I cannot tell a lie- I really HATE the Holidays
 

The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be that his head wasn't screwed on quite right.
It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were to tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.


The common complaint of the holidays - "Oh its sooo commercialized, it's all about the gifts- we've lost the true meeeeeaning of Christmas" is really wearing rather thin, as if December 25th, which is actually celebrating the Birth of the Antiquity era Persian popular cult leader Mithras. Yes, I do believe we lost the "meaning" behind this whole contrivance right after the early church decided to merge the Jesus Birthday celebration with the Mithras celebration, so as to not lose precious subscribers/worshippers. :rolleyes:

There's more to why I hate the whole thing. First, on the road people are compete A-holes. There's double traffic on the roads. People in cars are so much meaner than normal; they cut you off , and they more to swerve unpredictably on the freeways. I say this after just getting off the freeway 2 days ago after some idiot BUMPED me on the freeway. Now I have to buy another 130 dollar side panel strip for my car door- "merry christmas to me". :rolleyes:

Oh, and this thin fake veneer of "Happiness" and "Goodwill" everyone puts on when you are near them. Its such a sham, everyone just turns on this "holiday cheer" mode but they really are just as depressed and sad as they were before Thanksgiving. These really are furious inside because they have to blow their entire paycheck on presents that people will return for cash. Its the same Paxcil popping people, just wearing ridiculous red hats and telling me "Merry Christmas" like they really CARE that I, Alex Jackson, HAVE a Merry Christmas. How pretentious! After I leave their eye contact they want nothing to do with me. And I them, for that matter. :rolleyes:

Finally, political correctness and pretty much won the war against Christmas - it used to be "Have a happy Christmas or Channukah" but now there are so many "holidays" in the mix everyones terified of offending anyone, heaven forbid. I was recently reading a DeviantArt forum thread recently concerning their "Depict Fella(their mascot) stealing Christmas" contest. And the WICCANS on the forum were acting seriously offended that the webmaster did not mention their beloved winter solstice holiday!!! What, are we going to show the mascot being sacrificed on an altar in the middle of a cheerful snowly stonehenge? Let me guess- an offering to Mithras?:rolleyes:

Has anyone noticed that people will always mention Kwanzaa now as one of the happy holidays they wish you have? Who REALLY celebrates this holiday? Not any black people I know. Meanwhile, poor Muslim Ramadan gets no lip service- because as we all know, a holiday created for Africans in the 1960's deserves much more attention than the holiday of the religion that a forth of the worlds people belong to. :rolleyes:

I could go further, but I won't. I'll just say,

I just can't take it. The holidays are so un-merry to me, they are the low point of my year, every year. What is it about me? I guess my heart is 2 sizes to small.

I hate, I hate, I HATE CHRISTMAS!

Semi-related factoid
 

The Chinese people consider it acceptable to hate the Chinese (Lunar) New Year. We even have a proper term -- "new year evasion" -- for the act of going on a holiday in a faraway place in order to be spared from family gatherings with ugly relatives.

Re: Semi-related factoid
 

And they are ugly aren't they... :p

:O
 

Heh... Hate Holidays... :eek:
Ok, that's true this years christmas suXorZ... OMG :mad:
:( - - - - > 2001

trafic in "quaint" little Plymouth actualy drives better at this time of the year (yes it actualy stays in ONE lane not 3 or 4 as before!!) But all this political corectness is realy iratating, oh yes I'm a Catholic and am glad that you told me what pagan festival it's baced on I did wonder, thank you Xerxes!

I'm sorry you feel that way Xerxes. I've always thought that Christmas is nice because, for a little while at least, people will pretend as though they can tolerate your presence. That's more than most people do the rest of the year.

As for the Freeways, well, that's there all year. It just gets worse at certain times. You can blame whoever you want, I suppose. It's the citizens' fault for not forcing the government to require stricter licensing and training.

