christmas sucks
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?)
Wednesday, 1. October 2003 9:32
This is just wonderful!
Could you make this Anti-Christmas world-wide? I’ve been against Christmas for years. Killing animals, cutting down trees and over-consuming aren’t just the ideas I have of a pleasant party.
Transmission from Finland ends now.
Wednesday, 8. October 2003 18:28
Finland? Isn’t that where that extreme ecologist lives, the one who thinks the world would be better off if the human race killed itself? He mentioned something about not committing suicide himself because it would be pointless…..
What a happy attitude! Merry Christmas to all of you, even if you hate the joy of human festivals.
Wednesday, 8. October 2003 23:57
Using one person to snub a nation: nice tactic.
I don’t hate all human festivals, I dislike one, especially one that is now run by the powers that be, that brainwash people into making hollow guestures of love with their Visa Cards.
Is it just coincidence that the most advertized and promoted Holiday Event of the year in the Western Hemisphere is the one which people go out and buy gifts from the same companies that promote it? HMMMM….
Here ya go Grandma, see you in another year!
The cost of a human soul? Priceless!
Wednesday, 5. November 2003 16:10
I HAVE HATED CHRISMAS ALL MMY LIFE. THE SPENDING,
THE BULL SHIT TREES, MMMMMAYBE IT STARTED OUT TO BE SOMETHING GOOD BUT IT HAS CHANGED. I HAD A BUDDY OF MINE PASS AWAY A FEW YEARS AGO. HIS WIFE TOLD HIM IT WAS HIS FUCKING JOB TO MAKE SURE SHE WAS HAPPY. FOR CHRISTMAS SHE TOLD HIM THAT
A $3,000 LIMIT FOR HER AND AQ $300.00 LIMIT FOR HIM. HE GOT EXTRA WORK AND SAVEED AND SOLD WHAT HE COULD. THEN THE BITCH MADE A LITWS OF HER WANTS. IF HE DIDNT COME THROUGH THERE WAS HELL TO PAY. HE DIED OF A STROKE IN NOVEMBER. SHE HAD THE GALL TO HAVE ME HELP HER FIND HIS STASH.
WHAT A BITCH. I TOLD HER TO SUCK ASS
Saturday, 8. November 2003 15:16
All Christmas does for me is add more stress in my life followed by guilt.
Sunday, 16. November 2003 11:51
Uh Darrel,
A little tip. People generally laughed AT Beavis and Butthead for saying thngs like “suck ass,” not WITH them.
Wednesday, 19. November 2003 17:45
The idea of a midwinter celebration cuts across most known cultures. When it’s dark and cold and the ground is frozen, you feast communally.
Agreed, screw Christmas and what it’s become, but that’s no reason not to celebrate your own way.
Monday, 24. November 2003 19:55
I hate Christmas, it is so overrated!! The times when I did like Christmas it sucked, every year around Christmas something would happen in our family and we could have a Christmas. Christmas 2002 sucked and I know Christmas 2003 will too. I especially hate the family gift exchanging parties to, I hate seeing everyone being noticed and handed huge presents and all I get is 3 small chocolate NASCAR vehicles. I am for real… I am not lying, plus I dont even like NASCAR. Anyways, I am not looking forward to this Christmas. Santa can kiss my A$$!
Thursday, 27. November 2003 20:21
Christmas really is a stressful time of year for most people generally. Feeling forced to participate in festivities that do not appeal to you as well as forking over hard to come by cash, just so that you are not made to feel guilt. And believe me, the guilt does get heaped upon you if you forget. There is no joy in the holiday except for the ones who can afford it. For the rest, it is an agonizing feat of futility.
Thursday, 4. December 2003 10:47
Christmas… SUCKS. K Bye.
Monday, 8. December 2003 9:36
Christmas isn’t all that bad comeon, sure, it takes a little effort, but when have any of you ever got together with your whole family and not had to make a little effort? Isn’t it worth it? to see the people who know you better than you know yourself? yeah sure the corporate marketing wheels are in full swing and the billboards are extra busy but fuck it. It’s christmas, and if your lucky enough to have a family to visit and a meal to eat stop your whining and enjoy the company and ignore the marketing….. Happy christams.
Tuesday, 9. December 2003 0:27
I have never been able to understand my family’s attitude toward x-mas. To this day they insist that it’s this great, happy time of year, and it NEVER HAS BEEN. Every year my sister bitches that her husband doesn’t “get it” and can’t get behind the holiday, or my mother whines that her kids just don’t seem to understand THE SPIRIT anymore, and as far back as I can remember, x-mas has ALWAYS sucked at our house.
These people have been complaining about x-mas since as far back as I can remember, and they STILL say that it WOULD be great if so-and-so would only do this, or if only they had more money, or if people weren’t so damned whatever and blah blah blah.
It’s just unbelievable how many people buy into the advertised ideal of what America and Americans SHOULD be like, even after years and years of sound, solid PROOF that it’s always been a lie.
I swear, people in this country are still not happy unless their family is the Cleavers and their girlfriend is…I dunno, Jennifer Lopez or something, or their boyfriend is Brad Pitt.
I seem to have digressed, but I really haven’t. X-mas is just the most ridiculously obvious example of this mentality, and I see it in otherwise perfectly intelligent people (making me wonder just how intelligent they really are.
Nice to have found this site. Very few people in my circle of aquaintences really understand how I can hate x-mas quite as much as I do and still be a reasonably happy, well-adjusted person. Any other time of the year, I’m the nicest guy. Seriously. Just ask my wife (who is Chinese and doesn’t really even KNOW about x-mas, thank you very much!)
Tuesday, 9. December 2003 11:37
Christmas sucks!!! All this bullcrap starts in the middle of October. They can’t even wait for Halloween & Thanskgiving to be over for crying out loud. And yes, the over-commercialism & the “buy-buy-buy” attitude really makes Christmas unenjoyable. What was 1st posted was very wise indeed. That we should be nice & giving 365 days a year, not just one stupid day. I don’t mind buying gifts for friends & family, but now, it’s like they have everything they could possibly need & want…what else is left? They don’t need anything else!! Why tell us that we need to get this & that…so that the corporations can make a huge earning? Plus, this overall image of how everyone is supposed to be happy & carefree….well, try telling that to the people in Iraq & Afghanistan. Not to mention even in our own country, there’s plenty of misery to go around & we’re supposed to be something that most of the time, we are not? Such hypocracy. So, yes, while I will buy some gifts for my family & friends (plus the added workout from running all over the friggin malls), I must totally agree in that Christmas sucks!!
