Christmas is Coming!

Trey of Diamonds · Nov 29, 2012

What do you love about Christmas?

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Robert Earl Keene's Merry Christmas from the Family - YouTube

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Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer - YouTube

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The Kinks -- Father Christmas (better audio) - YouTube

dawny0826 · Nov 29, 2012

I have been a Grinch for years, but am very jolly this Christmas, despite car troubles and work stress.

I love family. That's the best thing about Christmas - being with those you love.

I enjoy eggnog milkshakes, Christmas music, bright lights and fudge.

I also look forward to The Year Without a Santa Clause and non-stop runnings of A Christmas Story.

The commercial aspects of the holiday do not fill me with glee (save eggnog milkshakes).

Revoltingest · Nov 29, 2012

I love when the whole season is over.

dyanaprajna2011 · Nov 29, 2012

I don't really do Christmas. My fiance is a Christian, and the kids kind of expect it, so we celebrate it, but it's something that I don't really enjoy much. This Christmas, however, I'm enjoying a bit more than usual, because for the first time in the eight years that I've been together with my fiance, we actually have a little extra money to kind of go a little crazy on the kids and decorations. And that is one thing I've always liked about Christmas, is driving around looking at all the decorations.

Trey of Diamonds · Nov 30, 2012

I love the joy of the children, mine and others during the season. I've been lucky not to be surrounded by the gimme, gimme, gimme kids.

I also love pointing out the pagan origins to my more fundamentalist relatives just to see their faces go all sour.

While I consider myself a nominal Christian, for some reason Christmas makes me feel more pagan. Not as much as Halloween, my favorite holiday. So Merry Yule to you all!

Jayhawker Soule · Nov 30, 2012

Radio station music is played over our intercom system at work.

Early in December there is a local radio station that schedules nothing but Christmas music and that station is selected (by popular vote of the people in the plant) for for broadcast until after Christmas. The result is that I - a Jew - find myself subjected to an endless stream of Christian propaganda: Oh Little Town of Bethlehem, Silent Night, The First Noel, The Little Drummer Boy -- over and over and over (literally) ad nauseam.

I so much look forward to the time when the music stops.

MysticSang'ha · Nov 30, 2012

My favorite thing about Christmas is when the family comes over and we eat a LOT of food, I share a whiskey sour with my grandmother (who is almost 94 years old, and is just now starting to complain about walking up and down stairs) and the annual tradition of watching National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. We have a couple other things planned, but most of the time when my grandmother and I share whiskey sours together, it's never boring.

In our family, when somebody hosts a family get-together, there's a household tradition that goes along with it. For my Aunt and Uncle, it's an appreciation of all things delicate, finer, and beautiful. For my mother, it's photographs and video of past memories that are brought out and stories told.

And for us in our household, it's doing as many things as possible that are goofy and full of laughter. In our household, that's how we view celebration....with laughter.

So, family is what I look forward to the most this season.

Tarheeler · Nov 30, 2012

I can only find it this time of year.

Trey of Diamonds · Nov 30, 2012

Jayhawker Soule said:
Radio station music is played over our intercom system at work.

Early in December there is a local radio station that schedules nothing but Christmas music and that station is selected (by popular vote of the people in the plant) for for broadcast until after Christmas. The result is that I - a Jew - find myself subjected to an endless stream of Christian propaganda: Oh Little Town of Bethlehem, Silent Night, The First Noel, The Little Drummer Boy -- over and over and over (literally) ad nauseam.

I so much look forward to the time when the music stops.

I like some Christmas music but generally only when I'm in control of the playlist and can turn it off when I'm tired of it. It does get bothersome hearing it nonstop from every elevator and storefront for days on end. Also, I tend to like the less traditional varieties such as the links in the OP.

Jainarayan · Nov 30, 2012

We have not done Christmas in a number of years. My partner is Roman Catholic, but does not practice; I am Hindu (nominally, with syncretism creeping in). We did the live Christmas tree thing (talk about himsa against a living tree

); I got to do the lights. As easily as one can string lights together, I also found that I could string obscenities together in a way you'd never think possible putting those damn lights up

but it was all for the kids. Now they're grown and gone, who is it all for? When I almost got blown off the ladder putting the lights on the outside of the house, I ripped them down and cancelled Christmas. I have a bit of a temper and try to remember Bhagavad Gita 12.13-15. But I do like the music, I like the lights and the festivites... as long as someone else does it all and I just sit back on my butt. It's in no way religious for me, but would I go to church if he wanted to go (which is not very bloody likely)? Sure, for him.

SageTree · Nov 30, 2012

Ricky says it best at the end from the pulpit.

Trailer Park Boys: Dear Santa Claus, Go ***** Yourself. (Full).2004.

I like the religious side of Christmas,
but the winter-party-times are a joy all their own.

