2009-12-25: Happy Holidays Everyone!

[The Comment Golem]

Discussion thread for Happy Holidays Everyone!

[ChunLing]

Oh, Bani, will you never learn?

[Luciifiel]

Aww, who's a cute widdle reindeer? Who is? ;D

[davester65]

GOD JUL! everyone.

[SPIKE]

What about Kwanzaa?

[ChunLing]

It's just not as funny to ridicule a holiday that nobody takes seriously in the first place. It's not like laughing at the retarded, but it's not entirely different either.

Though I guess if you de-construct the historical origins of celebrating Christmas on the winter Solstice, there's kinda a case for putting it in the same category as Kwanzaa. Except that the symbolism implicit in the old winter Solstice celebration actually transfers pretty well to the significance of Christmas, and however the winter Solstice Christmas got started it is a going concern. Kwanzaa is simply never going to arrive.

Eventually the Christians are going to move Christmas in with the Easter season and leave Solstice open as a non-sectarian winter holiday. And then nobody will be able to enjoy mocking it except us Daleks.

Since mostly that will consist of going in circles and screeching "Exterminate!" while randomly firing our weapons, you probably won't notice anything different from usual.

[Imp-Chan]

Honestly, it's gotten to the point where I feel like a complete hypocrite celebrating Christmas. I'm not Christian (strictly speaking), and even if I were what would possibly be the relevance when I know perfectly well that Christmas ought to take place in spring? Christmas is founded on lies and politics, plain and simple, and I'm tired of pretending to believe otherwise. Which is not to say that Christmas as a collection of social customs and ideas isn't spiffy. A lot of good stuff about humanity comes out with that good ol' Christmas spirit, there are assumptions made about the importance of family and friends and fellow man that probably ought to be emphasized year round, and certainly Christmas as a practice has a lot going for it.

Still, I feel this increasing need to acknowledge that the real reason I celebrate Christmas is that winter is fucking depressing, and I just need an excuse to party and think about doing nice things for other people, and especially an excuse to fuss with wrapping paper and make things all pretty and sparkly and jingly and glowy, and generally to make an effort. I probably shouldn't need an excuse for those things, but it's awfully hard to feel motivated in the middle of OH GOD GRAY SNOWY DEATH I HATE THE WORLD WHY IS THERE NO SUNSHINE, so having some sort of official holiday type of thing to encourage it is handy. To me, that seems more in line with celebrating the solstice... after all, I like cycles. They're important to me for reasons I'm not sure I can explain. So today I decided that from now on, I'm going to switch to saying I celebrate that, at least until I find some other pithy explanation that suits me better. There's at least different bullshit attached to that explantion/holiday, and I feel more comfortable with those assumptions than I feel with the ones that come from saying "Merry Christmas."

But really, when you get right down to the details of what and how I'm celebrating, nothing is changing except which words I use. After all... I'm keeping Santa.

^-^'

[Sareth]

You know, Impy, that's good enough for me.

Me, I stick with Yule and call that good. But when you combine Christmas, Yule, Hanukkah, New Years, and whatall together, it's makes for a nice, people oriented holiday period that stretches out in the middle of a time of bleak weather to remind us that regardless of faith, there are people worth having around. And that is good 'nuff for me. So when people wish me a happy [insert winter holiday here], I take it in the spirit of the season. ^_^

[Graybeard]

It's just not as funny to ridicule a holiday that nobody takes seriously in the first place. It's not like laughing at the retarded, but it's not entirely different either.

Well, being one who actually does take Christmas -- not Xmas, never Xmas -- seriously, and also having a severely retarded brother-in-law, my reactions to this statement can reasonably be described as "mixed."

[normalphil]

I'm wondering when the comic dialed back the profanity. Not that I in any way mind note, just that I didn't notice it happening.

Actually my extended family has been observing Hanukkah for the past two years in addition to Christmas. It's been good; and has given me an anecdote on speeding home before sunset in winter weather. I can see the appeal of being an (albeit selective) Judaizer now, it's the next best thing to converting to Catholicism, and still being Protestant. I recommend it.