It’s official. Myself and a good number of people behind me declare that Christmas really does suck, and should be canceled with all the stress, hypocrisy, and gluttonous spending it represents.
We are not scrooges, nor are we schmucks. In fact, we are people who are very kind, generous and giving throughout the year, and find the Christmas idea of giving as contrived as the acting on a late night infomercial.
The fact is, we are all tired of it: the crowds, the traffic, and the line-ups. We no longer choose to wonder aimlessly down the crowded isles of department stores, picking out gifts with as much thought as pocket calculators; devices that know only one thing: that they should by something for somebody, because that’s what they are supposed to do at this time of year.
Nero once said: as long as you keep the masses happy with bread and circuses, you can control them. Like $13 movies and $5 Pepsi’s, Christmas is a circus in itself. Its a sham, a way of feeding the pockets of the wealthy by encouraging the desperate masses to be generous and open their wallets and spend more and more of the money they don’t have. The sense of power and control that consumers feel when they use their bank or credit cards lasts about as long as it takes Visa to send them a bill when its all over. And any hopes of getting out of the financial shackles they’ve grown into dissipates into yet another year of interest payments, and any hopes of North America’s average savings rate to rise above 0% vanishes into the next 12 good ol’ days of Christmas.
Look at it this way: at Christmas, do the companies you work for, the same companies that invest millions of dollars every year into TV commercials that convince you to spend your savings on presents, do they show you any generosity by giving you a week off – not even a paid week off – to be with your families? What about their contribution to the Christmas spirit? Most of the people I know had to be back on the 26th. Every year, Christmas becomes less and less an act of giving and more and more a payoff for not seeing your loved ones enough.
The fact is, Christmas has little to do with religion, and it has little to do with giving:
A) It’s neither mentioned in the Bible, nor is it for certain when the three wise guys made their way across the desert to find the baby Jesus. The Christmas tree is just a mishmash of beliefs from China, Egypt, Germany, and the lights are representative of an ancient ritual where victims were burned alive as an offering to convince a sun god to warm things up a little.
B) Santa Claus, the old Santa Claus, not the contemporary Santa Claus invented by Coca-Cola, but the original one known as Saint Nicholas, was a simple Bishop living in Turkey who once a year – NOT DECEMBER 25th – would stuff candies and trinkets into the little shoes of children. He did this because he, and the children were poor. Then, it was a humble act of giving. Now, in today’s North America, it’s not about giving, it’s about spending. It was an idea bread from poverty, and was never meant to be a novelty of luxury.
C) The original idea of Christmas has about as little to do with a developed country like ours, as Buddhism – another idea bread from poverty – has to do with BMW driving yuppies in Kitsilano, Vancouver.
And so, it is for these reasons, that many others and myself believe that Christmas should be canceled and replaced with daily acts of giving. Instead of one day of spending, people everywhere could enjoy showing their appreciation for one another in the some of the following ways:
1. Don’t tailgate. Its annoying.
2. Start a conversation with a complete stranger, every day.
3. Never send group emails, like this one.
4. Volunteer once a week.
5. Look people in the eye and say “please” and “thank you.”
6. Don’t be a snobby, ignorant bigot.
7. When some one wants to change lanes in front of you, don’t speed up and try to block them.
8. Don’t complain or brag repeatedly about your problems, they are meant to be solved, not worn as a badge.
9. And when you complain about your problems, don’t snub the advice you receive. When people give advice, they are giving a bit of themselves.
10. RAK: Random Acts of Kindness. Do one nice thing for someone, every day.
11. Don’t swear.
In conclusion, we believe that by following some of these examples everyday, instead sheepishly heeding the corporate call to the cleaners every Christmas, we could make life better for everyone ever day.
Happy Holidays (what holiday?)
Christmas is depressing, makes me think of all the people i lost and will not be able to spend any time with for a long while. I hate getting preasent, cuz i feel like an ass for not buying any for other people. I think christmas should be more about thanks and not about giving preasents. If we all spent the same amout of money on people forced onto the streets we would be saving lives? what would u rather have ? a new big screen tv that you can sit you huge ass infront of for hours, or knowing that you saved a life?
Media is what keeps this holiday alive. We look at the TV and listen to the radio. All of the commercialism is despicable. I am the last post of this christmas season. WELCOME TO the 26TH!!
Gratitude. Today I’m going to think and pray about Steve living at home with his parents at 43. I live at home with my parents (I’m younger than 43, but definitely older than say, a high school graduate) and despite part-time jobs I don’t have much money, but I am very happy because I am grateful to my parents for taking me in so I can be at school. Whenever I get into a big negative thought-bog, I try to come up with the people and circumstances I’m grateful for and it works every single time. So I hope Steve reads this and comes up with something to make himself feel happy. Incidentally, for everybody who suffered from watching people they love drink themselves into a stupor, I understand AL-ANON is a great service. Also, I recommend Melodie Beattie’s “Co-Dependent No More” which can be found at any used book store for a nominal sum!
Government is too big and too important to be left to the politicians.
Underestimation is a two-way street.
I hate Christmas it totally sucks ok!! It is all a joke and the members of the ACU all agree with me! I respect all of you. Please e-mail me at Koga_is_hot@hotmail.com do not be afraid to e-mail. ok? thank you for making this site!
