[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi]
I wonder if Saudi Arabia could market itself as a place to come to escape from Christmas. And presidential primaries.
[/QUOTE]
Forget Saudi Arabia; it’s still under the thumb of an Abrahamic religion. For real separation, you want a nice Pagan country, like Japan. 
[QUOTE=THespos]
Indeed. It’s time to stay home and avoid retail outlets at all costs.
CostCo was fucking intolerable two weekends ago. Throngs of people standing around getting stupider as they clogged the aisles, wondering whether a 15-lb. box of chocolate truffles would make an appropriate gift for Aunt Gertrude.
I haven’t been able to locate it on CostCo’s website, but there’s this thing I’ll call “The Aberration” for lack of a better term. It’s THREE pre-lit fake Christmas trees hooked up to a speaker. Press a button and the thing puts on a light show befitting Laser Floyd at the planetarium, while a band that sounds an awful lot like Evanescence thrashes out holiday tunes that will absolutely drive your neighbors batshit.
Somebody on my block is bound to get this. I’ve already decided that if and when that happens, I’m tying The Aberration to the bumper of my truck with a tow chain and dragging it down the street until friction turns it into a smoking lump of carbon.
[/QUOTE]
Our neighbors are mostly assholes, anyway. They have no control over their kids and pets, drive too fast in a residential neighborhood, have more beer/booze bottles in than reading materials in each week’s recycling. The list goes on and on.
How much is the Aberration? My neighbors deserve no less.
Merry Christmas to all, and a festive “Fuck You!” to my neighbors.
[QUOTE=j666]
But Christmas really isn’t a Christian holiday; it’s a pagan holiday that the early church co-opted with some success, but now its basic nature is coming back.
And it was never a very important religious holiday, anyhow.
[/QUOTE]
Almost everybody has a holiday at that time of year. At least the Christians, if they did steal one, changed the name and such somewhere along the line. You’ll note I used the phrase “carefully secular”. As in God forbid we actually refer to a religion because that might be off-putting to people participating in our annual greed-fest.
I’m not saying you should ignore it if you’re not Christian. But on some level, and for some people all levels, it is definitely religious. I don’t know why people think others will be offended by this, unless they think it will cut into the profit margin.
It’s fun and extravagant and full of determination and hope.
And you get to give lots and lots of gifts, and get weird stuff that gets returned, re-gifted, or put in that special closet for Things That Must Be Displayed For Certain Guests. [Or, in the case of my family, lots of minor practical items packaged in yards of tissue paper and brightly colored re-usable gift bags.]
But it’s not Easter or Rosh Ha Shanah.
So, relax, enjoy the secular and your chosen religious aspects of it.
[BTW, I deliberately did not use the word ‘steal’ because I really do respect the religious aspects, and I meant not an important Christian religious holiday].
“Steal” might have been a harsh word to use, Pit or not.
It just irritates me that some people seem to think it’s all about pretty trees (which I love!) and The Loot (which I admit to enjoying in reasonable quantities). There’s more to it for a lot of people. I don’t know why marketers seem to think that would offend.
I like it too!
[QUOTE=whiterabbit]
It just irritates me that some people seem to think it’s all about pretty trees (which I love!) and The Loot (which I admit to enjoying in reasonable quantities). There’s more to it for a lot of people. I don’t know why marketers seem to think that would offend.
[/QUOTE]
It almost seems as if you are saying that you want marketers to assume you have a particular religious preference and to target their marketing towards that preference. Wouldn’t you prefer that marketers stay out of your religious holiday?
It irritates you that to me it’s all about pretty trees and loot? I think you care too much about what goes on inside my head.
I don’t actually care much about what happens in your head.
I don’t want marketers to assume everything around Christmas should be religious. I also don’t think they should avoid it as much as they do. This argument started with my agreeing that gigi ought to be able to find a few religious Christmas cards, besides the pre-boxed sets.
I think our culture has gone a bit overboard with Christmas. This doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it. I don’t grasp the weeks and weeks of craziness, though, or the marketing insanity. I’ll have you know I was working at Wal-Mart when word came down a couple of years ago that we weren’t supposed to say “Merry Christmas,” to anybody, lest we offend(?). I think that’s been retracted, and frankly, it was largely ignored. I thought it was idiotic.
Just call me Scroogette, then.
[QUOTE=zenith]
Our neighbors are mostly assholes, anyway. They have no control over their kids and pets, drive too fast in a residential neighborhood, have more beer/booze bottles in than reading materials in each week’s recycling. The list goes on and on.
How much is the Aberration? My neighbors deserve no less.
Merry Christmas to all, and a festive “Fuck You!” to my neighbors.
[/QUOTE]
That’s the Spirit!!
They’re piping christmas music into our office. My food from thanksgiving has barely settled.
Fuck.
It’s times like this when I look at a sharp #2 pencil and wonder how much I’d miss my hearing.
[QUOTE=j666]
Jodi, can you explain what you are trying to argue with me about?
[/quote]
I’m not trying to argue with you, I’m only pointing out that it’s really not for you to say if Christmas is a religious holiday or not. You’ve bolded the “to my mind” rider in your later post, but of course that wasn’t included in your earlier post which said “Christmas isn’t really a Christian holiday,” with not qualifiers. I appreciate you acknowledging that this is only your opinion, but you continue to argue for the correctness of your opinion – and hey, go ahead, these sorts of discussions are interesting and fun. But that means that in turn I also can post to point out that I don’t think your argument is persuasive.