Tuesday, 9. December 2003 17:25
All this perscribed bullshit about a festival of hypocrisy that totally disastablishes the reasons as to why the day was also established in the first place. I hate having to feel oblieged to buy people material possesions, just so they feel loved. What? My conscience isn’t enough? So this new CD or video game convinces you, does it? Motherfuckers. I know I’m only reiterating what Rocco said, but that’s because he took the words right out of my mouth. Good job man.
Thursday, 11. December 2003 0:54
I loath this time of the year because:
1. My husband’s immediate family alone is 25 strong. With, of course, a bunch of kids all who get a whopping fifty bucks a piece. 5 of them drive better cars than we do and since we are living with his parents, they probably live in better conditions. I mean really — when does it stop — these kids are in their 20’s! Then of course, the adults all need gifts — most of them have four car garages all filled with junk — what could they possibly need?
2. There is not one but two parties. And this is the dullest bunch — it’s almost like they got the idea of how Christmas should be from TV and that’s what they do. Every Christmas tree in every house I walk into has a train around it. 3. No one drinks — unless you count 1 beer before dinner. The ice chest has more soda than beer — wow talk about a culture shock.
4. No egg nog. No loaded punch. Just kids. Squealing. Everywhere. With their hands out. And all the adults all think the kids are the cutest things they’ve ever seen. It’s the main topic of conversation: ‘oh look at that — isn’t that cute’….. they’re in high school for God’s sakes.
5. OK no booze should = good food. Nope. A small tray of turkey from the grocery store deli and the rest is unidentifiable Chinese food. No wait — I can usually pick out the BBQ pork and white rice.
6. No Christmas music. No music at all.
7. Most of the adult kids give the parents (my in-laws) money done up in clever little ways. I mean really — is this necessary?
Whew…… The one good thing about this time of the year is that I can give to those I really love and really know — wonderful thoughtful presents. Everyone gets a bottle.
Thursday, 11. December 2003 14:44
Well, growing up 30 years or so ago, this used to be a nice holiday. My folks and I would get together, exchange a few gifts, have dinner and call it a day. Maybe we’d go for a ride and listen to the waves on the shore and go home to a fire in the fireplace. Nice, quiet, happy, peaceful.
Now I’m married, and Christmas means hauling 20 four foot long Tupperware boxes full of decorations up from the cellar and polishing all the subatomic particles in the house because we might have guests and the house has to look nice. It means hearing Silent Night and the same goddamn depressing songs over and over and over and over and over and over until I want to stab myself in the ears with a screwdriver just to make it stop. It means spending money I don’t have, just because otherwise we sit around on Xmas day feeling like shit because there’s nothing else to do. It means going to office parties that I’d rather skip because it’s the politically correct thing to do. It means hearing about merchants bitching about the snow and how it’s affected their bottom fucking line.
It’s corny plastic mangers in store windows, placed there by store managers who don’t give a shit about the holiday, it’s just corporate policy. It’s about radio stations that play carols amidst commercials to “GO OUT, BUY NOW AND SAVE”. It’s about cheesy Christmas specials – not the classics, but schmaltzy, weepy ones like “a Very Special ‘Touched by an Angel’” in which little Johnny (who’s now 25 years old and has a drug/drinking/emotional/criminal problem and who will be reunited with his dying father/mother/brother/uncle with whom he had an argument 20 years ago (that led to his life of crime), and both end up crying in the last 10 minutes of the episode as the relative realizes that they have terminal cancer and it’s Time to Put Things Right because (cue hokey special effects and backlighting around Roma Downey) God Loves You.
It’s knowing that there are people out there who really DO deserve something better and there’s nothing I can do to help them. Giving money to charities means that 80% of it winds up in “administrative expenses”, and that the people it should have helped got the short end of the stick. It’s knowing that there are perfectly good animals in shelters who are going to be put to sleep, not because they’re dangerous or sick, but simply because we live in a society where everything’s disposable.
Thursday, 11. December 2003 21:51
Amen.
Monday, 15. December 2003 1:20
Maybe it`s because I`ve been away from home for so many holidays that I have grown tired of the loads of commercialized crap that get`s thrown in everyones faces. I miss what Christmas meant to me when I was a kid(and yes, when I didn`t know about all the work my mom had to do to get everything ready)…well, that`s not quite it. I miss the family part I don`t miss much of anything else. Even when I was a stupid little kid, I always got excited about seeing family. The whole presents thing would be over in no time and nowadays I can barely remember most of the presents I ever got. Nowadays I get Christmas-in-a-box…which ain`t so bad. It`s the thoughtfulness that really counts to me. And I live now in a country(Japan) where christmas is generally ignored(but sadly it`s catching on more and more…oh crap!) so I think I could do without the holidays but not without what they should mean.
Tuesday, 16. December 2003 13:54
You know,it’s not the idea of Christmas that sucks it’s the fact that everybody assumes that everybody else has somewhere to go and people that want them there. It sucks for those of us who will be alone on the one day of the year that is supposed to be a family time. How do you tell your friends that your family doesn’t have time for you, that’s pretty hard to admit, so you just let them assume that you are spending the holidays with family and instead you spend it by yourself. So for all of those who spend the rest of the year working their tails off to keep it together good luck surviving this holiday and remember that on Dec 26, it’s all over for another year.
Thursday, 18. December 2003 8:04
I don’t like many Xmas traditions ? I make my own. If there was a family gathering I was obliged to attend, and I didn’t like something about it, I would actively change it (bring food, etc.).
Here in Van, the film industry buys (collectively) stacks o’turkeys and gets volunteers to cook them then has catering trucks dish them out. I cooked two last year, then ran into friends serving and stayed the day. Got extra props for making a saskatoon-berry sauce as an alternative to the canned cranberry.
One way or the other, take back your Xmas. Spend the day cooking a turkey, then take a dozen servings in foil pans and give them to the homeless. Leave art around the city. Squeeze whatever good you remember out of it and don’t let the commercialism get you down. If you do, they win…
And I’m an atheist…
Friday, 19. December 2003 16:07
I am so sad. This Christmas I am not geting any thing. Because of the “no money” issue.
