# A touching Christmas video about loneliness at Christmas **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 2, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-touching-christmas-video-about-loneliness-at-christmas/739234 "2015-12-02T19:05:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-touching-christmas-video-about-loneliness-at-christmas/739234/21 "2015-12-04T17:14:41Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Maybe I misinterpreted the video but I wouldn’t consider faking your own death, even if it’s just to get your family together, to be in the spirit of the Christmas season. Yeah, that’s really more of an Easter thing. 😉 I thought it was clever and well made. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-touching-christmas-video-about-loneliness-at-christmas/739234/22 "2015-12-04T21:42:48Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > That is just a statistic. > > I mean their is loneliness and then their is LONELINESS. Almost all elderly people wish their family would visit more or they still had the old friends or they may miss the excitement of their old careers. Sometimes it cant be helped when they live 1500 miles away from family. Also often a person has maybe 5-10 days vacation a year and the time just isnt there. > > But is that the same “loneliness” as a person who hasnt seen family in 20 years? > > I agree that if the man is so lonely their is no reason he cannot go and visit his kids. That’s all very nice. I was just sharing the issue behind the ad. It may be a real issue, it may be a perceived issue - I make no claim either way. Regardless, it’s well known enough in Germany to be the central point of the ad. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-touching-christmas-video-about-loneliness-at-christmas/739234/23 "2015-12-05T15:05:05Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > That’s all very nice. I was just sharing the issue behind the ad. It may be a real issue, it may be a perceived issue - I make no claim either way. Regardless, it’s well known enough in Germany to be the central point of the ad. But do they REALLY want to tackle the issue or just to sell more products? I mean what if instead of this they fund community senior get togethers or services which provide for lonely people? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-touching-christmas-video-about-loneliness-at-christmas/739234/24 "2015-12-05T18:27:11Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Also often a person has maybe 5-10 days vacation a year and the time just isnt there. Europeans typically get 20-30 days per year. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-touching-christmas-video-about-loneliness-at-christmas/739234/25 "2015-12-05T20:55:46Z")
The video is terrible and doesn’t do what it apparently wants to. The video has a very ‘reap what you sew’ element to it - if you’re the kind of guy who’ll fake your death, you [del]might be a redneck[/del]can expect to spend your holidays alone. On top of everything else, he’s made it that much harder for his family to attend his funeral when he really does kick off. ‘I need a few days off for my father’s funeral.’ ‘The same father who “died” last Christmas?’ ‘Yeah, but it’s for real, this time.’ ‘Get out of my office, Mr Klinger.’ ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-touching-christmas-video-about-loneliness-at-christmas/739234/26 "2015-12-05T22:06:16Z")
This video resonated very powerfully for me. I live **~200 yards** from my brother and his family and last Christmas season not once could they be bothered to come visit me. Could the children come round and help put up my Christmas tree? No. Come round for a lazy afternoon with drinks, nibbles, etc all provided? Nope. Come round for the extra presents I’d bought? Nope. Could the children come round and help me dismantle the Christmas tree? Nope. Etc. Yes, of course I can come over to babysit. Etc. It’s all one-way. People too busy living their own lives to think about family. So the old man spending Christmas after Christmas alone resonated very powerfully for me. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-touching-christmas-video-about-loneliness-at-christmas/739234/27 "2015-12-06T06:20:29Z")
We all have that relative who wants nothing to do with family and moves away and is rarely heard from again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-touching-christmas-video-about-loneliness-at-christmas/739234.md?page=1)