Just got off work at the casino. On Christmas Eve. You know, the day before Jesus’ birthday? (ok, all you pagans, I know, but that’s beside the point)
The place was packed. Around ten it slowed down enough that my crew got sent home early, but it was still pretty busy. I expected to maybe see a few sad sacks, locals with no family, plus an assortment of people from countries where Christmas (or Haunukka, which is also going on around this time) are not necessarily celebrated.
I was stunned, and frankly, depressed. A lot of couples, people there with their buddies, a lot of tourists.
What gives here? Have we totally lost the spirit of the holiday? What are you doing gambling in Vegas instead of at home with your families, or going to Church, if you’re so inclined?
Is Christmas no longer a holy day, or at least a day to spend with family? Is it just another day off, an excuse for an extended weekend, a day to go out and party?
I could go into the fact that nobody was tipping the dealers, but frankly I wasn’t surprised by that. You figure people who would be out gambling instead of spending time with their families are generally selfish sorts who really don’t give a damn about the people who have to work the holiday in order to serve and entertain them.
I hear similar sorts of complaints from waiters and waitresses who have to work Thanksgiving…
Aaahhh, gambling. The one and only vice that holds no allure for me at all.
Went into a casino in Lake Tahoe, just to say I had been. Blew 20 bucks and had a rotton time. As I walked through, I looked on the faces of the gamblers. They all had a look of desperation on their faces. No smiles at all.
[Homer Simpson]
“They are in the cluthes of a gambling monster! I call him Gamblor.”
[/Homer Simpson]
Oh, I second that. I started work at a movie theater over Thanksgiving weekend, and it was hell.
Just got off work today (Dec. 24) at about 11:15. Fuckin’ A, things were packed for the final showings of movies (movies that start at abou 10:30, aren’t over 'til 1:00 AM)… about as packed as they were for the 7:30 shows, which has never happened before.
What the hell are people doing out, at a movie, at 10:00, on Christmas Eve?!?!? And in such HUGE NUMBERS?!?!?
And I just know it’s going to be worse tomorrow… Merry Christmas, everyone, mine’s getting postponed a little bit.
I just talked to one of our technician out of Vegas and he said the hotels are 100% full throughout Tahoe and most of the major hotels in Vegas. He said that most had rooms booked for at least one week in order to have rooms through New Years. Apparantly you get a group of people together gamble, drink, ski, and celebrate Christmas- Vegas style then party through the New Years celebrations.
Yeah, I think that’s it exactly.
It seems to me (and working in retail, I’ve had a chance to notice) that people are becoming more and more disillusioned with Christmas. They’ve got a few extra (paid) days off work, they want to enjoy it; they don’t want to have to spend their free time preparing for a gathering or dealing with dysfunctional families. And a lot of people (like me) AREN’T Christian, despite the fact that certain segments of the population seem to believe this is a Christian country. So what? Enjoy your holiday as you wish and let them enjoy theirs as they see fit. Would you be complaining as loudly that people don’t spend Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday honoring him? Because to a lot of people, that’s just another day off, too. Just because I think it’s an important holiday doesn’t mean I expect everyone else to agree or go along with the way I choose to celebrate it. If Christmas means something to you, spend it in a way you deem appropriate. Don’t worry about how others spend it; it’s not your job to monitor them.
Merry Christmas, by the way.
The problem is, a lot of these people will come in and bitch, and say, “You shouldn’t be working today!” Well, maybe if you weren’t here, I wouldn’t be working.
Fuck it, Christmas is a National Holiday. And people complain about the long lines in stores and say things like, I want to get home to my family-hurry up. Fuck you-thanks to you, I can’t go home to my family, so why should I fucking care?
I just know that one of these days, Kmart is gonna be open on Christmas Day. THAT, my friends, is the day I fucking quit.
I can see businesses being closed for Christmas, but why did every supermarket within a ten-mile radius of my house have to close at 4 pm (or earlier) Christmas Eve? At worst, it’s an inconvenience, but c’mon. The supermarket manager can ask for volunteers, offer an incentive to work on Christmas Eve/Day, and stay open. Even if they close overnight, a late opening is still better than nothing.
I’m always grateful for entertainment/food places that stay open on holidays, particularly the “family” holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Likewise I appreciate the people who work at those places, particularly those who act cheerful, when I know they’d rather be at home.
Although many people with families simply choose not to participate in traditional gatherings, there are many who don’t have families to celebrate with.
What I don’t understand is bars that open at 6 a.m. Who drinks that early?
I just want to offer my opinion that woodstockbirdybird has it exactly, 100% right. Neither the OP nor her supporting posters would ever dream of excoriating someone who spent Memorial Day, or Independence Day, or MLK Day, at one of these places–but how dare they defile Jesus’ Birthday??
Maybe some of them are Jews. Maybe some are Muslims. Maybe they are atheists. Maybe they are even Christians who don’t bow to the cultural idol that is Christmas. Why didn’t you just ask for one of those days off?
Back when doing my time as a Tower Records shop assistant I used to really like working Christmas Day. I always signed up for the 3-7 shift: no customers 'cause everyone’s having their Christmas dinner, so you’d get paid (doubletime!) for four hours of smoking and playing cards in the back room with the other two shop assistants on duty.
It was New Year’s Day I always made sure not to get stuck working on.