But if Christmas are more palatable or more meaningful to you – or to anyone else – for being pagan or strictly secular, that’s completely fine with me. I hope everyone enjoys the season. So may I interest you in some eggnog?
[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest]
I would like it known for the record that I cannot stand and absolutely despise the Red and White Christmas stockings. Like these. Incase you live under a rock I hate them all, equally and venomously.
God, those things are UGLY and lack any personality, charm or heritage.
[/QUOTE]
Hey, my mom personally sewed ours together, you -
checks to see this is the Pit
- cock-sucking assbitch pile of putrescent dog shit!
…
…
…
( 
on the insults)
[QUOTE=whiterabbit]
I don’t want marketers to assume everything around Christmas should be religious. I also don’t think they should avoid it as much as they do. This argument started with my agreeing that gigi ought to be able to find a few religious Christmas cards, besides the pre-boxed sets.
[/QUOTE]
Generally, when something isn’t available, it’s because there’s not much of a market for it.
Businesses aren’t “avoiding” the religious aspects of Christmas for any other reason than the bottom line.
[QUOTE=THespos]
I used to believe this with all my heart. And then someone got me the Twisted Sister Christmas album as a gag gift. It’s so awful, it’s a thing of pristine beauty.
It makes me wonder whether A Very Speed Metal Christmas would sell enough on iTunes to cover production costs. What’s Marty Friedman up to these days?
[/QUOTE]
I LOVE the Twisted Sister Christmas CD. At least they’re having fun with it, such as playing “O Come All Ye Faithful” as a dead-on soundalike for “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” Even when they start “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” in a serious way, it’s a spoof. I wish the same could be said for Billy Idol’s Christmas album. He sings every song in a seriously traditional manner, and it’s a piece of crap, IMO. It would have been better if he had put the same kind of spirit in it as “Yellin’ at the Christmas Tree,” an original song from his Devil’s Playground CD.
[QUOTE=BiblioCat]
I was in PA this weekend, and discovered that TWO of the local York/Harrisburg/Lancaster-area radio stations I had set in my car are already playing 24/7 Christmas music. One down here in Baltimore is already doing it, too.
I like Christmas music, too, but it’s not even Thanksgiving, for crying out loud!
[/QUOTE]
The evil is spreading here south of Boston. It’s like the zombification of FM radio. First there was one all-Christmas station. Then two…then four…Soon, the FM dial will be filled with shambling, brain-devouring holiday cheer.
The local radio station has indeed changed over to Christmas music and it seems to be worse than ever this time. Whenever I hit that button (there are 3 buttons and I habitually hit each of them to find something good), it sends out a particularly awful rendition of a Bing Crosby carol, or Jingle Bell Rock, or whatever.
I love carols, but I’m really picky and I prefer the old religious ones. I wish my car CD player still worked. 
But now I have an mp3 player and I can listen to Sarah McLachlan sing, just not in the car.
[QUOTE=Jackmannii]
There are at least six radio stations in western Pennsylvania that run nothing but polka music on Sunday mornings. You try driving across that part of the state on Sunday and stay sane.
It’s the PENNSYLVANIA POLKA PARTY!! Yippity-Zee!!!
It’s worse than Xmas music. Well, actually it isn’t but it’s bad enough.
[/QUOTE]
But you havent heard a polka until you hear Toledo Polkamotion covering Secret Agent Man … 
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi]
I wonder if Saudi Arabia could market itself as a place to come to escape from Christmas. And presidential primaries.
[/QUOTE]
I don’t think you have enough spare rooms for all of us dopers who would flock there … although I would love to come for a visit sometime. I even have ‘modest’ clothing=)
I had to look for a station that had the all-christmas format. But my usual station has started to play a tune or two each hour.
[QUOTE=Gala Matrix Fire]
Absolutely. The problem is that it’s also the place to come to escape from alcohol, mingling with anyone of the opposite sex, mingling with anyone of the same sex in a sexual way, movies, and any religion you might be fond of unless it’s Islam.
I remember a year or two ago the Saudi’s announced a drive to promote tourism (almost typed terrorism by mistake, but I caught it). It didn’t succeed much. Too many travelers who don’t vacation to enjoy a more austere lifestyle.
[/QUOTE]
If you think observant muslims live austere lives have never guested with any. i spent a weekend with a saudi family in the US one spring break and granted there was no drinking, drugs or sex, the food was great, we talked, ate, played games [mainly chess and backgammon because those I happen to like] more food, coffee with cardamom, pastries, some good music and dancing and more eating.
Why are americans fixated on vacations full of alcohol and sex? has everybody forgotten how fun it can be to just hang out and talk with good food and coffee?
[QUOTE=Liberal]
My fondest memories are of times when we were dirt poor. I could probably one-up all of you. A stocking was something we only pretended to have. I’m talking rural Appalachia here — cooking on a wood stove and no indoor plumbing. But the love.
[/QUOTE]
Growing up in Lithuania, my ancestors had it rough at holiday time. Why, they had to walk 20 miles to get to the nearest pogrom. :dubious: