and forget the whole thing...

[Bushies gotta go]

202. My Christmas was on the evening of November 4th.

[EnviroBat]

203. That was the best Christmas EVER!

:hi:

Well stated...

[shoeshock]

204. xmas sucks

High five!

[sui generis]

205. I don't hate Christmas itself - just the season

At work everything is trying to wrap up before January 1, short one week of vacation. Hours are longer, weather makes traffic more grueling coming and going, travel options are less optional, gift shopping, socially required holiday parties (either benefits or politically justified), plus working right up until the last second, jumping on a plane to family, returning at last possible second and going right back to work.

It's pretty fucked up how much the execution of obligation can remove the enjoyment of the things you're obligated to do.

Not participating is not really any more of an option than avoiding traffic.

[AndrewP]

207. I'm an atheist and I just ignore the hype as much as a person can

[RiverStone]

209. Totally get away from it all...

My girlfriend and I head up into the mountains --- to a rustic cabin, close to natural hotsprings, where we soak, roll in the snow, check out starry nights, and share fellowship with like minded folks. No gifts, no noise, no holiday commercialized bullshit.

We celebrate the beauty of the moment - that's it.

K&R

p.s. Though I can't stand it, I never begrudge anybody else who enjoys it. If it makes them happy, that's worth a kick too!

[kenfrequed]

210. I have long advocated...

That there should be hunting parties with flaming arrows to hunt absurd xmas displays. If seen prior to December 1st or after January 3rd it should be legal to hunt Frosty, Rudolph, Santa, Joseph and Baby Jesus.

[DWilliamsamh]

211. With respect...what you don't like isn't Christmas....

It is the commercialism and consumer culture that has been pasted onto it over the years. I too don't like that culture. But that is only "Christmas" if you let it be your experience. You don't "have" to do any of the over consuming that you find repulsive. You don't "have" to treat people you hardly know as if they are close friends and buy them elaborate presents or invite them to too expensive gatherings in your home. Those things are up to you.

The Wal-Mart tragedy was terrible but the result not of anything intrinsic to Christmas, but to a corporation's indifference to the safety of its employees and customers. How is that different than Wal-Marts behavior all the rest of the year? The Toys-R-Us incident was after all unrelated to Christmas as well, more likely just another incident in the violent urban gang culture.

[Khaotic]

212. The Terror of it All!!!!!!!!!!!

[Khaotic]

213. Two Myths are Better Than One?

He he he

[specimenfred1984]

214. May I K&R this post everyday until the 25th?

That's when I also plan to drop every homeless and uninsured person off my list as well. I mean who gives a shit after "the holidays" anyway? LOL.

[norepubsin08]

217. absolutely!!

[GreenPartyVoter]

216. I like Christmas to last no more than a few days before the 25th and the day itself. None of this

month-long craziness. For one thing, I get tired of Christmas when it lasts that long. It doesn't seem as special to me.
And of course the consumer orgy is another real-turn off.

So while I don't hate it I don't enjoy it as much as I used to.