Merry Christmas. :)

And think, I tolerate you the rest of the year, too. :D

Re: I cannot tell a lie- I really HATE the Holidays
 

Heres my consolation to all those in the land of thin, fake veneer, the great US of A. :blah:

But you don't have a choice, remember Killer_Wombat?:rolleyes:

Anyway sexreX, I agree with you. It's too commercialized and unspiritualized (or something like that). And my parents won't let me return anything, unless I get two of something, or the present actually has a problem. :rolleyes:

As far as the driving goes, welcome to America buddy. If you don't get cut off, flicked off, or ran off the road at least once a day, you're a very good, fast driver. :rolleyes:

And no, no one in the malls cares, no one on the streets cares, no one anywhere really gives a flying rat's ass, except maybe your close friends, family, and curi0us, and others on the board whether you have a Merry Christmas. I'll agree with you on that. The people sitting on their fat asses in a suit at the malls are just there to get paid. People on the board probably think things like 'I don't even know him, why should I care about him?'. But then again, there are some cool people on this board, so they might. :rolleyes:

And as far as offending people...I just say 'Happy Holidays' normally, even to family and friends who I know celebrate Christmas. And I did actually care about Ramadan, considering about 10 of my friends are Muslim, and another 20 or so are Hindu. Quite a few people who I eat lunch with were fasting, and just sat there for lunch. I don't understand the whole Kwanzaa thing either. I don't know any black people that celebrate it, maybe it's celebrated in Africa? :rolleyes:

Just to be stupid and attempt to be witty (which I'm not), why does everyone forget about the Atheists? Why don't people say 'Merry Nothing'. :rolleyes: Okay, that was stupid. Nevermind.

Xerxes is correct. I've never 'celebrated' christmas. Just a normal day today.

Looking at that other thread, it's all about what presents you get and how good they are. No one knows what they are supposed to be 'celebrating', most unaware that christ wasn't even born in December.

That is all.
Have a good holiday time. :)

Like some of you guys, I don't celebrate Christmas. It's not because I have no religion, but because the whole thing is more complicated than it's supposed to be. The thing that I like about Christmas is the joy in people around me even if they are fake. I really hate being surrounded by grumpy don't-know-how-to-have-fun people.

Doesn't happen to me every day. Probably about once every few weeks. Since I don't speed (avg speed: 75MPH), I guess I'm a pretty damn good driver. :)

Merry Nothing. :D

Boy, you guys don't like anything.

and a Merry-Athiest-Kids-Get-Presents-For-No-Good-Reason Day to each and everyone of you!

Ok, a quick question:

I know Christ wasn't born in December, known that for awhile, but when the hell WAS he born?

And thanks Wolfie ;) I appreciate it. Same to you. ;);)

He was born sometime after December and before Summer.
Sometime around Spring.

i just hate seeing commercials the day before haloween and hearing the radio stations switch to nonstop carols on the 15th of november, thats all.

and happy get free shit day to you guys too :D

I don't think they are that exact about the knowledge of his birth.

I hate Christmas. Every year it is the same thing. I get up and wait around until my parents wake my brother up at about 11. He is in a bad mood because someone woke him up before 1PM. Open my presents and I get items I specifically told my parents I didn't want and the one item I did want I get some cheep knock off brand or I get something totally different and the next sentence begins with" "well, I thought..." My brother will have a temper tantrum over something small, which become the Annual Christmas Fight. Later my grandma will come over and bitch no stop. Finally the day drags to a close.

I am happy; it is the farthest point in the year from Christmas. I hate Christmas.

Do try and enjoy yourselves, this has been the premier time of the year to celebrate since pagan times.

Don't listen to that Xerxes and his talk of Mithras, just another usurper, The origins of Xmas lie much earlier and were to do with the turning of the year and the returning of the light, traditions to be found throughout temperate latitudes. The biggest rituals of the year took place at the winter solstice and many festivals developed around that time. Saturnalia, from which we get the twelve days of Xmas, The Egyptians had five days left over in their calander, and what better way to use them than to have a piss up, This was also the time when animals were slaughtered if they couldn't be kept over winter, so there was spare food to eat.
This has nothing to do with wicca either, basically a nineteenth century invention based on badly understood folklore.

We're so stuffed up with manufactured culture (Kwanzaa is just the latest in a long line), and bogus sentiment that I'm not surprised people get pissed off with it all.

This time of year is a time to celebrate, I don't care what you celebrate, celebrate yourself if you like, just go and have a good time.