Its just a bunch of fucking capitalist bullshit (I’m Communist – but lets not get into that) and parading through shopping malls looking for overpriced material crap that will be forgotten in the back of closets in a few days.
And spending time with family? I HATE that. Why do I want to be around a bunch of reletives who are overbearingly emotional this time a year and go into cardiac arrest if someone so much breathes wrong? I also don’t want to put up with a bunch of rangy 7 year olds, and listen to them blather on about useless garbage while drinking in moderation and sitting in front of the TV while watching some childish garbage or some retard put a turkey on his head for the 2324563265th time. I DONT want to be with these people! I want to be alone, in my apartment, with a case of beer, some video games and movies about vietnam, wasteland bandits or evil space aliens all day. I don’t want to see no god-awful miracle on 34th street. AND SOMEONE TURN OFF THOSE DAMN CAROLS. THROW THAT SHIT AWAY AND PUT ON SOME SKINNY PUPPY, FUNKER VOGT OR PROJECT PITCHFORK FOR CHRIST SAKES. I’m sick of hearing “Grandma got ran over by a reindeer” every damn year. It’s not funny. Its pure annoying.
And what is with that santa claus person? Lets see…he’s a fat old bearded man who lives in a secluded northern place with a bunch of little elves, likes to sit little kids on his lap, and sneaks into childrens rooms, and wins them over with toys and candy. Can we say “PEDOPHILE”?
I believe there’s a flight to North Korea I need to be getting on
I think it sucks how things have changed for the newer crop of parents on Christmas. My parents lived in the same town as their parents; so, getting together was much easier and there wasn’t all of this pressure to visit because you haven’t seen them for a whole year. Plus my parents’ parents weren’t divorced, which totally complicates everything. So, now that I am married and a parent, I have to visit all these people that are too close to fly to, but too far to drive to. Last year we went and visited all of them and I about lost it. I would like to be able to only visit one place and not feel guilty about not seeing everyone. Then I hate myself for feeling guilty in the first place. I should say to hell with the family and do what I want to do, which is stay home and celebrate with my son and husband. The the guilt begins again and, next thing I know, I’ve pushed myself too hard again and another Christmas is chaulked up to commercial/indocrinated bullshit.
Throughout the old testament, God called celebrations so that His people would not forget His goodness. I choose to remember and celebrate the promises and the most selfless love by celebrating the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. not the swear word, not the exclaimation, not the preempt to an insult.
We will celebrate His love for us and His gentleness this year and all those to come. Let’s not become more irreverant and callous because of the worlds opinions or influences.
If I didn’t keep in mind what j.b.’s post stated, I probably wouldn’t even acknowledge Christmas. For my wife and I, each year is filled with personal struggle and challenge to persevere the many adversities life can throw at you. We keep it together for the most part, trying to live the Christian life being kind, generous and extending love to those who will receive it. I must confess that come late October I become overwhelmed with dread at the prospects of another “Holiday Season” filled with pressure, guilt and intimidation from family members for us to spend Holiday time with them. I come from a fairly large family from the northeast & live in the Southeastern U.S.. As much as I love my family I must also confess that I do not care for the Airs, selfrightousness, and outright arrogance that many of them express towards my wife and I when we are around them. They can be so mean spirited, haughty and callous in their comments. It always seems to be the same thing everytime we go around them. My wife by the way is a “Southern Belle” so to speak. Born and raised in the south where families are endearing, loving and sincere in their affections. No offense to those from the north, but having been raised there myself I cannot deny the differences. (at least from my own experiences). Christmas should be spent at peace with one another, shared with love and in appreciation for what God did for us all through his son Christ Jesus. It should not be a time to backbite others, to be cruel hearted & selfish to others who’s only desire is to share & to be shown love and feel accepted, not tollerated. After all, isn’t that the whole reason God gave his only son for us? So that each and everyone of us who acknowledge him as the Christ could be redeemed and found acceptable by God?
Our answer to the Xmas debacle is to forget presents, visiting or giong to malls: Mexico! Get away from the corporate commercialization, grab your bathing suit and some sunblock and hang out on a beach drinking Coronas. At least the Mexicans celebrate in their own way. One Xmas morning we woke up to find fresh tortillas stuffed with veggies and beans and chicken outside our tent all wrapped up in the prettiest tinfoil package. There was also some candies for the kids. And who was this Santa-like being? none gother than our very poor and kind campground fees collector. Gracias Daniel! you have the true spirit. Might I reccommend Yelapa as a good, cheap place to go. Cheers everyone.
I totally agree that Christmas is nothing more than a giant freaking headache! I hate the spending of money that isn’t there, the idiot people in traffic, the idiot people shopping, the bulls**t of hanging up the lights which never go your way, the higher electric bill after it is all over with, all the rushing around trying to please everyone in creation. The only reason I have anything to do with it is because of my two boys. I bought one of those stupid 8 foot tall inflatable Santa’s and the damn thing won’t even stay up because of the freaking winds! The ropes won’t stay still. Freak it…..I give up. I don’t give a s**t about it. I am so pissed off right now. I unplugged the extension cord, stormed in the house and now my kids are in a bad mood too. Oh well!!!!!!!!!! Screw this BULLS**T HOLIDAY!