Friday, 19. December 2003 16:11
I Like Christmas, because you can spend time with your family. I feel very sorry for the ones who dosn’t. Merry Christmas! even I don’t like it any more except because Jesus was born on this day. (thats something great)
Friday, 19. December 2003 17:04
HI:
What I don’t like about christmas is all the commercialism and the way those of us who can’t get with family are made to feel like outcasts. I can’t even go to a restaurant or for a walk on the beach alone without these pitiful stares. So when I’m alone I stay in bed all day and read or sleep and wait til tomorrow.
What I love about christmas is when I do have a place to go and celebrate it’s great! I love buying stuff for people and yes I do do that all year long. I love the colors and the songs and the weather.
But mostly since I’m alone on christmas. It sucks! And I can’t wait til it’s over.
Saturday, 20. December 2003 14:53
I spoke to my brother loast night and we agreed not to buy each other dumb shit for christmas. what a relief! I’m going to get everyone in the family to join in next year. This holiday is insane in some ways and wonderful in some ways. I just resent the obligations built into xmas. I have a house full of stuff, some of it useful and functional, much of it is stupid garbage that just bulids up and must be managed (moved, cleaned, shelved, moved again, etc) I’ve had it!
Saturday, 20. December 2003 16:05
I notice there are a lot of comments recently; Christmas is a hard time of year for many, many North Americans. Hopefully, this site is showing people they are not alone.
A lot of the comments were really eye-opening for me. I think Skyhawk’s idea is great: if Christmas sucks for you, go help out other people who would otherwise have a depressing Christmas. This could mean dishing up turkey for the homeless or getting together with friends who don’t have families to go to (or don’t want to go home to their families) and having the Christmas you want. This might be playing “New Kids Got Run Over By A Reindeer”, slurping back red and green jello shots, & trading stuff you don’t want any more with your pals. I’d just like to remind everybody with a seriously disfunctional family that there is no law saying you have to spend Christmas with them. The point of Christmas is JOY, so why not get yourself some. As in the other 364 days of the year, the only one who can make you happy is you. Ditch the people who make you feel lousy and go on your way rejoicing.
I’m one of the lucky few who gets along with my family all year around, so I’ll be home with them. I have never had a bad Christmas–although, come to think of it, red and green jello shots this year might be great.
Saturday, 20. December 2003 16:40
You know what I use to love Christmas but now I hate it!I still beleive it is the birthday of Chirst,But I’v been through a lot bullshit!All my dreams have been sattered.To start it off My great Grandmother pass away in 1991,I was married and that din’t work our,But we were still friends after that,eventhrough she haqd the children taken away from her.Two of them were my biologogal children,but I still was the father to all three.The oldest one his real father never came around,But I was always their for him.When me and my wife seperated I moved to Wisconsin.I just throught me and her were arguing too much and I was told by a thrapist that we should seperate not to mention by the pigs one time she had me arrested for some billshit that we did work out,But the fucking court system blamed everything on me.They hald whatever they could aganst me.I got fired from a job,I got arrested becuse they din’t like my opinions in an E=mail so they altered it and told me if I say it was alterede they can put me in the hospital for having illusions.The corrupt Department of Children and Family Service in Il was behind all this.I’m no longer afried to say it on line or even if I go on national TV.Which will be my next step.The lawer I had was not working for me,But aganst me.Paul Katz was the corupt lawer they appointed me.Then whan I filed for the appeal they appointed me this one bitch that never even talked me But I think she talked to this guy Tim Ingold who works @ Keystone house in Chicago were I was staying,becuse I throught they were going to help me out,But they din’t do anything to help me with the children.They were also on the states side I believe.I believe he told this bitch some bullshit!I got to visit my children last year,but it was supervised by my daughters bitch of a foster mother Debbie Handler.Who lives in Arlington Heights Il.I’m waiting to hear from the other foster mother that got the two boys,But she hasn’t called me yet,So I don’t know whats up with her,but these people get all the say so,and me I guess they just think of me as a low life or something,When they took my perantal rights away from me they treated mr like shit.They got me nervious on the stand becuse they know I have an Anxiaty problem.The corrupt states attoney askes me what my daugters favorite color was.How do I know when this big fat bitch Debbie Handler wouln’t let me talk to her.Also I was asked whan my dauters birthday was and I accidently said Sept 10 when it was Sept 2,But I corrected myself right away.But to these people they believe you have to be perfact.I use to go to meetings that would tell you One day at a time,Progress not perfection and all that crap,but the real world isn’t like that.I get depressed on the holidays now.Also my Ex-wife passed away last Augast and they din;t even bring the children to see her,But see did have a visit with the two boys before she died.But she din’t get to see Katrina my daughter.So how I’m I soppose to be happy.I just hate life.I wish somtimes the world would end!
David J Lefever
Sunday, 21. December 2003 22:15
What an interesting little site. I read through all of this, and find that I agree with most of it, but not all of it. The comercial side does suck, INDEED! and we should be at least amicable to everyone 24/7/365. corporate america should be ashamed of itself, the way it has turned the spirit of giving into the spendfest that it has become. But, I’m sitting here wondering how I’m going to pay for my best friends gift (which I have not chosen yet), let alone a gift for my precious wife.
Christmas does very much suck. and I for one am tired of feeling guilty about the choices I make as far as choosing gifts and whose and what celebrations I attend, so I’m not going to feel guilty anymore and just do what feels right.
christmas sucks
mucho grande
matt
Monday, 22. December 2003 18:43
Yeah, i have to say that christmas is the worst holiday in the world.
Monday, 22. December 2003 19:11
You know what, christmas is cool, you guys really are scrooges if you can’t stand having ur family around during the holiday, YOU GUYS SUCK THE ASS!
Monday, 22. December 2003 22:13
George -
No one forced you to come to this board and read it nor did anyone force you to post. If you have some hard evidence to dispute the fact that Christmas is a big ol’ ball of hypocritical over-commercialized bullshit – i.e. the idea that people can only be kind and give to their fellow man one day out of 365 every year and that the Toys R Us giraffe is the second incarnation of Christ and that Coca Cola is his blood – then maybe we will consider your post valid. Otherwise, go fuck yourself up the ass with a candy-cane. Happy December.
