Honestly, as i say this as one of this boards resident Christians, i wish there WAS less “Christ in Christmas”- I am happy that the holiday is turning into a national secular holiday- so that everyone, Christians, Jews, Atheists, pagans, et al, can all have a nice holiday- with a feeling of “good cheer” & generousity. I can also have a quiet moment to reflect on His birth, too.
However, DON’T get me started about the secularization of Easter.
Sigh. Sure, spending time with family is not a life-sustaining thing. Hell, I guess it could be argued that spending time with your family just isn’t important at all. But the way things are today, in America, many families (not just Christian, but many families) congregate on Christmas, (and also Thanksgiving.) They look forward to it all year. It has been a traditional thing forever, (as you can see, by all the hype surrounding it.) And there is a lot of sentimentality about these certain days. And, I emphasize, A LOT of people feel this way. To many people, it’s not just another long weekend.
There are other long weekends out there, right? More than a few. More than a few long weekends where people can gamble their little hearts out. Most people don’t bitch too much about working on these long weekends. Just this one - Christmas. Because many people have an emotional/traditional attachment to this ONE holiday. And it doesn’t have to be a religious attachment, it could be just a family tradition. In fact, for many people, that’s all it is - it’s about family. But oh. God Forbid we let that mean anything anymore! No. Screw that. Let’s kill the little bit of “family bonding” that is still around. Let’s make it harder for families to congregate on this one day. Yeah. Great idea. Because - you know - it’s just such a big hassle to have to plan ahead for this one day. Because, you know, no one can be expected to know that Christmas is coming. They make it such a secret!
Also - anyone care to explain to me why it is “rude” for a company to let their employees off on Christmas? Is it also “rude” for an observant Jew to not open their business on the Sabbath?
yosemite, I never claimed spending time with family wasn’t life-sustaining; I just said that just because you don’t consider something worthwhile that doesn’t mean others don’t have a right to enjoy it. Nobody in this thread, to my knwledge, has advocated destruction of the family unit. I have no problem with people wanting to bond with their families; I also have no problem with people who want to gamble on Christmas.
And BTW, Christmas hasn’t been a tradition “forever”; it hasn’t even been a tradition since Jesus’ death, and it hasn’t ever been a tradition for a lot of people. Anyway, hope you enjoyed yours.
Which is kind of what I’m saying too. It looks like a lot of you don’t attach any significance to Christmas (which is fine, if that’s how you feel.) However, a lot of us still do, and we’d like to have the day off to spend with our families.
As I mentioned before, if an employer can gather together enough willing employees to work Christmas, so others can come into the establishement to do something like gamble, hey - party hearty. (Or is it “Party Hardy”? I don’t get to use that phrase too much.) But it almost looks like some of you are saying, “Stop whining. I don’t think this day is important, and besides, I miss having my fresh citrus!” (Note - I said almost looks that way.)
And as far as the suggestion of merely “asking for the day off”. Huh. No shit Sherlock! How come none of us thought of that!?!? 
But all the employees with seniority already pounced on that option. It’s not like you can wave your magic wand and say “You have the day off!” Asking ain’t getting, as one of my friends always used to say.
I don’t either. I don’t care, as long as the casinos don’t make people who are UNWILLING to work that day have work it anyway. I don’t like the idea that people who were looking forward to being with their families having to work anyway on this once a year family tradition for something that is non-life-sustaining.
It depends on what you think “forever” is! It’s been around longer than “The Tonight Show”, right? Well, that’s “forever” to me! 
If it weren’t an important tradition for a lot of people, there certainly wouldn’t be a problem manning all these stores and establishments on Christmas. But that seems to be a problem. I know that next year, I won’t get Christmas off, since the people with seniority will snatch the day up before I have a chance at it. And I get the impression that Thea’s workplace doesn’t have an abundance of people who would happily work Christmas. Hence, Thea is working Christmas, and she’d rather not.
Thanks, I did. Hope you had a good day too.
Actually, one of my co-workers suggested that the area surrounding the theater was highly-Jewish. I didn’t really dwell much on this notion until tonight, just half an hour before I got off work (that is, at about 10:30 PM)… a customer came up to the concession counter and asked, “Do you have any kosher hot dogs?”