Good to see that I’m not alone in believing that X-mas sucks. I truly hate having to buy stuff for people just because it’s X-mas. The focus of the holiday is how much money the retailers are making – just watch the news!
And I agree that there is enormous pressure to follow the masses like a herd of cattle to the stores to rack up the visa. Try not joining in and you’re labelled a Scrooge….too bad…they can say what they want!
I have the money to buy many gifts, but choose to limit my spending. It’s not a matter of not affording it…..it’s just that I choose not to spend like hell.
happy holidays!
well i think that who rote that is a bastard. alright. hey thats what christmas is, ok lines people buying stuff, stress lines, ect. i love this site, ive only been on for 5 mins and im on the edge of my seat, its people like you guys, who are trying to enforce being political corect.
ok all u people who are agisnt it, and i only read of few(so sory to the people that this doesnt apply to) grow up, this is what christmas is, get used to it, u dont have to buy people stuff, if u dont, then dont, dont be posers. ok if u dont like it then foret about it, live up to urself, dont hide behind the b.s
ride_2day,
uh…thank you…??
“and the lights are representative of an ancient ritual where victims were burned alive as an offering to convince a sun god to warm things up a little.”
that’s one possibility… i think it may actually depend on where missionaries/priests were trying to spread the holiday. in the case of europe, i’m quite sure it was a co-optation of Yule, aka the Winter Solstice. this is the shortest day of the year, when the rebirth of the god/goddess and coming return of daylight was celebrated in a festival of lights. but it makes sense that missionaries would tailor their story to co-opt other rituals in whatever country they were helping colonize at the time. incidentally, halloween also dovetailed nicely with ancient festivals from various cultures, like samhain or the day of the dead.
i agree giftmas sucks. if you really want to spread the good spirit, you might, if possible, go beyond being nice to other drivers, and actually refrain from driving. less gridlock, less pretty snow being turned to nasty slush, and less consumption of oil which poor people all over the world are being killed for. a gift at least as substantial as donating to world vision.
http://unquote.pitas.com/
Try this – being a non-believer and sick of all the hypocrisy at this time of year, last year I bought everyone scholarly books on Jesus – who he really may have been, life 2,000 years ago, archaeology of the Levant, etc. You should have seen how fake-happy everyone tried to be when they opened their gifts and they were all books on Christ – totally hillarious. I figure, if you are going to have me participate in a holiday in which I do not believe, at least you should know something about the meaning of your own holiday!!
Christmas is a pain in the ass no doubt about it and reading the comments from all you guys has cheered me up no end its a short life so make the most of the good times while you can.
If, as some people claim, Christmas is the only holiday holding the American family together then you might as well go upstairs, dust off that shiny 12 gauge, put it right under your chin and wish for peace on Earth.
Because you know what? Christmas is a joke and if you’ve got your hopes pinned on such a lame, shallow holiday like this then you’re already dead. Just pull the trigger and kill yourself because YOU ARE ALREADY DEAD.
Gaudy, plastic christmas lights during an impending energy crisis. Yeah, that’s great. We killed 15,000 Iraqi civillians so that we could secure the oil fields and now you are going to turn night into day with all these goddamn christmas lights? F*** YOU! Hypocrites!
Yeah sure, let’s chop down a tree in the name of Jesus. Why can’t you silly a$$holes get a POTTED tree, decorate it, and then plant the thing in the spring? Is that too much to ask from you lazy Americans? IS IT? Or a tree that grows indoors all year round. That would be so much more special then seeing dozens and dozens and DOZENS of dead evergreens scattered all around the city, all along the side of roads, in dumpsters, in ditches, in parking lots. Tinsel still hanging off it like a rape victim laying face down, bound with electrical tape, underwear inside out. Someone used it, and now it’s trash. Disposable. It makes me so f***ing angry! YAY JESUS, in your name we have slaughtered this fell beast (pig), and roasted this fowl offering (turkey), and in your name we shall KILL A TREE! AMEN!
F*** all that. You want to know where the REAL trash is? It’s in Wal-Mart. Target. Best Buy. Sears. The Gap. Cheap crap made by little kids in third world countries for $0.05 an hour that costs < $1 so they can turn around and sell it to you for a 18,000% markup.
Celebrate the birth of Jesus by giving each other junk made by slave children? I don’t get it. I just don’t get it.
This is absolutely the WORST time of the year. Long lines, horrendous traffic, irritable a$$holes from wall to wall stacked three deep. What about us poor bastards who just need to go out and get the ESSENTIALS!? I don’t want to wade through a sea of plastic zombies that stink of overpriced perfumes and nasty deoderants, searching for the next “perfect” gift while I’m out trying to get my goddamned cat food! It’s ridiculous. I warn you in advance… if you push your cart loaded with junk in front of me, cut me off in the parking lot, tailgate me through the mall, or otherwise intefere with my little life… I’m going to knock you down, make you eat dirt, and then beat the goddamned piss out of you with a Mag-Lite!! Merry F***KING CHRISTMAS! Jesus! Where’s the Tylenol?
I don’t buy gifts for ANYBODY at Christmas! I’m not going to be a part of this madness. I am not a part of this society! I won’t surrender my life for this goddamned BULLS***!!!