Tuesday, 23. December 2003 12:53
I used to LOVE Christmas before I became an adult. Now I feel obligated to buy presents for people who, although I love, I simply don’t have the money to do so. I find myself hoping that so and so don’t get me a present because then I’ll feel obligated to get them a present in return.
I’m a kind, generous person all year round but this forced gift giving and ridiculous chaos during the holiday season makes me wish I could simply skip Christmas. I can dream…
Tuesday, 23. December 2003 14:06
George,
How eloquent. “You guys suck the ass”…whose ass? Is there one particular ass you had in mind, or is there a generic/collective ass that we all suck?
We are Scrooges? Well, maybe in a Dickensian sense we are, but in this day and age, the three ghosts of Christmas would probably work for a marketing agency and Tiny Tim would be replaced with a politically correct, demographically researched non-ethnically offensive character with all the depth of a bowl of applesauce. Instead of buying a Christmas goose for the Cratchett (sp?) family, he’d go to the local mall and indulge in an orgy of spending, probably on meaningful things like violent video games and Britney Spears CDs. Bob Cratchett’s family would be more like the Osbornes, with Tiny Tim being a drug addict with psychological issues, his wife would be a refugee from a Lifetime movie, and Bob would probably attempt suicide sometime around the end of the story, simply because he can’t get together enough money to afford a Hummer.
Now go shove your head up your ass (any ass, your choice) and jump…
Tuesday, 23. December 2003 15:37
Christmas doesn’t suck. People Suck. Seeing the faces of my girls on Christmas morning, ripping through the paper… that in no way sucks… I give all year.. I don’t tail gate.. Christmas is the last thing that remains that holds the American Family together… As corrupted as it is, to cancel it would be the final nail in the coffin of the American Family… We have already lost mom staying at home with the kids… being there for them… A dad that does what he is suposed to do… A family livin gwithin their means… not above it so that both parents have to take on stressful jobs that drain them of the energy that is needed from the kids… This is not sexist, it is the truth… women are not weaker than men.. I know.. but they are stronger in different areas.. I don’t doubt the fact at all of a womans ability to earn money.. or do a job… but what she was intended for was a mother.. the hardest, most rewarding job on earth.. but most of this seems utopian to those out there today… but it isn’t.. it is simply the way things were meant to be.. Cancel Christmas, do away with the ten commandments, kick God out of ou rlives all together.. The end of that road is no less than destruction..
Be the LIGHT…
Tuesday, 23. December 2003 17:09
I am already tired form a year of working and then christmas comes. I want a month off for christamas not presents. Oh, I forgot you can ask for anything but that for christmas. How much does vacation cost, I’d pay for that if they let me. Oops, can’t do that either. Screw america this place sucks
Wednesday, 24. December 2003 17:49
It’s unfortunate that people miss the real reason for this season. December 26th is so much more anticipated than the actual date of celebration. Well, at least we know the advertising companies are doing there job, and they’re doing it well. Don’t let society trap you. Be an individual and remember why we gather and give, because God gave His only son. And we can declare freedom in that. God bless you and yours this holiday season.
Wednesday, 24. December 2003 19:20
I have denounced commercial Christmas.
I will not buy one more present for the rest of my life and all my friends, family, acquaintances knows not to buy me one. If one is givin to me I return it promptly without opening it and ask that person(nicely) to respect that I do not celebrate Christmas (at least not the gift giving/recieving part) If returning the gift is not possible I’ll give it to a charity and let the person who gave it me know what I have done and why.
Now that thats through I will tell you that I like the rest of Christmas. Family, friends, food, parties, time off work, the music to some extent. Nothing I like better than to have a bunch of people over for dinner and drinks..
Time spent and memories made are the best gifts.
I’ll gladly buy a presents for friends and family.. but only on their birthdays.
Christams has been great since I’ve taken this stance many years ago…. probably because I’ve relieved 90% of the stress from christmas.
Good times for all
Wednesday, 24. December 2003 19:27
Christmas started out good but has since snowballed into the awful thing it is now. If I ever have chirlden then I will do my best to teach them the true value of christmas, not the dollar sign part of it. Every dam time on TV that I see people running like wild animals into stores the day after Thanksgiving I almost get sick. I only buy a few presents for my immediate loved ones and I actually get something they would use and like. I hope the future generations turn christmas back into what it should’ve always been. I hope everyone on this board has the best christmas they can have. We know what christmas should be and at least we can do our part. Take care everyone
Wednesday, 24. December 2003 19:37
I used to love Christmas until I started working customer service at a call center over the holidays and I saw just how horrible people can become over thye holidays. They lose all sense of humanity and think only for themselves and the presents they buy for their bratty children(no matter how old). Parts of Christmas suck but people suck even more. So much for good will or kindness.
The only part about Christmas that I still even enjoy looking at the Christmas tree after it has been decorated
Wednesday, 24. December 2003 21:47
Yes I agree after my excosta rican wife stole my babies in 3/19/99 a girl 6 and a boy 3 X mas has never been the same.It was a favorite time of year playing Santa to them and buying every possible toy I could find for them I spoiled them so good.Well for what she has emailed me here in the states since she has brained washed them every year I send them cards every year she says they thow them in the garbage its been almost five years and I havent spoken to either one of then due to a small phoney democracy country hideing the and blocking the international rights not only as americans but as children yes this year I will put up a website to boycott all costa rican products coffee,bananas,tourism till costa rica address that children and parents have rights in this world paullyb is an american living back in the usa after the costa rican stole all his money and his children.Beware of All Costa Ricans!!!!!!
Wednesday, 24. December 2003 23:18
Hello. I first viewed this forum tonight on christmas eve. I read just about everyones post. I very much agree with the downfall of christmas. At the same time I very much celebrate the birth of Jesus. But Christmas has very much gone downhill and is a joke. buy buy buy. FUCK THAT. Thats not what christmas is about. And the greatest movie to show you that is It’s a wonderful life. The best quote out of that movie is “no man is a failure who has friends.” Thats what christmas should be about, spending time with those you care about most. It should not be about buying shit for people who don’t need it. I used to love christmas. I wish i still did. I used to be so happy at christmas. Now it sucks. It’s now something i have to save up for.
