# Is this tacky or is it just me ? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 11, 2002, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991 "2002-12-11T13:40:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ayesha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c0e974/32.png) [@Ayesha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ayesha)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/21 "2002-12-11T18:16:48Z")
\*\* belladonna \*\* does have a point, I guess I was too busy muttering _how tacky_ to think of it in that light. But I still think like \*\* ultress \*\* does, keep 'em apart . (Hi ultress, how you been ? ) Hmmmm If \*\* Washte \*\* is in on the secret santa exchange this year I have an idea for the gifter \*a giant blow up santa doll ! Fun all year round, 😛 😃 . What do you mean I can stick a ho ho ho ? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Magickly\_Delicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magickly\_Delicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magickly_Delicious)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/22 "2002-12-11T18:18:19Z")
Whoa. Why do you think it’s tacky? I always took it as a statement that Santa Claus is not the point of Christmas, and he knows it too. Yes, it can be jarring, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be tacky. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/23 "2002-12-11T18:28:42Z")
That manger display ain’t so bad. Santa is what Christmas is all about, despite what all the Calvinists think (if it is Calvinists who killed Christmas… my mind is slipping). ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/24 "2002-12-11T18:33:13Z")
What I want to know is how you’ve made it to this point without seeing this before. I first started to actually notice this about 15 years ago, back when I was ten or eleven, and I’m guessing people had done it for a while before I started to notice, not being terribly observant. ---
**Author:** ![Skerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Skerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skerri)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/25 "2002-12-11T18:53:18Z")
Ya know, **Ayesha** , there are about 4 houses in my tiny neighborhood with that same type of display. Of course, they have about 1.2 million strands of lights in their yards, and the Griswolds had nothing on them, but it’s still odd looking. I think it’s tacky as all get out. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/26 "2002-12-11T19:16:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Legomancer \* > \*\*I’ve seen this bit a lot. I suspect it’s an organized protest against the commercialization of Christmas more than an attempt to integrate the Jolly Old Elf into the story. > > \*\* No, no. If that were the case they’d have a santa in a manger with a big Calvin peeing on them. Are those the Calvinists you were refering to, **Barbarian**? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/27 "2002-12-11T19:28:01Z")
Time to revive [the saga of Nonie & Oscar.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=102340) The one that gets me is the lighted crosses at Christmas. Yes, I know the cross is a universal Christian symbol, but what say we downplay the image of Christ’s death when we’re celebrating his birth, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Washte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Washte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washte)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/28 "2002-12-12T20:27:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ayesha \* > \*\*\*\* …snip…Hmmmm If Washte is in on the secret santa exchange this year I have an idea for the gifter \*a giant blow up santa doll ! Fun all year round, 😛 😃 . What do you mean I can stick a ho ho ho ? 😉 \*\* Yep, I am on the Secret Santa list… sssshhhhh A giant blow-up Santa, eh?? Could it be one of those with the sand at the bottom, like a kids punching bag type thing? Am I showing my age with this?? Dordhi. That way I could give Santa the whacking he deserves and relieve a bit of frustration at the same time 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/29 "2002-12-12T21:28:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Scarlett67 \* > \*\*Time to revive [the saga of Nonie & Oscar.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=102340) \*\* Oh, goody! Goody! I was hoping someone would post this link because I was looking for it the other day. > [@](#): > > \*\*The one that gets me is the lighted crosses at Christmas. Yes, I know the cross is a universal Christian symbol, but what say we downplay the image of Christ’s death when we’re celebrating his birth, huh? \*\* Yeah, that kinda creeps me out. I really like are the luminarias/faralitos (paper bag lanterns) in the American Southwest. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/30 "2002-12-12T22:11:59Z")
Then there’s the tiny manger scene on a bathroom scale. The digital numbers were there next to Baby Jesus. The idea, I guess, was the opportunity to get “a weigh in a manger” whenever you wanted. –Nott ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/31 "2002-12-12T22:43:42Z")