Have yourself a merry little Christmas. If Jesus stops by my house I’ll have a cup ‘o tea and big old bomber joint waiting for Him. We’ll smoke the chronic, listen to Grateful Dead, and talk about love and peace and chicken grease until we’re good and ripped. Then we’ll loaded up on booze, fill the Dairsy air rifle with BB’s and shoot at the neighbors christmas lights while singing “Rudolph The Red Nosed Coke Addict”.
Oh. And by the way, Happy New year.
People still really like Christmas? I think people are just CONVINCED they still like Christmas by media (or the MAN) or whoever/whatever you want to call it. I HATE being given Grinches, and asked when I’m wearing my Grinch sweatshirt, and accidentally wearing red and having people say “HA! You wore red! Thought you were a Grinch!!” .. I don’t advertise my loathing of Christmas, I just want it to end. I want the warm weather, traffic, and money I had in July. Oh. I mean August. I can’t believe those jerks tried to put ANOTHER Christmas in our already short year. I have a Buddhist friend from Vietnam who is being commercially forced to celebrate Christmas because his two kids are in the public school system. “Daddy! We want presents!” Hooray for Capitalism. It has spawned nothing but chaos. What was once cherished by many is now perpetuating itself as a greed-centered holiday. Rather than the snowy vision of sugarplums, it’s a cold, dark, and lonely place that people escape from.
I dunno, christmas sucks because of all the marketing and the whole jesus bull**** making him appear superior than everyone else.
I came up with a holiday that celebrates you and has the holiday sharing feeling. Everyone makes a Mark in life, so why not celebrate something more meaningful to you, Markmas is a holiday that runs from the 18th of December to the 25th of December. There are seven days of gifts, and seven days of celebration with good food.
Mark mass used to be a holiday celebrating myself, but then I decided to change the meaning so everyone can celebrate himself or herself. So, if you would please spread the Mark mass spirit and celebrate Mark mass for yourself because it isn?t about Christ. Mark mass is a celebration of oneself, not one entity (Jesus Christ) Mark represents a mark we leave in life even if nobody but ourselves can acknowledge what we’ve done. The minority is just as significant as the majority of people so celebrating Mark mass may not be a popular tradition but it’s meaningful. Stop celebrating something that isn?t real and focus on a true holiday, and feel proud of yourself.
Mark mass has existed since 2001 and will continue to exist forever, you just need to keep the spirit alive, and spread a real holiday for everyone to enjoy. If you celebrate Mark mass, there is more meaning in that then a Billion people celebrating Christmas because you represent something real, and significant. Do the best you can in life and you will be rewarded, maybe not by others but by yourself. Self-gratitude comes with sticking up for yourself, and one way to stand is by discovering Mark mass.
When was the last time you saw a child sitting in front of a christmas tree, with no presents, no stocking, no decorations, no big dinner and proudly exclaim: “I am so happy that today, Jesus our Lord and Savior, was born in Bethlehem”?.
Face it, we’ve been teaching our children that getting things makes a person happy. Oh yay look, I opened this box and got something I wanted. Now I am happy. Now I am complete. I have happiness and excitement bubbling up inside because I now “own” something that I “wanted”.
It’s f***ing despicable, people. These ungrateful little yuppy larvae grow up to be the same people that corporate attorneys and bankers and financial consultants. And then they rape us out of our money because they were never taught when to stop “wanting” things.
Here’s a homework assignment. Get out your yellow pages. Find local credit card company buildings. Savings and Loan corporate headquarters. Federal Reserve banks. Insurance underwriters. Anything that makes astounding amounts of wealth while actually producing nothing of value in return.
Use your imaginations.
If we erase the debt record, we ALL GO BACK TO ZERO. Then we will be free from financial and pyschological slavery.
And then, MAYBE, Christmas will mean something again.
“It’s only after we’ve lost *everything* that we are free to do *anything*.”
–Tyler Durden, Fight Club
Okay, the Fight Club quote was so not a surprise. Whatever Christmas means, it does not mean blowing things up. After we’ve lost everything, it will be a maybe slow, maybe fast slide into a feudalist nightmare.
Nightmare for you maybe, pork chop.
Jesus was a dark skinned, Mid-Eastern terrorist with plans of overthrowing the Roman government. If he were alive today talking the same way he did back then he’d be in Guantanemo Bay with the Taliban and al-qaeda. Sandals, beard, rebellion and all.
Feudalism can’t possibly be much of a step down from where we are today.
bah humbug
Thanks for all you folks out there that gave me a laugh. It’s nice to know there are views out there like mine. I have always hated X-mas. How can someone who doesn’t have two nickles to rub together buy presents for five kids. This is my vow…next year I am going to invite friends and family over to get away from all the craziness of X-mas morning, however if anyone, I mean anyone, brings a gift with them I am going to banish them from my house permentantly. You wanna bring food, that’s cool. NO GIFTS!!! NO LIGHTS!!! NO FRIK’N STANTAS IN THE YARDS. Damn they’re ugly.
Hello, Jack’s Vassal? You are, like, so revisionist. Jesus did not come to overthrow Roman domination but to overcome evil with an act of redemptive suffering. Make a note of that saying about carrying the backpack of an occupation soldier two miles instead of one. And if you think we’re not far from feudal barbarism, you have not read Stephen King’s book about the plague, _The Stand_. Now that is scarier than even the liquor store on Christmas Eve. Anarchists, anarchists! No sense of history, no lessons learned from mob rule in shopping malls!
test
People! Chill out. This doesn’t need to turn into a religious war, nor does it need to turn into a “Fight Club Fanatics Convention.”
