Reader sensitivy litmus test

[urbpan]

Trying to get out of Christmas by saying you aren't Christian is like trying to get out of prison rape by saying you aren't gay.

Comments

[propaddict.livejournal.com]

"Well, Christmas is really secular now, thanks to all the retailers. Everyone can celebrate it!"

Bite me.


(Maybe I'm a bit worked up; we just had two and a half weeks of the World Jehovah's Witness Convention in Waikiki. They wore name tags everywhere they went, handed out bibles, and were generally the worst tourists ever.)

[bedfull-o-books.livejournal.com]

Oh ghod. That is my idea of purgatory right there. Nothing like bringing hell to paradise....

I like the festive lights myself, but the constant holiday music drives me crazy.

[bedfull-o-books.livejournal.com]

Wait.... The JWs don't even celebrate Christmas..... Because every day is glorious in the eyes of the lord. Or something.....

[stardustmajick.livejournal.com]

I'm a former Jehovah's Witness (my parents are to blame). It's because they associate all holidays with the original pagan celebrations that fall around the same time and also believe that no one day can be as important as the death of Christ. Which they "celebrate" with a very solemn bible reading rather than any festivities.

[nightlove.livejournal.com]

This is exactly what my parents do, but they aren't JW's. They never were. In fact they're born-again Christians and they converted on their own after reading the book of revelation (rather than, say, starting to attend a church or through a Christian friend.)

They're with a rather strict SDA church now I believe.

[featheredfrog.livejournal.com]

Andy Whatsisname tried that in the Shawshank Redemption.

Didn't work for him.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

"Neither are they. You got to be human, first."

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

typically, you can avoid xmas if you try hard...

not so sure about the rape. well, maybe you can immediately kill your cell mate in a brutal and horrible fashion, and get sent to solitary... tell them the xmas music made you do it.

#

[vampyrusgirl.livejournal.com]

You can join us for Jewish Christmas if you want.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

You're very kind! I think we'll opt for a quiet day at home and watch Sita Sings the Blues. Maybe Snakes on a Plane, too.

[frith]

Rama was a dick. Sita walked through fire for him and what does he do?

[drhoz.livejournal.com]

*snickers*

[vodkanoodles.livejournal.com]

Fantastic, I'm going to (credit you and) borrow this one :)

[pangolin.livejournal.com]

I believe you are conflating two different uses of 'trying to get out of' that are not comparable, therefore you have said nothing. ;)

[harebell.livejournal.com]

I have recently experienced this. Got yelled at. Funny thing: being yelled at doesn't make me more inclined to buy them stuff or come over for dinner and watch them get drunk.

[frith]

Try harder. My goat has not been got.

I figure it would be more appropriate for über-Christians to be snubbing giftmas rather than non-Christians.

[gemfyre.livejournal.com]

Why would I want to avoid Christmas?

Holidays!
Good food!
Pressies!
I actually like my family!
My parents spa!

[izzy23.livejournal.com]

Our utterly secular household goes along with the Christmas thing, for the most part: The Christmas story can easily be read as a pretty metaphor on the potential hope that comes with any brand-new human being. It's also an opportunity to take time off to spend with each other, family, and friends, without the culture-at-large giving us a hard time for choosing to do so in preference to all that other "more productive" stuff we're "supposed" to be doing (despite the culture-at-large's general insistence that they hold all the family values cards).

Hey, a holiday's a holiday. The season on this one runs on and off for five weeks of Florida's least-miserably-hot weather at a time when the only chance to see daylight would have required playing hooky from work and school if we hadn't already been given the time off. I'll take it.

I also admit that I get all warm and fuzzy over many of the traditional tunes, though "Jingle Bell Rock," "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," and the like should give you an automatic "not guilty by reason of insanity" for any impulsively violent act you may commit on the third of fourth hearing (never mind the three or four hundredth).

[nightlove.livejournal.com]

My father and stepmother ARE Christian, and they don't celebrate Christmas. And they aren't JWs. They came to that conclusion on their own. It started with Halloween, then everything else went. I don't think they even celebrate birthdays anymore either. It's all their own choice really, I truly do appreciate that. They're just crazy on their own and it shines through their belief, so if I come across as bitter that is why.

My personal spiritual beliefs hold the solstice as an important holiday at this time of year, but since my white-dominated western country recognizes Christian holidays as being "secular" I sure make use of them. I get time off work around things like Christmas, and the rest of my family (who used to be Catholic) gathers around this time of year, and I love spending time with them for sure! Family, friends, getting drunk with my family, presents (giving and receiving,) tasty food. And probably other things I'm forgetting.

[calypso72]

No.

[momomom.livejournal.com]

I'm not Christian either and Christmas is somewhat enjoyable / somewhat a burden to me. I'm always happy when it is OVER. I think of it as a cultural thing rather than a religious one. I get most aggravated at the cost and work it causes me but I'm relieved I don't get as upset at the ubiquitous signs of Christmas as you do. It really seems to cause you a ton of grief.

[urimancy.livejournal.com]

Great line!

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Strangely, my friends who celebrate Xmas most enthusiastically are Jews.

[calypso72]

WTF?

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I know, right? They are obviously not very religious Jews, and I think for most of them that claymation xmas specials are more significant than the birth of Jesus, but still.

[calypso72]

Speaking as a Jew by birth only, I can honestly say one of the few good things about being Jewish is having an excuse not to take part in Christmas.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine that would work. "Oh, then Happy Hannukah!" Just so long as you are celebrating buying stuff in December.

[calypso72]

Sadly, the other day my daughter's friend was in the car with us and when she told him we don't celebrate Christmas, we celebrate Hanukkah, he said, "well, they're the same thing." Ugh.

[nysidra.livejournal.com]

It's easier when you don't have children, I think. After the first couple years it got really easy. People stopped buying me presents - they got the point that I wasn't buying them anything. I don't decorate my house and... the day passes like any other weekend. Quietly.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Nice.

[weofodthignen]

Heh. I see their Xmas and raise them a Yule.

M

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

"Happy solstice" irritates me more than "Merry Christmas." (Even though I think it's the pagan holiday most worthy of celebration.)

[weofodthignen]

It seems very forced to me, but then again Yule isn't the same thing as Solstice :-) For one thing it's 12 days long. For another, since it's supposed to be spent behind closed doors with those one holds dear, it's generally best spent as an almost continuous blowout. Which is just way, way better than Xmas and much better justification for decorating the entire house and front yard and indulging in a frenzy of giftgiving and baking.

Sadly, I gotta work. With the radio on, so Xmas garbage is constantly assailing my ears. Bah, humbug. This year I may do a 12 day YouTube project just to raise consciousness, if I can get the idea worked out in detail in time. But I have for some time responded "And good Yule to you" to Xmas greetings. Freaks them the heck out.

M
M