I think it’s humorous, in a sweet way, not quite tacky. In the neighborhood were I grew up, one would see this a lot. The nativity with Santa and Frosty, and Rudolph hanging out with the camel. I think the primary cause of this is that people like to decorate their yards _a lot_. I also think it’s interesting to remember that Santa Claus is none other than St. Nicholas. In medieval and renaissance art, it’s rather common to show a nativity scene with various saints in attendance, even though such a thing obviously could not have happened in a historical sense. I like to think of it as a way of expressing that _anyone_ can be, spiritually, in the presence of the baby Jesus. Even Santa. ---
**Author:** ![Medievalist2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e19adc/32.png) [@Medievalist2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Medievalist2)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/32 "2002-12-13T22:04:09Z")
Those decorations offend me, too. According to these displays, Santa Claus existed before Jesus. These displays imply that the most important thing about Jesus’ birth was that it pleased Santa Claus. I think they’re really tacky. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/33 "2002-12-13T22:39:48Z")
A friend and I were rather weirded out to find Christmas ornaments of this very thing in the mall last week. The one in crystal stuck us as being even creepier than the regular plastic one. I’m not sure what’s wrong with that, but something is! ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/34 "2002-12-13T22:50:58Z")
So, those of you who are offended by Santa at the nativity, what do y’all think of the infamous [Jesus Sports Figures](http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/othersports.html) sold by “Catholic Supply of St. Louis” and featured at least twice on Conan O’Brian? I mean, Jesus playing hockey? baseball? soccer? Well, ok, Jesus _does_ look like a soccer kind of guy, but karate and snow skiing? ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/35 "2002-12-13T23:00:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tabithina \* > \*\*I think it’s tacky, but not as tacky as [url=http://www.onefunsite.com/rednecklights.shtml] this! > \*\* Thanks for the link. I guess one person’s tacky is another person’s art. I love in your face stuff like that. ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/36 "2002-12-14T00:49:07Z")
I agree with \*_belladonna_; it’s never struck me as tacky. After all, it’s not as though Santa’s the center of the action. He, like Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, and the wise men, is paying homage to Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/37 "2002-12-14T01:30:31Z")
Family in my hometown has one member (son no longer living at home) who converted to Buddhism, rest of the family apparently devout Roman Catholics. Family has big plastic lightup creche scene. I always expect to see Buddha make an appearance. ---
**Author:** ![ezra\_brooks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/13edae/32.png) [@ezra\_brooks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ezra_brooks)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/38 "2002-12-14T02:06:55Z")
Santa and baby Jesus together again. It’s nice to see that we’ve not forgotten the true meaning of Xmas. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/39 "2002-12-14T04:12:54Z")
Do evergreens and holly and mistletoe also offend? Every christian church I’ve ever been in drapes itself in these pagan symbols at Christmas time. I admire the idea of giving right in the middle of the hardest time of the year, and Santa is the symbol of giving. Just as God gave his only son. And I like melding traditions. Of course, I don’t even put lights on my front porch. But the Three Wise Flamingoes, now that’s an idea … But, oh, yes, it is tacky. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991/40 "2002-12-14T15:06:08Z")
Sorry for the hijack, but… > [@](#): > > I’ve always wanted to combine Hallowe’en and Christmas. The Nativity would be populated by a werewolf, Frankenstein’s monster, and Dracula instead of the Three Wise Men. > > Either that, or everything is normal except that the baby Jesus would be a vampire. > > As for the OP, this just came to mind: Santa’s sleigh crashed into the Nativity with the Nativity characters modified into horrified onlookers. > [@](#): > > **Johnny L A** , Tim Burton has what a movie called _The Nightmare Before Christmas_, which has a theme I think you might enjoy. Perhaps you should rent it? > [@](#): > > **DaddyTimesTwo** : Huh? Where is it in the film? I’ve never noticed it. So was my idea actually used in _Nightmare Before Christmas_? There’s so much going on in the film that I’ve never noticed a Nativity with the Baby Jesus being menaced by monsters or everything else is normal except the Baby Jesus is a monster. Or the crashed sleigh thing. Or was **DaddyTimesTwo** just commenting on the theme? My DVD isn’t accessible right now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-tacky-or-is-it-just-me/141991.md?page=3)