You know I’d like Jesus’ opinion on Christmas because if he could see the way dumb soccer moms get into the holiday spirit by being rude to everyone in their path to get little jimmy his Wing Commander doll he’d probably take one of his sandals and throw it at one of them while they get into their SUV’s.
Fact of the matter is no matter what Jesus came to this earth for, and no matter how convincing Brad Pitt’s portrayal of Tyler Durden was, the concept of Christmas as we know it today is just as commercial and synthetic as the latest flavour of Coffee from Starbucks. Commercialism has diminished any concept of a spiritual or ritualistic event.
I used to hate christmas, but now its my favorite time of the year!!! Since losing my job to china, (not their fault)I have taken up preying on the wealthy as my new career!!!(and boy is business good!)The mall parking lot is like a treasure hunt on the high sea`s(argghh matey!)I`ll watch them stuff their shopping bags in the back hatch of the land yacht and head back in for more. And when they turn to press the remote entry lock, I`ll capture their code with my infrared receiver/frequency counter, YEEHAA! shiver me timbers!! Or maybe I could read the VIN # through the windshield and use the internet to find the address and kick in the door with my beard lit on fire, after the`ve had an exausting day of gratuitose spending! Ahh, life is once again my oyster.Well,I must go now. I have to see if my client down at the Yacht Club, Marie Antoinette, needs some cakes baked! Avast Yee! Captain Teach
Butt out, Valentino Assenza. Debating the motives of Jesus of Nazareth is not religious war, it’d dialectical exegesis (or eisgesis in the Vassal’s case). That’s right, baby, dialectical exegesis. If it’s too hot fer ya, get out of the kitchen.
Mingy,
Too hot? No.
Too ridiculous maybe.
I know that there are stresses in people’s lives and we take the brunt of what we can when we can. However if I ever find myself in a position where I place in conjunction the words “dialectical exegesis,” I have to remind myself that there is a world outside my door and life essentially does go on.
Smell the roses while you can, grab the reigns and hold on tight.
Sleep well.
Try hating Christmas and then having the misfortune of it also being your birthday. Every lousy time I have to show my ID to somebody, no matter what time of year, I have to hear the cretin squeal, “OOOHH!!! YOU’RE A CHRISTMAS BABY!!!!!!!!!” This is usually accompanied by the person asking me if I get “ripped off” when it comes to presents. I am sickened by this forced conversation that I endure 823,348 times a year. I actually stopped going to a grocery store because the moron at the counter would ask me this every time I bought liquor, which was at least once a week. Good lord, you simpering twit, how can you not remember me by now and the fact that I’ve answered this question of yours 72,000 times this month alone?? I need to just start telling people I’m Jewish or something. I will say that my family actually has done a great job my whole life in making my birthday seem separate and special. But I ultimately don’t know what having a regular birthday is like, which is fine by me, because I get so embarrassed when I am given presents that I wish everyone would just stop. Oh – how could I forget – the other conversation I have to have EVERY SINGLE TIME someone learns my birthdate is, “OOOHHHH!! ARE YOU NAMED CHRIS BECAUSE YOU WERE BORN ON CHRISTMAS???” No, actually I was not.
People, let me tell you something: YOU ARE NOT THE FIRST PERSON TO ASK ME THESE !#@&^!%@&#^ QUESTIONS!!!!!! CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW *@!^%!&^#@ ANNOYING IT IS TO HAVE TO HEAR THEM NINETY MILLION TIMES A YEAR????????
GOD, do I hate Christmas!
Need I remind you all that Santa is Satan misspelled?
Maybe that’s why Xmas is so abhorrant to so many of us–it’s nearly the antithesis of what Jesus was (supposedly) all about. It’s not about true giving (of one’s self) it’s about buying our loved ones off with material crap, of trying to assuage our own guilt for being self-centered, avaricious jerks the rest of the year. Meanwhile we pray for our troops as they blow apart homeless, rag-wearing children (again!!!) in their own homeland, death and destruction in the name of Jesus, someone who these very religious people believe is a prophet of their own god. Yes, our self-righteous leaders tell us, we want them to have all the material garbage we can stuff down their throats, to turn them into consumers to be enslaved and consumed by the Jesus-lovers, put to work making Nikes or cellphones for fifteen cents an hour. After all, they’re sitting atop our oil. Ahh freedom.
Back home Xmas is a form of class warefare, he who spends the most is the most noble, most patriotic. He who has the biggest nuclear family receives the most love. Those who cannot afford gifts(Visa cards aside) or are disfunctional victims of our disfunctional culture or must spend Xmas alone are marginalized, made to realize that they are indeed lower class, out-caste even. But those are the people who Jesus really loved, not the merchants and the money changers. Camels would sooner pass through the eye of a needle.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not Christian or Xtian. I never bought into that Judeo-Christian-Moslem religion or any of its cults. I think this whole holiday is a crock too, a mishmash of barbarian, goyam, semitic mythological ritual. I just had to analyze what it is about this season that’s so depressing. I make it through Ramadan OK and Hanukkah doesn’t seem to bother me much. Easter is kind of fun cause bunnies are fuzzy and gentle (and Easter is really about the orgy of Spring) but there is too much candy.