::sigh::
All I know is, it’s over. I don’t care if someone celebrates Christmas or not… whoever they are, they see a “holiday”, and will treat it as such.
For the record, I’m a frequent visitor of movie theaters on holidays. But we go as a family, probably the only days out of the year that I can say that. it’s nice when the theater stays open, but I’d understand if they took the day off to be with their families.
I work at McDonalds. We were open till 8 on Xmas Eve, and closed on Xmas. I was stuck working the 12-9 closing shift on Christmas Eve, and it sucked. Every other person that came through either told us that we should be closed. But then, they were the same people placing $30 orders in drive thru. How’re we gonna close when we’re getting all the sales in? After a while, we started answering the phone “Thanx for calling McDonalds, we close at 8, no we don’t have any gift certificates left, this is Pam, how can I help you?” 9 out of 10 people hung up before the end of the spiel.
I don’t know how patriotic your area is, but where I live, the folks believe the fireworks are part of being Americans. As Americans, they see it as a symbol of their [our?] nation’s glory. I think more than a few of them would get a littl peeved if they didn’t see their fireworks on July 4.
I would love to go out to Vegas at Christmastime.
Don’t get me wrong–I love Christmas. It just comes at a bad time, right after the finals week push, and I can never seem to get myself into the mood. What I would really love would be to take a vacation around that Dec. 25 (Vegas, Key West, wherever) and have Christmas some other time. Alternatively, I’d love to just gather up the family members I care to spend time with (there aren’t that many, really) and take them all somewhere.
I wouldn’t be upset to get to Vegas and find that all the tables aren’t open, or that the drinks are coming a little slower. I did come at Christmastime, after all. (I was there just before Christmas last year, and this was the case–although it also meant rooms at the Barbary Coast for $15/night.)
So maybe the folks who are gambling in Vegas at Christmastime have decided to have a family gathering at a more convenient time. Perhaps they are gathered there with their family. Yes, it sucks that you have to work, and I think big bonuses or other incentives should be used to encourage employees to volunteer to work those days. I don’t see any reason to gripe at the clientele, though.
Dr. J (who has about one Christmas left before his holidays become iffy at best)
Actually, I’ve had to work evert single Christmas Day since I moved out here, I don’t mind working Christmas, as long as I can still fulfill my religious obligation of being at liturgy either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Since I work swing, I made Christmas morning.
But I would rather have gone Christmas Eve, when we have the big procession with the children in the congregation dressed up as shepherds and angels. I just find it incredibly depressing that so many people choose not to spend the holidays with their families, and that the casinos are so greedy that they couldn’t run with a reduced staff so that the employees could have one or the other of the days off to spend with their families. And I did mention that the other two major Middle Eastern religions are having holy times at this time of year (Haunukka and Ramadan). So they are not observing their own religions. The Muslims are supposed to be fasting and doing penance, and there were a lot of Arabs at the tables, dodging the fast. (Yes, I know that there are Christian Arabs, some of them are in my church, and I’ve worked with others, but they are in the minority. And Arab Christians make the most devout of European Christians look like total heathens. They’re definitely not going to be out gambling.)
Also, most of my income comes from tips, and if I have to work Christmas, I would just as soon stand dead all night. I would have made the same amount of money as I did busting my sweet bippy servicing a bunch of stiffs. Face it, people who are so selfish that they would rather spend the holiday gambling do not really give a damn about the people who can’t be with their families because they have to work.
Also, a lot of non-Christians celebrate Christmas as a cultural holiday, but not as a religious one. A time to spend with family, exchange gifts, watch the kids open their expensive presents then watch them hav more fun playing with the box the toys came in…
Ask for the day off? Please, I’m still in my probationary period. I’ve been sick twice already since I started work there, and I didn’t dare call in. You really think they’re going to give me the day off for something as trivial as a religious obligation (yes, the boss does know I’m a practicing Catholic.)
The only family I have in town is my mother, who I see every day, and we’ve both gotten so fed up with the commercialism around Christmas that we don’t exchange gifts by mutual consent.
On the up side, Matt brought homemade fudge, which did a lot to keep away the black cloud of depression that was hovering over my head. But the fudge gave out around eleven and I didn’t get off until two-thirty…
I told the pit boss to tell Matt to bring more fudge next time. Matt’s fudge rocks.
