Author Topic: What irks me about the holidays  (Read 156846 times)

Offline serious crayons

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #30 on: December 15, 2010, 04:31:50 pm »
you can even reach out and touch them

That's not always advisable.


Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #31 on: December 15, 2010, 04:42:19 pm »
Jeff, there are hot guys on the ski slopes, at the grocery store, in the bars, and even running around on the streets. And you can even reach out and touch them because, they are real!!

And if you do you can be charged with indecent or some other form of assault. ...  ;)

Not to mention that this totally misses my point. The point was a reason to have a television and to watch it, not to use it as a substitute for actual human contact and interaction.  ::)

You're telling a gay man that there are hot men everywhere? Well, duh. ...
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #32 on: December 15, 2010, 07:05:04 pm »
That's not always advisable.


LOL, I recall how Jack started walking towards Ennis with his hand out to shake, then thought better of it, but tried again a little later!
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #33 on: December 16, 2010, 12:18:18 am »
What irks me about the holidays...TV doesn't bother me.  The economy needs the stimulus, so they're scraping the bottom of the barrel taste-wise jonesing for money.

I think the expectation does.

I had computer problems earlier in the week at work, so I was volunteered to put up our floor's holiday tree.  One of the people I work for and I had to have a sotto voce conversation about how neither of us was very Christian/or Christian at all, but how we both like the spectacle, Latin, music and images of an RCC mass (if you could avoid looking at the corpse on the cross with the dripping stigmata and bleeding head  :-\ ) and we both mentioned that our Muslim and Hindu co-workers probably didn't think much of the tree or the festivities.

And we had to whisper this, while looking around carefully to make sure no one was overhearing us.

Probably because some people wouldn't be a tolerant as they should be.

Despite the neutral names and lack of emphasis on religion, it's quite obvious the workplace is celebrating Christmas and the expectation is that you just accept it and all the events that go with it.

From lame floor shows put on by co-workers dressed as elves - to games guessing the lyrics to Xmas songs and white elephant gifts...it's all just too cheesy.  Makes me want to drink - a lot - at our holiday party that's upcoming.

ETA:  I also hate that I'm going to a relative's house and since my cat got sick, and I spent my last $200 of fun money paying for her bloodwork and now can't afford to buy them gifts - I'll yet again feel and look like a poor cousin begging at their table, but to stay home and not go so as to avoid that would also be seen as a slap in the face because you're supposed to be with family during the holidays.
« Last Edit: December 16, 2010, 01:51:54 am by delalluvia »

Offline louisev

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #34 on: December 16, 2010, 09:08:58 am »
the good news about a workplace 'holiday tree' is - it's got nothing in the world to do with Christianity!  Yule is a European pagan festival celebrating the winter solstice, and there is no doubt whatsoever that the solstice happens.
“Mr. Coyote always gets me good, boy,”  Ellery said, winking.  “Almost forgot what life was like before I got me my own personal coyote.”


Marge_Innavera

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #35 on: December 16, 2010, 09:59:54 am »
the good news about a workplace 'holiday tree' is - it's got nothing in the world to do with Christianity!  Yule is a European pagan festival celebrating the winter solstice, and there is no doubt whatsoever that the solstice happens.

Yeah, that often gets lost in the "war on Christmas" rhetoric, for sure. 

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #36 on: December 16, 2010, 03:46:56 pm »
ETA:  I also hate that I'm going to a relative's house and since my cat got sick, and I spent my last $200 of fun money paying for her bloodwork and now can't afford to buy them gifts - I'll yet again feel and look like a poor cousin begging at their table, but to stay home and not go so as to avoid that would also be seen as a slap in the face because you're supposed to be with family during the holidays.

Couldn't you develop a headache, or something, if you don't want to go? Stay home and cozy up with the cat and a good book? I mean, seriously. I sympathize with people who get stuck spending the time with people they'd rather not be with. Nobody can disprove a headache.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #37 on: December 16, 2010, 03:48:45 pm »
the good news about a workplace 'holiday tree' is - it's got nothing in the world to do with Christianity!  Yule is a European pagan festival celebrating the winter solstice, and there is no doubt whatsoever that the solstice happens.

Don't expect the average American to understand that, though. You'd probably put a lot of noses out of joint if you tried to explain it to them.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline delalluvia

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #38 on: December 17, 2010, 09:19:30 am »
Don't expect the average American to understand that, though. You'd probably put a lot of noses out of joint if you tried to explain it to them.

Exactly.  Many people have a blind spot where this kind of thing is concerned.

You spread doubt and appear to the be skeptic of something they hold very dear and associate themselves with and base their entire lives on, betting that their form of religion is 'true' and that all the positive things about it are true...likely they're not going to thank you for it.

And considering that I know that at least two of the people I work with who are in positions of power above me are very religious Christianity-wise, I've no way to know how they would take such comments.  So I couldn't really say anything about Yule, the pagan people's rituals and beliefs that are reflected/copied/stolen by modern celebrations of Christmas because it might come back to bite me.

Offline serious crayons

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Re: What irks me about the holidays
« Reply #39 on: December 17, 2010, 09:53:44 am »
I may have too much faith in the cultural literacy of my fellow citizens, but I would guess that at this point most of them probably realize that the tree custom was originally borrowed from pagans rather than anything directly to do with Jesus. They might, however, argue that it has become embedded in the Christian holiday tradition.

Over on Slate, two Jewish writers have been debating whether Jews should have Christmas trees. http://www.slate.com/id/2277395/entry/2277397/