Thursday, 25. December 2003 2:28
Christmas bloody sucks. I totally agree with the comments. All it does is cause stress and is just shit. Cancel Christmas! You got my vote!
Thursday, 25. December 2003 5:58
My mom made me feel guilty, so I bought my parents some hermit crabs for Christmas. Mom said she wanted me to partake in the activity of giving, so here you go mom, Merryfucking Christmas. They’ll last you a good 8-11 years. And watch out for the pinchers.
Thursday, 25. December 2003 7:21
Thank you Rocco and Lisa K. for joining my NY Radio WVOX AM 1460 team and me in our Dec. 23 Christmas broadcast on “T3:Trends, Tips & Topics for Everyday Living.” Your participation helped educate our audience about Christmas history and traditions, distinguish between commercialism and the real reason for the season, and inspire genuine Christmas spirit. Your participation was a true gift. Have a very merry, blessed Christ’s mass!
Thursday, 25. December 2003 9:39
I just finished reading all the posts this early Christmas morning, and I want to thank everyone for the great present of solidarity. This is the first Christmas that I have refused to go along with most of the outrageous demands put upon us by corporate North America. I work retail, so I know first hand what Christmas is all about and what it does to families (and, YES, the majority of people who over-spend at Christmas are the POOR!). For almost every Christmas I can remember, my mother has held the “festivities” at her house so that she could play her year-long role as #1 martyr to the hilt. So now, I refuse to go to her house for Christmas. This follows my two sisters’ precedents, who both stopped attending 8 and 4 years ago, respectively. My mother is now forced to “solicit” fringe relatives — i.e., my cousin’s wife, — to her mock celebrations. These are mainly comprised of people who are largely unaware of her past violent behavior or her ongoing gambling addiction. To say the least, my family is dysfunctional, but I’ve known this for years, and even this fact wouldn’t have ruined Christmas for me. Case in point, my sister was evicted December 5, and my mother picked this opportunity to pull the “Dr. Phil-tough-love” routine. So, I had to take my sister in, even though my partner is out of work due to an injury and his 18 year old daughter has been staying with us because she too has fallen on hard times. WE HAVE NO MONEY TO BUY ONE GIFT FOR EACH OTHER THIS YEAR! I bought my neice, who is staying with us, and my boy-friend’s daughter gifts, but that’s because they are staying with us, and I don’t care what the circumstances are it would be miserable to be that age and not receive anything on Christmas morning. However, my mother has gone out of her way to buy “extra” gifts for the kids affected by my sister’s eviction. Know why? So, she can look like grandma-the-hero while we are forced to spend our “gift” money on silly things like food and my sister’s damage deposit for her new place. Right now, I’m going to the kitchen to start preparing the turkey. I’m going to thank whatever god may be listening for the food that I have this day, when I know countless others will starve and die. I will be grateful for the beauty of this day, and I hope, everyday. Christmas will be whatever I make it this year, but you know, reading these posts made me feel a part of a bigger family. Ironic, isn’t it? That I would find peace and a greater sense of belonging through a message board whose common theme is that Christmas sucks. Thanks friends! And, a very merry Christmas!
Thursday, 25. December 2003 10:31
Just for the Record , Jesus wasnt born on December 25th. More then likely he was born around the month of March. Christmas is only made for people to get off work for a day or two, thats about it , that and companys getting money. Its as simple as that.
Thursday, 25. December 2003 10:33
Well here we are again. Another crappy Christmas. No powerball winner, I did not even match one number out of 5 lines of numbers. No Car again this christmas. No house of my own, its going to be another year of living with my parents. No Woman who is willing to give my a little fun. I got a box of cheery choclates and cookies, a scratch off lottery ticket that was junk. I knew it would be when it was given to me. Every christmas I hope to get what I really want. Sorry Charlie no soap. Its really starting to suck. Ive had it with Christmas. Next year to hell with it. Im not even going to give the Salvation army anything. Im tired of it. Im really begining to wonder if God really exits. It sure does seem like it. Next year Im not even going to put up outside decorations. Im not going to give any body anything. No body is getting anything anymore until finally get what I need. 43 years on this planet and i dont have a damm thing. Oh boy Bankruptcy again I just love it. Next Christmas Im just going to spend my christmas bonus on my self, it still wont get me a car or a house of my very own but nobody else is going to get a red cent of it until I finaly get what I NEED. Christmas is a joke. I dont need it.
Thursday, 25. December 2003 16:28
Hey, at least some fat cat corporate executive is having an amazing christmas spending your money. If you have nothing else to feel good about on christmas, there?s something. I absolutely hate this holiday, so I invented one of my own. On christmas (and before) I refuse to shop. Instead, the time that I would waste shopping I spend with those I care about. Then comes JANUARY GIFT DAY! That way your act of selfless giving is cheaper (it always puts a grin on my face to think that our fat cat isn’t raping me with profit margins), there is no more traffic than usual, and lines are filled with guilty people that I get to laugh at.
Christmas is about spending TIME, not money.
Thursday, 25. December 2003 17:22
Steve, it’s your job to make yourself happy! If christmas sucks, then don’t celebrate it. It only took me 22 years on this earth to figure that out!
Thursday, 25. December 2003 20:46
I hate christmas because people drink that should never drink drink and that makes it
a very bad time for us who drink all time because they are always crying or throwing up
on your new christmas shoes that you have to buy new onesevery year because you got drunk and left them at the airport when they made you take them off
Thursday, 25. December 2003 22:32
Yet another depressing Christmas. I hate this month so much. Its such a let down for me. They say its the most wonderful time of the year but thats such bullshit. Christmas is so fake and yet people get sucked into it.
Thursday, 25. December 2003 23:45
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?
Thursday, 25. December 2003 23:59
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!!
Friday, 26. December 2003 11:08
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!
Sunday, 2. May 2004 15:59
Government is too big and too important to be left to the politicians.
Monday, 3. May 2004 3:30
Underestimation is a two-way street.
Friday, 6. August 2004 22:28
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!
Tuesday, 7. September 2004 22:08
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
Thursday, 21. October 2004 3:11
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.
Friday, 22. October 2004 11:01
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.
Saturday, 13. November 2004 22:04
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?
Sunday, 28. November 2004 14:42
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.
Sunday, 28. November 2004 17:37
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!