So it has to be the hypocracy of this season of giving: give because it’s expected even though you’re a greedy pig in your everyday life, wallow in materialism even though you know your actions at home kill and enslave those already less fortunate around the world, less fortunate because of our wanton destruction of their cultures and our collective, gluttonous pillaging of their resources. Waste a tree, burn more lights, be a part of turkey or swine-snuffing, pig-out on that heart-clogging food. Warm the globe just a tad more. All in the name of Jesus, prince of love and peace.
Don’t participate. Stop cooperating. I don’t condone breaking into cars and stealing presents only because it changes nothing and brings us one step closer to a police state. More junk just gets manufactured and compounds the problem. Give some money to a bum. Go down to a homeless shelter on Xmas day and man the soup line. Take a load of tomorrow’s landfill down to Salvation Army for one last go-round before it’s tossed. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and start showing compassion for the poor misguided Jesus lip-servers who power the Xmas machine, for they know not what they do. Educate and don’t participate. Emulate Jesus, don’t worship him. Get over this b.s. holy-day. Business-as-usual is just around the corner. Whew, great catharsis; I feel better.
Mingy,
“Jesus did not come to overthrow Roman domination but to overcome evil with an act of redemptive suffering.”
Perhaps, but nonethless, Jesus’ beliefs, teachings, and examples have lead to more pain and suffering than any single ethos in the history of man. I presume the REAL son of God wouldn’t advertise a message that turned so violent and had become so perversely misconstrued. He is after all, infallible, right? How do you explain the failed mission? Basic limited ability of mankind to understand and follow this message? Maybe… but again, I imagine the REAL Son of God with powers unlimited should have been omnipotent enough to compensate for the inevitable human bias. Jesus was just a guy, like Dave Koresh and Rev. Jim Jones. They’ve all failed to bring peace into the world because they were just people, not deities, as they claimed. If anything I’d be rather inclined to follow Judeaism. The Messiah has never come to Earth, yet.
PS: I have read SK’s The Stand. Read it about a dozen times cover to cover, actually. To all the apologists for the excessive moral decay present in America, to them I remind that it was Tacitus who coined the phrase, “a bad peace is even worse than war”.
Anyway, all of this doesn’t seem to be a very good excuse for a holiday. I saw a christmas card the other day for some little kid. Inside was a check for $10. Big fat Santa on the cover, and a little flap for bills on the inside. No mention of salvation or Jesus in any form. That’s the culture decay I’m talking about. Hype it up all you care to, but Christmas is a scam.
I’d rather celebrate Earth Day with a mug of the gaffer’s home brew and a sack full of Old Toby’s finest.
Thank you that is all.
BUDDY CHRIST! Doesn’t it just pop?
The irony of Jack’s Agnosticism referencing the sincerely Catholic J.R.R. Tolkien brings a warm glow to my winter-frozen face. However, I am happy to discern that Jack is a serious reader, if only of the fantasy genre. How I wish Jack would turn his attention to the many enjoyable works of Christian apologetics out there. (For all you people out there scared of words, apologetics does not mean an apology, although incidentally, John Paul II has over the past decade apologized for many of the really horrible things done in the name of Christ.)Meanwhile, has Jack read C.S. Lewis’ “Out of the Silent Planet”and other fantasy works? And, if Jack really is into the classics of sci fi, he should check out G. K. Chesterton, maybe “The Napoleon of Notting Hill”. Anyway, to get back to apologetics, Jesus did not tell his followers to do those things they have done in his name. At the same time,God has decided not to mess with free will. Humans are free to do good or to do evil, although they are forbidden to do evil. Humans are, in fact, asked to bring about God’s will on earth through their own acts of unselfish love. To mangle a quote by G.K. Chesterton, the problem with Christianity is not that it’s false, but that no one’s tried it yet. (Personally, I think this is a bit of an exaggeration as some-like Francis of Assisi and Archbishop Romero of El Salvador-have indeed given it a shot.)
I see Jack also references Kevin Smith, who is, despite the holy horror of many over “Dogma”, a church-going Catholic. Any ideas on that, Jack m’boy? I send you greetings and a tin of old Toby.
I sense an evangelist in our midst.
Precisely what I (Palahniuk) is talking about. Deliver me from perfect skin and perfect teeth. Deliver me from the far right “intellectual elite” who amuse themselves by pointing out (or attempting to anyway) the shortcomings of others. Nothing else so exhilarating, isn’t it? Cut me down like a good Crusader, m’boy.
I meant apologist in the m-w term, one who speaks or writes in defense of something, in this example the moral decreptitude of modern day society, based on some sort of karmic/spiritual “emminent domain” that was passed down by the latently homosexual King James and his merry band of revisionists. Still sucking the teet of some silly notion that God loves you, but then gave you instincts and set the rules in opposition, creating this impossible catch-22 of guilt and servitude. All because this is somehow part of his Master Plan of which we are incapable of understanding. Ugh.
Furthermore, I meant that it’s ludicrious to defend this commercial bullocks known as Christmas by using the failed dogma of Christianity as a shield. Nobody has ever tried Christianity? I think it’s that over the last two millenia it’s been tried every which way but loose and it STILL stinks! Time for change.