DoctorJ, I like your attitude.
Not to be glib, but you certainly have very strong opinions about how other people should and should not be spending their time or observing religious rituals. Isn’t that a little bit, er, presumptuous?
Yeah, OK, I’m presumptious. You have a problem with that?
And let us not forget that other people deciding not to observe their own religions helped to deprive me of the choice of how I observed mine. And I think that the abandonment of traditions, whether religious or cultural, is part of the reason the world is going to hell in a cheap handbasket.
Oh well, at least I din’t wind up going some Latin Rite church where I would have been a body in a pew instead of a person with a soul…
For the record: Hannukah is not a religious holiday. It’s about a rebel band who stood against assimilation, and is treated as a secular holiday.
And were these Muslims dodging the fast doing so at night or during the day? The fast is only to be held in the daytime. Nighttime is fine for eating.
Why do you keep blaming other people for ruining your holiday? You knew your place of work was open on Christmas; why not get pissed off at them for being open, if you’ve got to blame somebody besides yourself (which apparently you do)? Stop ragging on the people who take advantage of the fact that you’re open to enjoy themselves. Yeah, yeah, you wouldn’t be open if these people “deciding not to observe their own religions” didn’t create the demand. I’m sure greed on the part of the casino doesn’t enter into the equation at all, right? They could have easily decided to close on Christmas, but they didn’t, and now you’re pissed at all the people who decide to go there because YOU’RE NOT CLOSED! What selfish assholes! But it’s easier to point the finger at strangers than at an organization you belong to, right? Jesus.
Oh, and not everyone who was out was deciding not to observe their own religions. You may be surprised to know that some people don’t HAVE religions, and many of those that do DON’T CELEBRATE THEM ON DEC. 25TH! And just because somebody is an “Arab” doesn’t mean he/she is a Muslim (or a Christian) either. My God, do you know how fucked up that sounds? There are many more religious (and non-religious) beliefs than can be encompassed by Christianity/Muslim/Judaism. I’m sorry to rant, but your your protests are really starting to verge on the ignorant.
[slight hijack]
I’m shocked at the number of people attending the WWF anytime, anywhere
[/slight hijack]
As to the OP:
As I’m sure others have and will point out, plan ahead yourself to get the time off. Get a different job. Work for an employer who shares your views about the holiday. Just don’t believe that it’s up to me to be inconvenienced in any way so that you can follow your religion. Maybe that comes across as harsh, but that’s how I see it. Why shouldn’t I be able to but a gallon of milk at 11:00 pm on Dec 24th? For that matter, why shouldn’t I be able to do anything on Dec 24th and 25th that I can do any other day of the year?
Okay, have at me.
-mdf
Oh, and while I’m thinking about it - I’m getting tired of all these alarmists and pundits claiming that abandoning traditions is sending our country to hell in a handbasket. What exactly do you mean by this? Am I to infer from your statement that people not celebrating Christmas according to your standards is the cause of violence, crack cocaine, etc? If not, precisely which traditions are you referring to? The only one I can think of is the tradition we have in this country of not voting, which is how we end up with dumb-fuck talking heads full of media-ready sound bytes running the place. Believe it or not, some of us don’t need “traditions” to keep us in line. I consider myself to be quite ethical, despite the fact that I’m an atheist and don’t have the fear of God held over my head as a reminder to walk the straight and narrow. Yes, it’s actually possible for people to THINK FOR THEMSELVES and arrive at a morality based on compassion just because they realize that because their lives are important to them, other peoples’ must be to them, also. Religion and/or tradition are not requirements for leading a decent life. Happy fucking new year.
I know I do. Let’s compare your statements.
You don’t see a problem dropping a big 'ol kopros on the Catholic tradition while simultaneously claiming that abandonment of tradition causes social ruin? “The world,” as it were, is such a shitty place largely due to said traditions. You can take your condemnations of my abandonment of tradition elsewhere.
oops, I forgot, there are a few Manicheans in Iraq. How could I have been so inconsiderate…
woodstock, you ought to try actually reading posts before you respond. I never said I had a problem with casinos being open, or that I minded working Christmas. But I do mind having my religious observance interfered with for the entertainment of a bunch of selfish assholes.