Monday, 29. November 2004 0:45
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!
Monday, 29. November 2004 20:44
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
Monday, 29. November 2004 21:44
ride_2day,
uh…thank you…??
Monday, 6. December 2004 13:51
“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/
Tuesday, 7. December 2004 13:46
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!!
Friday, 10. December 2004 16:26
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.
Wednesday, 15. December 2004 11:40
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.
Wednesday, 15. December 2004 17:03
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.
Thursday, 16. December 2004 2:34
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.
Thursday, 16. December 2004 17:20
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
Friday, 17. December 2004 13:35
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.
Friday, 17. December 2004 17:17
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
Friday, 17. December 2004 17:56
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.
Friday, 17. December 2004 18:18
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!
Friday, 17. December 2004 19:30
test
Friday, 17. December 2004 19:43
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.
Friday, 17. December 2004 21:45
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
Saturday, 18. December 2004 17:47
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.
Saturday, 18. December 2004 19:23
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.
Sunday, 19. December 2004 1:10
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!
Sunday, 19. December 2004 1:19
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.
Monday, 20. December 2004 12:36
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?
Monday, 20. December 2004 18:57
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.
Tuesday, 21. December 2004 11:45
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.
Tuesday, 21. December 2004 19:35
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?
Tuesday, 21. December 2004 21:52
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
Wednesday, 22. December 2004 12:27
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.
Wednesday, 22. December 2004 19:45
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.
Friday, 24. December 2004 17:06
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)
Saturday, 25. December 2004 7:00
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.
Saturday, 25. December 2004 11:28
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.
Saturday, 25. December 2004 16:02
Wow! Isn’t that how “Holiday Inn” starts?
Friday, 25. March 2005 17:12
s
Sunday, 3. July 2005 11:29
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)
Sunday, 20. November 2005 2:14
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
Monday, 21. November 2005 21:07
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.
Wednesday, 23. November 2005 12:23
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.
Friday, 25. November 2005 13:40
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.
Wednesday, 30. November 2005 20:27
CHRIST WASN’T EVEN BORN IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER,IT IS JUST A MAN-MADE ECONOMY BOOSTING HOLIDAY. PEOPLE PRETEND TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER AND TO GIVE FROM THEIR HEARTS, WHY CAN’T THEY DO IT ALL YEAR LONG? CHRISTMAS CAN BE DEPRESSING AND STRESSFUL. IT CAN ALSO PUT YOU IN DEBT. WHAT’S SO MERRY ABOUT IT? I THINK WE SHOULD PROTEST THIS HOLIDAY AND OR ABOLISH IT.
Wednesday, 30. November 2005 23:24
I think Christmass is way overrated, but I don’t think it sucks. I find it boreing because I have a very small family, and we often end up looking at eachother and saying “Now what?”.
What made it bearable, was the fact that my family never got into the commercial aspect of Christmass.
What really really sucks is New Years. The most overrated/overpriced/overhyped night of the year.
My crappiest nights have always been New Years.
Thursday, 1. December 2005 0:09
I hate Christmas. Myself and my wife are both disabled and living off the bit of money social security sends us to pay rent, bills, and buy food.
While December 25th may be a happy time for the rich. For us poor it’s the most miserable time of the year.
My wife and I have never had a happy Christmas and we know we never will. So be it.
Hasn’t anybody ever wondered why the suicide rates at Christmas skyrocket?
Thursday, 1. December 2005 8:53
Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage;
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for a hermitage;
If I have freedom in my love
And in my soul am free,
Angels alone that soar above
Enjoy such liberty.
Wednesday, 7. December 2005 6:16
Three phrases should be among the most common in our daily usage. They are: Thank you, I am grateful and I appreciate.
Wednesday, 7. December 2005 11:17
Christmas is the best you guys are the ones that suck and that are bitches.
Thursday, 8. December 2005 3:20
chistmas rock chistmas pwans you all
Thursday, 8. December 2005 16:36
Good to know I`m not alone, Christmas sucks, it really does. There is more people having a sad day than people having a good day, most people in the world are struggling to get by and in christmas time they only get to see other people who got lucky recieve nice presents when they dont get s.hit.. what`s that?? the Spirit of christmas?? what a big load of Bullshi.t, most people celebrate christmas because it is a tradition so they feel like they have to. But why should I decorate a tree and my house when it means nothing to me?? why do I have to see people giving presents to each other when they didnt really want to get each other presents? But hey, if you like christmas thats ok, but if you do, I am sure that you have plenty of money, and a nice family so it`s been always easy enough for you to be a little neive and also have faith… good for you, but its not my case. I am not saying we should cancel christmas, but we also shouldnt be forced to celebrate it.
Friday, 9. December 2005 9:37
Christmas is what you make it. Now, I am one of those happy people with a great family, enough cash to scrape together for presents and even a Christian faith, so Christmas is very meaningful for me. However, Christmas season has different riches for different people. For example, there are a lot of baked goodies floating around, chocolates on desks, office parties, which everybody can enjoy. [Some businesses even take their staff out for dinner, and what a treat to see the Boss pay!] Never mind the “Spirit of Giving”, this is just good old generosity. Generosity continues on Christmas Day itself when volunteers (often non-Christians)put together meals for the homeless, or visit nursing homes or hospitals. (And in my hometown, its MOVIE DAY! for Jewish kids.)
Apparently volunteers get a great feeling of satisfaction from their Christmas gift to their wider community, so I would recommend signing up for serving Christmas dinner, if you know Christmas is going to be a bad day for you.
Saturday, 10. December 2005 16:11
whatever dorothy, you are saying that christmas is good cause you?ve been lucky and it might be good for you, and seriously I am happy for u. if your boss pays you dinner and you get cookies at church, good for you. But try thinking outside the box and when you realize that most people arent as lucky as you are, you will understand that christmas REALLY SUCKS. By the way, if you wanna volunteer, dont do it because its christmas, you can do that any time of the year.
Saturday, 10. December 2005 22:24
What I am saying is Christmas does not HAVE to suck. You have the power to make Christmas as cheerful or as lousy as any other day, or more cheerful, or lousier. It’s up to you. Even if you have absolutely nothing, you can still do something to feel good (or bad) that day, even if it’s getting together with other people who feel as you do for a Festivus party (or stewing with hatred for people having fun). Incidentally, you also have the power to say NO to any Christmas activity you don’t want to do. You don’t want to go “home”? Don’t! You don’t want to go to church? Don’t! And do whatever it takes to make Christmas as happy or just as non-sucky as you can.