Um, enjoying the holiday as I see fit would have involved going to vespers on Christmas Eve, which I didn’t get to do because I had to work. Not to provide people with necessities, or emergency services, but to be there to service their amusement.
And no, I wouldn’t be complaining as loudly for the other days, because they are not traditional family holidays. Hell, only banks and government workers get MLK off. And I don’t think too many people are going to get bent out of shape if they don’t get to see some fireworks shot off on the Fourth of July. And I don’t think I’ve ever had either Veteran’s Day or Labor Day off in my entire working life.
Plus, it’s the middle of both Haunukkah and Ramadan, so Jews and Muslims should be home honoring God, being with their families, etc.
So, basically, other people enjoying the holiday involved me and my co-workers not being able to. And the Powers That Be at the casino didn’t even make any scheduling adjustments. No running skeleton crews so that employees would have one or the other days to be with their families. Many people are having to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Greed prevails, and people who care about being in church or with thier families have to suffer to amuse people who don’t give a damn about anything but being entertained on their day off.
I actually enjoy working New Year’s Day (or, Eve, this year.) People are out to party, it’s a traditional party night, and dealers make money out the wazoo.
You’re not into the Christmas Spirit? Fine, rent a movie on the 23rd (most video stores have five day rentals) and stay home and drink a few beers with your like-minded friends. Just because you don’t want to celebrate the holiday doesn’t mean that businesses should stay open (or run anything more than a skeleton crew) and deprive their employees of celebrating the holidays just to suit you.
Thea Logica, how nice for you that you would choose to spend Christmas worshipping and reflecting on the birth of Jesus. I, as a fellow American and a Jew, choose not to, and according to the First Amendment, I have the right not to.
If you would have read more closely, I wasn’t complaining about bars or casinos or video stores or movie theaters being closed. I was complaining about supermarkets closing so early Christmas eve. The only stores open late yesterday or today at all were a handful of convenience stores. No supermarkets, drugstores, Targets… nothing.
I want to say something else. I understand that the United States is mostly Christian, and it makes some sense that most stores should be closed. But a large supermarket? That is bullshit. I also said that the supermarket management could ask for volunteers and offer incentives for people to work holidays. And, yes, as a Jew, I’ve offered to work Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday so Christians can spend the day with their families.
**
So, what you’re saying is that I should acquiesce to your notions of how your holidays should be celebrated, suck it up, and be deprived of basic necessities of life just to suit you? I don’t think so, honey.
I just think she doesn’t want to work on Christmas. She doesn’t work in a hospital, or a grocery store. She works in a casino. Not life-sustaining stuff being offered there.
I work with mentally retarded people. They need 24-hour care. I worked this Thanksgiving, and I worked last Christmas. I only have this Christmas off because it’s my normal day off. Next year, I am sure I will work Christmas. I don’t bitch about it (too much.) These people always need care. So I work.
Thea doesn’t hold my sort of job. People come to casinos to amuse themselves. I do not see that as any sort of life-sustaining (or in any way, in any shape) a “necessity”. I agree. I think people should just suck it up and rent a video on Christmas. Come on. The casinos can stay closed at least one day a year, don’t you think?
Um, are there no Jewish, Pagan, Muslim, or atheist dealers? Or customers? Casinos can stay open if they want. Honestly, I would have RATHER been there than in church last night.
I’m with Phil and Robyn - closing for Christmas is nice, but NOT required, and honestly, is kinda rude.
If the casino (or any place of non-life-sustaining amusement) can gather enough non-Christian workers together to form a crew on Christmas, great! If not, then life will not end for people who feel like they must gamble on Christmas day, I promise you. If they cannot find the people to work, that should tell you something.
Is the observant Jewish business being “rude” when they close their shop on Sabbath? Do you feel they are obligated to stay open every day? Do you feel they are being “rude” to you if they do not?
Why can’t a business actually decide that spending time with family, letting their employees spend time with family, and possibly observing an occasionaly family and/or religious day be “rude”? Why can’t businesses be entitled to decide that some things are more important than being open every damned day? Why can’t people learn to live without the non-life-sustaining things just once in a while? Why can’t they plan ahead?
And, I emphasise, non-life-sustaining things. And a casino certainly qualifies as that.
Conversely, life will not end for the people who have to work on Christmas day, either. Look, if you work for a business knowing that they’re going to be open on Christmas, how can you turn around and bitch about it? You were forewarned. And if the holiday is such a big deal to you, ASK FOR THE DAY OFF ahead of time. Otherwise, call in sick or change careers. And I think saying only “life-sustaining” businesses should be open on Christmas is again operating under the assumption that this is a Christian country and we should all change our lives to conform to the Christian way of living.
I’m kind of playing devil’s advocate with some of this (this is the pit); personally, I expect most things to be closed on Christmas and adjust my schedule accordingly. But just because you think “non-life-sustaining amusement” is a trivial way to spend your time, it doesn’t mean others don’t have the right to indulge. Some people probably look forward to it all year, knowing they’re going to have a long weekend. I’m sure you get mighty pissed every time your cable or power goes out, forcing you to miss out on some non-life-sustaining amusement of your own.
You know, to a large extent I agree with woodstockybirdy and others. I was pissed that I couldn’t get Thai food last night at 8pm, and not being able to get fresh citrus today, frankly sucked.
But I have to say I’m absolutely shocked at the number of people attending the WWF tonight in TN.
