# Will this never end? Seven more days of Xmas! Groan **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 19, 2022, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770 "2022-12-19T05:05:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/1 "2022-12-19T05:05:14Z")
I seem to get less tolerant every year of the dreck that bombards from every direction during this season, which I suppose is perfectly in line with being the cranky old atheist that I am. I stay away from stores as much as possible, I watch as little TV as I can, but even the classical music station gets “in the spirit” during the last week or so with semi-classical style renditions of carols and other crud of that sort. I’m sure I’m not alone in this view, so please send me a little moral support. I could use it. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/2 "2022-12-19T06:10:41Z")
Some wonderful day, you will retire. You won’t have to do all of the workplace Xmas stuff and you will be able to do your xmas shopping on Amazon. If you do have to go out, be sure to go to the display of those stupid singing trees and take the batteries out of all of them and leave them on the shelf behind you. The cashiers will call you a hero and you aren’t shoplifting if you don’t absently put the batteries in your pocket as you are working the shelf. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/3 "2022-12-19T11:28:21Z")
I am retired. When I was working I had stuff to occupy my mind to drive out the stupid, and there wasn’t much stupid around at work anyway. I suppose I could count it to my credit that I have no idea what trees you’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/4 "2022-12-19T11:39:34Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > but even the classical music station gets “in the spirit” during the last week or so with semi-classical style renditions of carols and other crud of that sort. I noticed this yesterday when I was erranding. At least they were old, some very old, carols and not fancied-up renditions of modern tripe. And It was kinda nostalgic, since I’d sung some of those carols eons ago in high school chorus. But apart from that, I avoid a lot. I will admit, I kinda miss seeing _A Charlie Brown Christmas_, but not enough to look for it. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/5 "2022-12-19T13:42:42Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I seem to get less tolerant every year of the dreck that bombards from every direction during this season, which I suppose is perfectly in line with being the cranky old atheist that I am. Focus on the Pagan origins of the season; maybe that will please your old athiest heart more. Other people might be celebrating Christmas; I’m celebrating [Saturnalia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia) (I focus on the ‘eating, drinking and being merry’ part and skip the sacrifice part, unless you count the roast beast on Christmas Day). ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/6 "2022-12-19T14:36:46Z")
I feel your pain. As an atheist it bothers me that Christmas is starting earlier and earlier each year. It bothers me when Christians argue that it’s a secular holiday, when it clearly isn’t. When I get frustrated, I think about the Muslims and Jews who have to endure Christian dominance all year long. I’ve learned to shake it off and move on with my life. We live in a Christian dominant country, and those who aren’t Christian have to learn to deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/7 "2022-12-19T16:34:29Z")
I don’t care that it’s someone else’s religion. All the evils I have written of originate from commerce, plus the egregious assumptions about the need to be jolly and generous (but only for a few weeks). It’s time to put [Tom Lehrer’s christmas carol](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck-FMAMmCrE) in the playlist again. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/8 "2022-12-19T16:39:40Z")
I hate Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/9 "2022-12-19T16:43:11Z")
Christmas should be a day (or 12 days if you insist) but certainly not a “season.” If Christians went to church and exchanged gifts on 12/25, no would would care. But whatever the hell our society is doing now is completely nuts. We can, of course, opt out. Last year my wife and I stayed home, alone, with no lights, no tree, no presents. Pure bliss. This year, lots of kids and grandkids coming, so I have no objection to that. Tomorrow, we’ll get a tree, and it will be gone before New Years. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/10 "2022-12-19T17:15:17Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > This year, lots of kids and grandkids coming, so I have no objection to that. So you are okay with perpetuating the “completely nuts” season of nausea unto new generations? If the parents of those children really cared about you, they would tell their children “We are spending Christmas this year with Grandpa and Grandma Procrustus, and they don’t celebrate Christmas. So there will be no tree, no lights, and no presents. There will, however, be dinner.” ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/11 "2022-12-19T17:19:54Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > If the parents of those children really cared about you, they would tell their children “We are spending Christmas this year with Grandpa and Grandma Procrustus, and they don’t celebrate Christmas. Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/12 "2022-12-19T17:33:23Z")
I’m a cranky atheist and I love the dreck–the lights, the decorations, Andy Williams, Burl Ives, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Mariah Carey–it’s all wonderful. There are a few specific things I don’t like, but I just try to pretend I didn’t hear that. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/13 "2022-12-19T17:40:22Z")
**Will this never end?** No. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/14 "2022-12-19T18:38:56Z")
When the people outside the grocery store, with the bell and the donation bucket, wish me a cheery “Merry Christmas”, I try to make my “Bah humbug” sound as natural and spontaneous as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/15 "2022-12-19T18:58:37Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I seem to get less tolerant every year of the dreck that bombards from every direction during this season, which I suppose is perfectly in line with being the cranky old atheist that I am. As a Christian, I get pretty annoyed with the drek, too. There are over a thousand years worth of good Christmas music to choose from, and they’re still playing the Boomer crap nonstop? While, of course, those self-same Boomers complain about how “they” have secularized Christmas. Although I suppose that it’s not quite all Boomers… You’ll occasionally now hear some modern singer complaining about her one-night stands, because that’s totally what the spirit of the season is about. And the Christmas season starts on December 25. The Advent season starts four weeks before that. It never extends earlier than Thanksgiving (at earliest, starting three days after), and it certainly never starts on Hallowsday. ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/16 "2022-12-19T19:23:57Z")
The only good thing about it is the days off work. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/17 "2022-12-19T21:01:01Z")
@Roderick_Femm - kindred spirit here. A couple of years back I started a thread about it: > [@IT'S CHRISTMAS!! (No, really, first Christmas ad of the year spotted)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-christmas-no-really-first-christmas-ad-of-the-year-spotted/837561): > > Yeah, it gets earlier every year. Tomorrow is forecast to be the hottest day of the year in the UK - maybe the hottest day on record. And yesterday my friend J pointed out, in a free local paper, the first Christmas ad of the year (caveat - that we have seen; please advise if you saw one earlier. Likewise Thanksgiving, Diwali, Hanukkah etc). The Cowdray Arms invites you to book your Christmas Party now - free bottle of Prosecco for your table if you book before the end of August. £39.95 for 3 … That was posted on July 24th. Tell you what, here in the UK we have a Christmas movie channel that starts up **IN SEPTEMBER** [https://secretldn.com/great-movies-christmas-channel/](https://secretldn.com/great-movies-christmas-channel/) > All the festive fun kicked off on **September 8** … Screening right up until **January 2, 2023** It started at the beginning of our summer holiday! By their calculation, Christmas is now a third of the freaking year. It just fills me with despair. On a brighter note, may I be the first to wish you a Happy Festivus. j ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/18 "2022-12-19T21:08:27Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > It started at the beginning of our summer holiday! By their calculation, Christmas is now a third of the freaking year. And ironically it doesn’t cover the entire 12 days of Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/19 "2022-12-19T21:08:59Z")
Don’t give them ideas! j ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770/20 "2022-12-19T21:15:09Z")
I normally joke when I get on my horse about #EndTheWaronAdvent (and someone got all snitty with me on Facebook when I did, lol), but I could definitely do so for a Christmas channel that started in September. Though I’m also nothing some Halloween partisans are trying to do the same creeping holiday thing and attempting to make Halloween season a thing (like beyond October)… which I’m really not fond of holidays leaping their bounds. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-never-end-seven-more-days-of-xmas-groan/976770.md?page=2)