Tuesday, 13. December 2005 2:10
Okay Christmas is commercial bull. yes. but the true meaning was lost. A day to celebrate the birth of Jesus christ not the celebration of shopping malls. going into debt and all the rest of the garbage that man made. So to all the scrooges out there. Make it a day of celebrating the real meaning. The best gifts i ever received was not bought in a shopping mall. it was hand made. talking to alot of people that was their favorite gifts to. I gave a friend a paper gift certificate that read one day of baby-sitting so she could go out and chill out.
Tuesday, 13. December 2005 6:49
Yes indeed, Christmas does suck, big time. What I despise most about it is the contrived group think that dictates that each of us spend a ridiculous amount of time and energy to fuel this mindless Hallmark holiday. My own personal theory is that it is perpetuated primarily by the overwhelming majority of women who have what I will call “fantasy family complex”.
Tuesday, 13. December 2005 10:09
Excuse me? You’re blaming the commercialism of Christmas on women? My mum and dad (but especially my mum) have worked hard every year for over 30 years to create a happy family Christmas, full of traditions, for each other and their kids. There’s no fantasy family involved. We’re pretty real, and we kids put the lid on squabbling because “it’s Christmas”. And there’s not a lot of commericalism, although there’s a certainly a lot of traditional food. And if you’re faulting women for wanting to have a nice family, where everyone treats each other with respect and love, and where everyone appreciates her for her hard and loving work, you’re not just crazy, you’re mean.
Thursday, 15. December 2005 0:59
amen Dorothy!! that comment was pretty mean. I appreciate everything my parents did for us. The hard work and the traditional food. Thank God for my Mom. Our family is no fantasy. The perfect family, not on this planet, we have real issues like everyone else, but I sure do appreciate the memories and the gathering of our family. Thank God for Women.
One last comment.
MERRY CHRISTMAS.
Monday, 19. December 2005 20:29
On Dec 25th, 2005, I will be 50 years old. Today, I “googled” the phrase “Christmas birthday sucks” and found this site.
It’s a relief to read so many posts that mirror and validate my feelings about this holiday. I hate having my birthday on Dec 25th and as the years have passed, with Jesus getting edged out by the commercial Santa, I hate this holiday even more. The only thing I like these days about Christmastime is the memories I have from the days before I found out that my parents lied to me about Santa. I wish there really was a Santa and that he could really come down the chimmey and bring all the presents that everyone wants or needs. Wouldn’t that be cool? Maybe not…
That only happens in Whoville…and maybe in Heaven.
I think if I were born on another day, Christmas would still be depressing because of what commercialism has done to it. Getting “stuff” only feels good for a few minutes. Time shared with people you love and who love you back is what really feels good. And maybe a little gift on your birthday!
I wish you all at least a moment of joy on Christmas day.
Tuesday, 20. December 2005 20:09
I agree , christams sucks,commercialism making you think you have to get big presesnts, and those damn parties, meeting uncles,aunties and cousins you would never see any other time of the year and then trying to spark a conversation with them when you havent spoke to them throughout the year and i generally notice christams is enjoyed mainly by kids, when you get older christmas is just one big hassle and the big money maker for stores and shops, it feels to me just another year passing now, of course i still have to get up early , family come, open and find that even one of the purposes of christmas failed, to get something that you wanted, i remember after the age of 10 , i have never got anything i care for or wanted, its just one big disapointment of socks, those cheap bottles of aftershave, all the cheap chocolate in the shape of christams tree,etc, where yuo can buy a chocolate bar anytime, frankly christmas really does suck balls but in the end its unavoidable, ill be gettin pointless crap, pointless christmas dinner , GOD life sucks balls, just endless disapointment after another.
Wednesday, 21. December 2005 3:08
Well…….My mom has alzheimers and parkinsons.My daddy is dying.My ex stole my two babies.Havent seen them in five years.So its hard to be happy.Buti have to put “the face on”for my 16 yr old daughter who i love dearly….Sad at christmas,Dianna
Saturday, 24. December 2005 11:34
Quote: “I’ve been against Christmas for years. Killing animals, cutting down trees and over-consuming aren’t just the ideas I have of a pleasant party.”
I agree wholeheartedly with that.
‘Meat’ is a f*cking disgrace. Stuff your fat f*cking faces with your greasy death meals.
Remember something died in horrific circumstances to bring the death you call ‘food’ to your greasy mouths.
The christmas spirit is only felt by bastard humans.
In the days leading up to christmas, tens of millions of innocent turkeys (and other beautiful and completely innocent animals) are slaughtered by dull minded, cruel, probably paedophile abbatoir ‘workers’ who deserve to be slowly tortured.
These animals are slaughtered to feed your cruel demand for disgusting meat. The very fact slaughterhouses exist in this so called ‘modern world’ is an abomination and makes me question the overall mentality of the world’s population.
Cull humans, not baby seals.
F*ck you all. I have more respect for nature and animals than any ‘human’ I know.
And yes, the world would be so, so much better off without man’kind’ upon it. Every minute of our existence we are desecrating some part of our environment and the defenceless, voiceless animals we share it with.
Eat meat? Kill yourself.
rymr123@aol.com
Saturday, 24. December 2005 11:57
Well, that was cheerful.
Saturday, 24. December 2005 18:38
Thank you for this web site people with views similar to my own.
No I don’t hate Christmas or The Holliday seasons, or Hanakah or Ramadan, or Kwanza what ever suits your flavor like a happy meal or apple pie or a puppy dog.
I just don’t celebrate it. Period.
If it works for you great, nothing wrong with that.
It dosen’t work for me. I don’t need multi-death corporations telling me what to buy, when to buy it and how to finance it.
As for friends and family they know I love them and they love me. Theres nothing wrong with birthday gifts. Birthdays are spread out through out the year (think about that).
I am greatful for what I have and its not much. I’ve relocated, I’m going to school, I’m trying to better my life.
But if there is a Santa..
I want a job, and I want a new girlfriend, and I want a new or used car,etc etc…
This christmas I will get rip roaring drunk and play “Christmas Time In Hell” by the makers of South Park very loud. and cook up bean and chease tacos.
