One Atheist's Holiday Season

I believe that people have exploited Christmastide to an awful extent. Honestly, the season- whether you be Christian, Hindu, Atheist or anything else- should be about goodwill. Although I dislike the anticlimax provided by putting Christmas trees up in in shops October, and QVC holding a 'Christmas in July' day, as if buying presents were the only important thing, I enjoy a small sense of hope, of togetherness, of peace. I praise God, Buddha, fate, whatever, that on Christmas night I find myself holding someone whom I love in my arms, rather than being out on the streets, or born into poverty. Christmas was always one day when there wasn't wall-to-wall yelling at my little siblings (both between 12 and 15 years younger than me). So, go, buy presents as you must, but one must reflect care in more ways than buying something.

I think if you read all preceeding posts, drom_, you will note that we all expressed similar sentiment before drifting onto the topic of gifts. I don't apologize for giving them, but I concede that exchanging gifts can be over emphasized at times.

Happy holidays, drom - and, welcome to Able2Know.

PD DEPARTMENT STORES
We wish happy holidays unless you're one of those cheap america-haters who makes their own lousy gifts instead of buying stuff.
from todays Non Sequitur

Hi, dys. That about nails it.

Be careful at Wal-Mart, edgar. That's where many casualties of the Store Wars occur:



While I mildly question the expense of my valuable sympathy on someone so sophisticated that they would find important the task of arriving at 3 o'clock in the morning -- three hours in advance -- to line up to purchase a DVD player, that emotion is trumped by the care and concern expressed for her calamity by her fellow lemmings at the Wal-Mart in Orange City.

Should Ms. Van Lester pass away, she well qualifies for a Darwin award.

I shop before Thanksgiving, PDiddie. Wow. That's a horrible story - more common than I would like to believe.

I'm sure it happens a few times every year. It doesn't feel like the first time I have heard about it.

Bi-Polar Bear started a thread with the link to the story.

Apparently I'm not the only Humbug on the board.

BTW, I very much enjoyed your opening post. Weather's perfect today and I hope it holds awhile.

Completed my shopping -- all online -- and felt like I made out like a bandit, what with no taxes and free shipping.

I plan to find something to sell on Ebay. I just can't decide what.

Friday I worked. Saturday I helped an inlaw do some sheetrock work. But, today, Sunday, I began decorating outside for Christmas. It is a bit tricky this year. I have a ten month old dog that would tear up anything on the ground. Plus, I am adding some rooms onto the front, so I had to run the lights in such a way as to not impede construction. So far I have a strip of icycle lights across the eve, about sixty feet of ladder climbing work. That's enough for today. In the meantime, my wife has set up and decorated the artificial tree. It looks nice. We do this every year, even though there are no children to share it with, except on the occasional visit. When I was a child we had few decorations and often had to improvise a tree. One year my brother brought home a eucalyptus branch that made a lovely Christmas tree. We had no presents that year, until on Christmas Eve night the principle of my school appeared at the door with armloads of gifts. I suppose I am compensating for those years by decorating just for we two old folks; I don't spend time analyzing it. We jus enjoy these days a lot more by keeping the tradition alive and hoping our kids will always do the same.

I play lots of Christmas music these days. My all time favorite album of Christmas songs is Johnny Mathis' first collection in which he does Sleigh Ride, White Christmas, Winter Wonderland, etc. I love Bill Monroe singing Christmas Time's a-Comin' and Harry Belafonte's version of I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day. Crosby's White Christmas and Do You Hear What I hear. Nat King Cole: The Christmas Song. Elvis' Christmas album's a gas. The Drifters' version of White Christmas is unique. Harry Simeon Chorale: The Little Drummer Boy. And, quite often collections by choirs and other groups you never heard of produce recordings superior to the ones by the established artists.

I like to listen to Christmas music too. While I'm on the internet, I put on Radio Netscape Plus classic Christmas. They play music all day, very little commercials. All Christmas songs are my favorites. I especially like The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole, The Carpenters Christmas Collection, So This is Christmas by John Lennon, and an oldie called All I Want For Christmas Is You. I'm also a fan of Lori Line, and I'm guessing that some people may never have heard of her.

Edgar, this post is so like you. I agree completely with your views of the holidays. The tradition, the family coming together are priceless.
May your holidays be full of love and joy.

Thank you, Diane. May you and yours know the wonder of a holiday full of Peace and Christmas joy.

Colorbook reminded me that So This is Christmas is also one of my top favorites.

Today is the day of our company Christmas party. Since it begins at 6pm the staff has gotten off early to get ready. I have decided to stay home. It is being held in the Caddilac Bar on Shepherd Street, meaning there will be much drinking (that you have to buy) and dancing. I am a reformed alcoholic and a stiff legged, stumbling dancer. Not much to look forward to. As stick in the mud as it seems, I prefer a dinner with an awards ceremony. Saturday we will have a staff party. That one I will attend.

Thursday was the company party. This evening was the staff party, which was combined with the staff of another location. I was chosen to bring yams and cranberry sauce. I hate canned yams and am not fond of adding brown sugar and marshmallows. I cooked fresh yams and stirred in a stick of unsalted butter. Everybody said they were good and one person wanted extra to take home. We all were in a jolly mood, particularly the ones hitting the tequila. The gifts were all marked "man" or "woman." The men went first. Man # one picked a gift and unwrapped it. Man # 2 had the option to take the first man's gift or take a different one from the pile. In the event one gift is highly desired it can be claimed away from the holder in a circular fashion until one person has held it three times. After that no one can take it away again. Then the women did the same thing. Shortly after that we cleaned up our mess and all went home.

edgar, That's the routine we use every year for our white elephant party. We all bring unused gifts, and pick numbers from a bowl to see what sequence each person picks from the new or opened gift. It can be claimed only three times with our white elephant party, but we also have two ugly wood driftwood sculptures that are so ugly, we all laugh when somebody picks it. That has rotated for about twenty years now, and we still get a big laugh. Somebody painted one bright red several years ago. It's fun.

Yeah, CI; I enjoy these things.

I love these two weeks before Christmas -- all the shopping, all the planning, the rushing about, the cooking, and especially the wrapping. I really enjoy that. Some years ago I was present when my mother-in-law was doing her Christmas wrapping, and I noticed a price tag on the gift she was wrapping. When I told her it was still attached, she said -- with a perfectly straight face -- "Oh, I always leave those on. I want people to know what I paid for their gift." Oh puhleeeze! I nearly died, and when I protested, she got quite huffy. True spirit of Christmas, huh?

And in a similar vein -- A few years ago my sister-in-law wrote to advise us that she and my brother were henceforth going to celebrate Christmas the proper way (Translation: her way). Since it is Christ's birthday and not their birthday, would we please send no more Christmas gifts. We have studiously ignored her orders, and I wrote back to say that they can celebrate Christmas any way they like, and we will do likewise -- and our way entails giving gifts. Sorry about that, sis.

As you can see I have a weird family. But don't we all?