You had since the birth of Christ to fix things but the church is just another political entity. Just another money making, power weilding machine with ghosts in the belfry (and dirty little pedophilic secrets in the confessional booths). Still defending the sinking of this ship, the USS Mankind.
But why ask the people who created the problem to FIX the problem? Why did you point out that Smith is a Catholic? Do you think I care?
It’s all right there… emergency water landing, 600 mph, blank faces… calm as Hindu cows. It’s all going down and you’re still polishing the brass on the crucifix.
Jack/Palahniuk, shortly to be googled, you disappoint me strangely. Here I thought we were having a fine sparring match and you hit below the belt. Right wing! Elite! Perfect teeth! Me! I weep into my copy of “The Long Loneliness”. There are left wing Christians, you know. I’d list names, but I’m scared of being accused of intellectualism again. You can spell, you obviously read, you own a cat—beware, someone might accuse you of being an intellectual elite, too. Where’s that nice calming Valentino Assenza fellow? I very kindly didn’t mention ahem Stalin ahem in my last email and here you are talking about Crusaders. Hasn’t been a Crusade in centuries.
You should care about the Catholicism of Kevin Smith because you reference a line from “Dogma” without providing the context. Context, context. Do you want the tin of pipeweed for a peaceful smoke or not?
Ha ha. Whales weep not!
Excuse me, my transgressions, Father. I find that being genteel chafes me terribly, you see. He who makes himself a beast removes the pain of being a man. I can only offer a barrell full of elven grog to wash away the New Year, and hearty yo ho ho to your oh-so charming banter.
However, I can clearly quote a line from Kevin Smith the filmaker, without shedding a fig leaf for his personal belief system. The two are mutually exclusive, don’t you see, matey?
Perhaps the intrusive nature of Catholicism binds me better nature, and hence I find myself without the little bit of trust that precludes the parley ye so desperatly seek.
Farewell and adieu to you
fair Spanish ladies
Farewell and adieu to you
ladies of Spain
For we received orders for
to sail back to Boston
And soon never more will
we see you again
Mingy,
I thank you for acknowledging my peace keeping ability in the discussion forum. On a serious note I would like to say Mingy, that I have read your comments on here, and must say you make some good points. I agree fully that there are leftist people of faith.
Dear Valentino Assenza, thank you for that. But even more stinging than I Am Jack’s Nihilism Out for a Surf’s accusation that I am right wing and have perfect teeth is the textual evidence that he thought I am male. What an assumption. Are nihilists male chauvanist pigs, I wonder. I also wonder if there are many female nihilists. You’d think Goth girls might be, but just see them when there’s a sale on at Closet of the Damned,etc. They rival Anne of Green Gables for joy and hope.
Meanwhile, I googled Palahniuk and it turns out a man of that surname actually wrote Fight Club. So either we have hobnobbed with a Writer or with a Deutero-Writer. You have to watch it with those Deutero people. Quite a lot of the letters attributed to St. Paul were the work of much crankier Paul followers who just used Paul’s name. The real Palahniuk gave a very nice interview to “The Christian Century” in quite a different style from our pal’s screed. At any rate I hope he/they both have a happy Christmas and don’t blow up anything more expensive than a balloon.
dear everybody,
Christmas…….what can i say about christmas??? well, theres alot of things i want to say, but i just really cant. However i will tell you this, CHRISTAMS SUCKS!!!!!!! i havent had ONE christmas that was good. my family, they think christmas is a day where everybody gets together and eat, and open presents. but, it never turns out that way, my mom always burns the turkey, and then my grandpa yells at her for it, then my uncle starts yelling at my grandpa becauyse hes yelling at my mom, then my mom starts yelling at my stepdad, because hes yelling at the TV becuase his football team aint wining, so, he yells at me because………….well, he has no reason to yell at me, but he does anyway. this happens every year, no matter what, it always happens.
when i finnaly got sick of doing that every christamas, i moved out, when i was 16, i got imansapated, and i moved in with a couple of roommates. so, here iam, writing this on christmas eve, becuase i cant stand my roommates anymore, and trying to find some other people who hate chrstmas as much as i do. everybody treats christmas like its nothing, like its only for the gifts. the one thing i hate the most about christamas is those commercials where you see a family sitting down together at the table and having a nice dinner……………..but its never like that, i dont know one family that gets along. so, thinking about those commercials, i came up with my own………the truthfull commercial, and here it is
the setting: the dinner table…
who: my family….except my stepdad, because hes in the living room watching football.
mom: MIKEEEE(stepdad) get your a** in here, its dinner
mike: i dont need to be in there to eat dinner, just bring me a plate of food, and another beer.
grandpa: why the he!! do you put up with that a**hole?
mom: its none of your buissness
auntie: doug,(cousin) dont put so much food in your mouth at once, its not going to run off (doug rolls his eyes, and picks up a piece of turkey, and throws it at me)
me: hey, you little f**k, im going to kickyour a**
auntie: dont talk to my angel like that
mom: he threw a piece of turkey, MY turkey, the one I cooked, im going to kick his little a**. (right then everybody starts fighting, and then a little box pops up and wishis everybody a marry christams)
well, what do you think? i think i nailed it!!
i also made one up about my roommates, but that a little to graphic sense you dont want any curseing.
but, back to my point, christmas is nothing but a bunch of crock. and from this day on, iam becoming a scrooge! i will still give gifts to the ones important to me, and this year there is only one person that will make me happy, thats my girlfriend. and like rocco said, give a gift everyday, it could be some money, it also could be a gift of kindness, or just a simple smile.