Mr. Wang
Saturday, 24. December 2005 19:55
i hate christmas now more than ever, im being forced to be happy even though im misearable because everyone has issues and problems on this day just before dinner and afterwards its like nothing ever happened….i say F#$^ this
Saturday, 24. December 2005 19:55
i hate christmas now more than ever, im being forced to be happy even though im misearable because everyone has issues and problems on this day just before dinner and afterwards its like nothing ever happened….i say F#$^ this
Sunday, 25. December 2005 14:05
Well growing up back in the 70’s,christmas waw awesome. It was about family, gift giving and enjoying the holiday season. Now, my beloved mother has been gone for many years, as has her sister, my awesome aunt. My siblings dont talk to each other. I talk to 2 of 3 of them. They and old man now live far away.
I miss the days of channel 5, 9 and 11 showing old christmas movies and cartoons. Now we have crappy political correct HOLIDAY movies. It is no wonder I only watch the old scrooge movies and cartoons, etc. My old lady takes off to see her kids, which is ok, but man this day just sucks even more as the years pass. If you have a family and enjoy this day, great. Enjoy it while it lasts. All good things DO come to an end. My heart does go out to those who have lost loved ones and never had a real christmas.
Sunday, 25. December 2005 14:06
To the idiot who cant eat or kill animals God himself was the first to kill and skin animals in the first book of the bible. Mabe you dont belive in God That will be youre problem in the end I dont care Turkeys are tasty I dont care how they die as long as its quick animals dont have souls and humans are created in Gods image So dont talk about killing people you’re the sick one!
Sunday, 25. December 2005 15:21
Okay, that’s just sad. Peace on earth, everybody!
Sunday, 25. December 2005 18:33
Christmas sucks for me, too. My father, who was my best friend, died several years ago around this time. My Mom is a total b*tch, and I do not want to spend any more time with her than I have to, so I don’t go to see her at Christmas because she is a mean and selfish person who talks smack about everyone she knows, and then thinks she can make everything magically better with a present.
My two brothers don’t keep in touch with any one, they are totally self centered. But you know what? I don’t worry about it anymore. I just consider this a day like any other day, and try to blow it off, and not let it get to me. I watch my favorite DVDs, play on the computer, and spend quality time with my wonderful pets and husband. I refuse to let the lameness of my family and commercialism get me down, but I’ll be damned if I’ll participate in it.
This holiday does suck, and I think it has lost a lot of its true meaning. Kind of reminds me of big, fancy weddings where all this money is blown, and it really turns out to be all about the family and guests, and not so much about the couple getting married. That’s why my husband and I got a judge to marry us and did it on our own. Much more meaningful. When you make your own way in life, and don’t go along with the crowd, that makes it have more meaning to you personally, and making your life the best it can be is what it’s all about.
Don’t pollute your mind or waste your precious life energy worrying about this day too much. Just do whatever you can to keep yourself busy and have fun, so it will go by quicker, and then it will be the 26th, and we can all breathe a sigh of relief and stick our middle fingers up in the air to all the B.S. Thanks for the vent, this board rocks!!
Monday, 26. December 2005 10:22
I have figured out why the Christmas Ideal and the reality of Christmas clash so much. Christmas is not about individualism. Christmas is a relic of a past age when the majority of Europeans & Euro-Americans took their identity from their families. Thus, Christmas really was about giving to the family, not getting from it. Parents scrimped on their own pleasures/needs to buy the special foods, decorations, and toys for kids. Kids behaved well around Christmas either because of Santa/Mom & Dad knowing who was naughty or nice or out of respect for busy, baking/shopping Mom. (Or out of respect for Dad who said, “Now think of your mother!!”) To enjoy Christmas, you really have to put yourself second–second to your family members, people you didn’t CHOOSE (Choice being our modern god)–without expecting a reward. Now this, of course, goes against our modern individualist culture. Putting yourself second is our new sin. No wonder doing all that shopping for Other People is such a chore! Therefore, Christmas is always going to be disappointing because no one loves you as much as you do. (Christians will argue that God does, and more, but what does God have to do with Christmas, eh?)
So what is Christmas in the end? Christmas is a counter-culture challenge to interrupt individualism. (Christians might point out here that if there was anyone who lived for others, it was the man who was once Baby Jesus.) And perhaps to realize what we have lost in our own personal wars against our annoying, troublesome, wonderful, horrible families. And to consider how we can make amends.
Monday, 26. December 2005 10:23
I have figured out why the Christmas Ideal and the reality of Christmas clash so much. Christmas is not about individualism. Christmas is a relic of a past age when the majority of Europeans & Euro-Americans took their identity from their families. Then, Christmas really was about giving to the family, not getting from it. Parents scrimped on their own pleasures/needs to buy the special foods, decorations, and toys for kids. Kids behaved well around Christmas either because of Santa/Mom & Dad knowing who was naughty or nice or out of respect for busy, baking/shopping Mom. (Or out of respect for Dad who said, “Now think of your mother!!”) To enjoy Christmas, you really have to put yourself second–second to your family members, people you didn’t CHOOSE (Choice being our modern god)–without expecting a reward. Now this, of course, goes against our modern individualist culture. Putting yourself second is our new sin. No wonder doing all that shopping for Other People is such a chore! Therefore, Christmas is always going to be disappointing because no one loves you as much as you do. (Christians will argue that God does, and more, but what does God have to do with Christmas, eh?)
So what is Christmas in the end? Christmas is a counter-culture challenge to interrupt individualism. (Christians might point out here that if there was anyone who lived for others, it was the man who was once Baby Jesus.) And perhaps to realize what we have lost in our own personal wars against our annoying, troublesome, wonderful, horrible families. And to consider how we can make amends.
Friday, 18. December 2009 15:35
CHRISTMAS IS THE BEST!
ILOVE THE HAPPINESS AND U SHOULD TOO U HATERS JUST CUS UR MEAN AND OBNOXIOUS AND SELFISH DOESNT MEAN U HAV THE RIGHT TO BRING EVERYONE ALSE DWN LIKE THT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CHRISTMAS all the way!!!!!!!! JINGLE BELLS U REALLY SMELL TUN TUNTUTN TUNT UN