UJ

Yes, there is the other opnion that Christmas came from a union with the classical pagan festival, Saturnalia. Myself, I spend a large amount of recreational time reading books and academic papers on comparative religion and history. It is my conclusion through this reading that classical Roman paganism was declining at the waning years of the empire and that Mithras' cult was gaining popularity at the same time. This would make it more likely IMHO that the cult would have more of a chance to affect the formation of christianity than paganism. Niether side can be completely proven- it is still actually a raging academic debate.

I say, if you really care, don't listen to me or ujay- research it yourself and figure out your own conclusion.

edit: Here's a lengthy academic article decribing the entire cult and its interaction with roman society- if you're so inclined...

http://www.ukans.edu/history/index/e...rut**.html#int

Actually, Somebody is exactly right if you believe the bible. It says "shepherds were tending their flocks". This was done in the spring at that time in that part of the world.

I'm with Xerxes on this one though. I'm sick to death of Christmas and I haven't celebrated it in years. Partly because I'm not Christian, I'm a pagan. I sacrifice a virgin on Halloween night and I'm good for a year. ;)

Woohoo join the club:blah:

Thanks for the reply Xerxes. I shall read the link later.

btw The link isn't working correctly and needs the **.html added by hand.

Also btw I translated your avatar - "And Royal Xerxes from the house of the well endowed shall put the llama to flight with sundry bathroom articles. Darkness shall fall across the land"
Probably looses something in translation :D

UJ

LOL, yeah you pretty much got the translation down ;)

(BTW its (in cartouche)--> (Xerxes) "pharaoh, the great")

I am glad UJ, that you're of the type who doesn't immediatly seek to discredit other arguments (You didn't just lay into me with insults and contradictions right there)I can tell you have the intellectual integrity to form your own opinion.

Yes I got the cartouch - that's were the 'Royal' part came from.

UJ

Its a good job i saw the wink there. I hate stereotypes.

Christmas was also a way of the Catholics to suppress the Wiccan festival of Yule (which this year was on the 24th). I think that the Catholics just had a few pieces of a jigsaw that fitted together nicely.

I enjoy christmas, not from the religious side of it, but from the fact that it is one of the few times in the year when the family comes together. It is one of the few times that people have the neighbours round for a drink and a chat. You send xmas cards out to all those people who otherwise you wouldn't even phone let alone visit.

Heres some more Hieroglyphics for you - d/l the attachment

1st line yoo-dja *Ujay*
2nd line beh-bew-bah-gen *amphorae determinative* (Bilbo Baggins, a drunkard) :p

BTW My handrawn hieroglyphics suck, but they get the message across.

I could get used to being called that :D

Why thanks Xerxes, I feel strangly honoured.

Read the link btw, very interesting.

I didn't realise this is where shaking hands on a deal came from, this is still regarded as almost sacred in many cultures, especially those without benefit of lawyers :) The Romanies are particularly strong on this.

What I find unsurprising is the move from a religion that any man and his dog could practice, to one that required the sole intervention of a priestly class for its success. The sun's rays on the communion bread being replaced by some power called down by the priest, for example.
Where have I seen that before, have all religions developed in the same way I wonder ?

UJ

I hate the christmas rush at work

and post-christmas sales

thats one bad point about being in retail

my family suck(to the mostpoint) but i pretend not to mind them being around

the good points are:

• Presents
• geting drunk for no reason
• can't think of any more at this point in time
• oh well

Yes why is that so? Religions as diverse as Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity all start out as doctrines, but build up "clergy"
as they progress through history. Why?

My 2 somewhat interelated theories-

#1 In all ancient societies, you begin with only a "worker" class that each tends their own field/hunts their own animals. As people begin to store things and live off of surplus, it allows divirsification of society into more specialized tasks. From there, some people are "freed" from sustenance type labor and begin to do other things like create art and govern the city.

The resident religion always gets a clergy because there are "free" plebians in the society who begin to devote themselves to "Worship". The rest of the people then look to these people as the ones they should follow as these people know the most about religion, and it snowballs from there.

#2 All human organizations, no matter the purpose, eventually attract a bureaucracy. Eventually, the bureaucracy becomes the face of the organization.