There were far, far too many people in the casinos to be accounted for by slim minorities who don’t follow the predominant religions of their countries of origin. I was actually surprised that there were so few Asians, and I’m not aware of any Bhuddist/Hindu/Shinto/Confucian holidays at this time of year.
And I did account for greed on the part of the casinos. I din’t choose to work in this industry because I thought it would be cool. I got into this business because of trivial concerns like paying the rent, having food, stuff like that.
Sure, I enjoy the job, I’ve worked Christmasses past, but I’ve always made Vespers on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning liturgy just isn’t the same…
I never said I thought the casinos should close. But common human decency would dictate that they run with a reduced staff on the holidays so that their employees could have either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to spend with their families. Many, if not most of the staff had to work both days, so they didn’t really get a holiday at all.
blessedwolf:
That rocks. Makes me want to start celebrating Haunukka.
It was at night, but part of the spirit of Ramadan is repentence for the sins of the preceding year. Somehow partying it up in Vegas doesn’t seem to fit with that.
But what about those (myself included) who resent having their entertainment interfered with for the religious observance of others?
I don’t do Xmas. I never have, and except for one year when I was experimenting with a girlfriend, I never will.
Why should I be stuck at home? There is never anything worth watching on TV (48 hours of A Christmas Story back-to-back on TNT? Gimme a friggin’ BREAK!), and perhaps my video games and computer games don’t interest me at the moment. There’s only so much masturbating a guy can do, let me out of the house!
I went to see a movie with a friend. The theatre was packed, and everybody (employees included) was smiling. Afterwards, I wanted to get something to eat. Were there any restaurants open? Well, one, but it was a Hooters, and I’m too proud to go there. So I was stuck going home. I was in bed at 10:00! Why? Because everything was closed, and there was nothing to do.
Thea, I understand your frustration. But remember, you’re in a service industry. The whole mindset to that is “What? There are people who want to spend money? Hell, I’LL take some!” If your employer forced you to work in spite of your reasonable religious objections, perhaps the ACLU can look into the legality of it.
Just please don’t tell the rest of us that we have to stay home 'cos you want to go to church.
I don’t know, I certainly have not implied that. What I am thinking is that it is becoming more and more difficult for families to congregate. Christmas still seems to be a pretty powerful incentive/tradition/whatever for many families to gather. Which, IMO, is a good thing. Don’t care? Don’t need it? Fine. But don’t rain on the parade of those of us who still do feel it’s important.
Gee thanks for the little rant (and sermon)! Feel better now?
I can’t speak for Thea, but all I want is for people who don’t give a damn about the holiday to be mindful that many of us DO give a damn. It isn’t just another long weekend, a weekend that we’d like to blow with having fun. It’s an important and special day. And if that means that stores are a little more sparsely manned, and some places aren’t open, well, it is just once a year. Other peoples’ lives are important to them, and on this ONCE A YEAR thing, they want to spend it at home with their families. Not working at a job, making sure you have fresh citrus.
No one said that, as far as I can tell.
I’m still waiting to see what everyone thinks of the observant Jew closing their business for the Sabbath. Is this a problem for you? Is it “rude”?
blessedwolf, if you can do without entertainment for a few more days, come on out for New Years. I’ve worked New Year’s Day, and it was a blast.
'Course, I’ve been told that I won’t make money New Year’s Eve. Place is packed, you bust your ass giving people service, and nobody bets for the dealers.
BTW, the casinos don’t do anything special for employees who work holidays. Most places give floating holidays as alternate days off, but I haven’t been there long enough for that. Some give you the option of taking holiday pay or a “flex time” day, which I would be inclined to use for Good Friday and Holy Saturday night. {Easter liturgy in my church is on Holy Saturday, and it is a blast. We have a procession, break the tomb open, when we find it empty, we sing the Easter Canon 144 times then have pot luck dinner, and boy can those Arabs cook- they can outcook the Italians in the congregation. 'Course, the Italians make better pastries…)
Meanwhile, rent some movies, drink a few beers, burn a fattie if your employer doesn’t do random drug tests, and hang tight. New Year’s is coming, and it’s the start of a New Millenium.
And put that thing back in your pants.