MERRY FRIDAY TO EVERYBODY (everyday from now on, is going to be a merry day)
Christmas is the most horrible time of the year. It’s freezing, people are rude, full of road-rage, selfish and greedy. The sad part is that these people think this behavior is acceptable, because they are spending money and that makes them better than the “commoners” like myself who have never been fortunate (or stupid) enough to go on shopping sprees. I have a friend that got married recently. She and her husband both filed bankruptcy just a few months ago, but yet she bought her kids everything they asked for (against for husband’s will, he is the one that works for money- to pay the bills and other debts). On top of that, they think Santa brought them gifts because they are such unusually good and special kids. She is raising them to be just as vain and compulsive as she is. Americans are becoming more and more wasteful while turning a blind eye to the people of the world suffering due to circumstances beyond their control, many of which the US is contributing to. Don’t talk about that in front of the x-mas lovers. They will call you a scrooge (and shoot you the finger for slowing them down as they drive by speeding) and say it’s not their problem that some kids don’t have anything, not even food to eat this holiday season. They actually use that as a reason to go out and buy, buy, buy! They call it “celebrating how fortunate we are” and that makes it okay to ignore all the have-nots. There is no way I can be a part of this mass stupidity that annually takes control of the brainwashed. I’m glad it’s almost over this year. People don’t even want to hear about the true meaning of Christmas; that makes them feel guilty about what they are doing because they know it’s stupid and that they’ve fallen victim once again to marketing.
Here’s why I hate Christmas – I work in the entertainment industry – so of course we work over 2 weeks straight with no day off, and then, today, Christmas Day, my only day off, there’s no time to travel to get to my family, everything’s closed, I can’t even go out and get a cup of coffee!! OK, so I chose this profession and knew what I was getting into, but that still doesn’t stop me from saying that Christmas SUCKS!!
Thank God for Chinese food.
Wow! Isn’t that how “Holiday Inn” starts?
s
I absolutely HATE christmas. I am an atheist so it’s all a load of crap to me. Firstly, I have to endure all this crap at my workplace. All the girls wear Christmas decorations in their hair and on their ears. They decorate the office with all this crap and I am forced to say Merry Christmas all day to customers. Secondly,
I am married to a Christian and have a child who is now fourteen – so for fourteen years I have had to have a stupid Christmas tree in my house and do all the stupid things associated with Christmas. Thirdly, I have to put up with the stupid shopping centres full of crap and stupid people singing stupid christmas carols.
Yvonne, Sydney (Australia)
Christmas has been ruined for me by working in music retail the last few years. The job itself is perfectly fine all year until late november-into december. People are sometimes in the most volatile moods and I wish they could understand that we have to be really patient and helpful to them so we’re stressed ourselves (this time of year). If I didn’t work in retail it would still be an annoyance but a lot of my irks with christmas are more obvious being in that type of environment. -ross
What can I say about Christmas that hasn’t already been said or doesn’t boil down to “Christmas Sucks”? It’s 2005 and I last posted in 2003, but the same sentiment remains.
This year, Christmas is coming (it’s November) and I haven’t a clue how we’re going to afford anything. We’re already up to our eyeballs in debt and I’ll be lucky if I can afford even a mediocre gift for my wife. I don’t care about the commercial aspect of Christmas or the endless, relentless marketing (after all, I don’t watch much TV and radio has become so worthless that I listen to CDs now instead). I love my wife and just want to do something that makes her happy. In 2003, I actually had more money than I have now, thanks to the pinhead we have leading our country.
I go down to the ocean, but it just depresses me. I think about the Connecticut-sized masses of ice breaking free from the Antarctic ice shelf and wonder if we’re all going to be here in 20 years. I look at Christmas trees and think about the thousands of acres that are lost every year because we need napkins, toilet paper and advertising flyers included inside newspapers we read once and throw away.
Walking through the town and looking at the lights makes me remember my Dad and brother. My dad died two years ago from a stroke and my brother from cancer. I remember them, think that I’m 47 years old and wonder how long I have left.
And, as in 2003, I hear the endless, implacable, unstoppable sound of Christmas carols. It would be different if I believed that the people playing actually believed in the words, but they’re just so much filler between commercials now. The Three Kings are bringing gifts from Wal-Mart and Jesus belongs to the Republican Party.
YOU’RE RIGHT, CHRISTMAS WAS MEANT TO BRING HOPE TO THE LESS FORTUNATE.
AND RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS, A+.
IF WE DON’T BUY THE CRAP THE CORPORATIONS ADVERTISE EVERY HOLIDAY WE’LL HAVE MORE MONEY TO USE FOR OURSELVES AND OTHERS, NOT A NEW LEXUS OR DIAMOND RING FOR THOSE SELFISH WOMEN OUT THERE, MAKE SURE YOU SHARE 10% WITH THE POOR.
THANKS.
Christmas is what you make it. It is a very stressful time of the year for many people, myself included, because we allow it to take over. Just love one another and hang on tight-it will be over soon. God Bless.