Such a hopeful time of the year to me.

Infinitum · Nov 30, 2012

I find myself having a kind of Christmas Crisis this year. This is the first year we're going to be at home most of Christmas after I came out of the "broom closet" and I should be making choices on how to celebrate and whether to celebrate at all. The winter solstice is important to me, so that makes it a bit easier, but it's still a total mess for me right now. We'll see what I come up with. Luckily the local Christmas hasn't really changed since Pagan days, except for the horrendous Christmas songs playing on the radio.

SageTree · Nov 30, 2012

It's a blessing to have Christmas so near the Solstice for sure.
Take that ball and run with it

Quagmire · Nov 30, 2012

Thing I love about Christmas is that we all get to live in a fairy tale for a while.

For a whole month we're surrounded by elves, flying reindeer, talking snowmen, countless images of a completely benevolent demi-god (Santa Claus), trees full of shiny fruit that never goes bad, giant candy canes sprouting from people's lawns, music (a lot of it beautiful) coming from everywhere telling everyone to cheer up and be nicer to each other, lights . . .

TV shows about miracles and miraculous transformations. . .

The fact that it's all make believe is just part of the magic: people are free to interpret each and every element any way they like.

As far as the religious connotations--- :shrug:

I'd probably be just as pleased by the whole thing if the Holiday were based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and people had diaramas of the Shire on their front lawns, and were going door to door singing "Oh little town of Rivendale. . ."

It's all about the magic. And the thing is, not all of it's make believe: anything that can get people to be a little nicer to each other for a whole month has to have some kind of magic behind it.

Jainarayan · Nov 30, 2012

Quagmire said:
Thing I love about Christmas is that we all get to live in a fairy tale for a while.

For a whole month we're surrounded by elves, flying reindeer, talking snowmen, countless images of a completely benevolent demi-god (Santa Claus), trees full of shiny fruit that never goes bad, giant candy canes sprouting from people's lawns, music (a lot of it beautiful) coming from everywhere telling everyone to cheer up and be nicer to each other, lights . . .

Pfft! I live in that world when I take one of my pain pills. :biglaugh:

England my lionheart · Nov 30, 2012

I like the winter festival that was hijacked by the Christians,i'm not fond of the commercial side of it or the "good will to all" that only exists for a few days,i see it more like our ancestors as a time when you ate drank and made merry on the surplus (if you are lucky enough) to requirements you have worked all year to enjoy.

4consideration · Nov 30, 2012

Quagmire said:
Thing I love about Christmas is that we all get to live in a fairy tale for a while.

For a whole month we're surrounded by elves, flying reindeer, talking snowmen, countless images of a completely benevolent demi-god (Santa Claus), trees full of shiny fruit that never goes bad, giant candy canes sprouting from people's lawns, music (a lot of it beautiful) coming from everywhere telling everyone to cheer up and be nicer to each other, lights . . .

TV shows about miracles and miraculous transformations. . .

The fact that it's all make believe is just part of the magic: people are free to interpret each and every element any way they like.

As far as the religious connotations---

I'd probably be just as pleased by the whole thing if the Holiday were based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and people had diaramas of the Shire on their front lawns, and were going door to door singing "Oh little town of Rivendale. . ."

It's all about the magic. And the thing is, not all of it's make believe: anything that can get people to be a little nicer to each other for a whole month has to have some kind of magic behind it.

Yeah.

It's love. The real thing shown in really little ways, like just being jolly with each other. It's not something you can purchase in the store. But, the sparkly stuff can be interpretted as a visual, just adding just a little sparkle and jingle to life -- with other people playing along.

ChristineES · Dec 1, 2012

I like Christmas music- I am really the only one in my family that really does- so in between my son's Ozzy Osbourne, my daughter's Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift, my older son's country music (Luke Bryan and Justin Moore), and my husband's music (varies with his mood), I can maybe squeeze in a little bit of Christmas music.

I also like turkey, the smell of pine (when we don't use our artificial tree), buying something for my kids that they really want, and seeing all the bell ringers from the Salvation Army- The Christmas season, for some people, brings out our best about giving to others who don't have anything.
When I told my daughter there was no Santa- I told her in a way he does exist- as in the spirit of giving (my boys was whole different ball of wax).

ChristineES · Dec 1, 2012

(Some of the better parts of Christmas seem to come from the Yule celebrations). About 2 or 3 years ago on the History Channel, I watched a show about Winter Solstice, the Yule celebrations, etc. I learned some things. The show said that they would cut down a tree and light it on fire, and the Yule celebrations would last as long as the large tree (Log) would burn- could take weeks.

Jainarayan · Dec 1, 2012

This one gives me goosebumps

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I fell asleep one night while watching Johnny Carson and when I woke up, Gary Morris was singing this as a guest. I didn't hear who he was, and it drove me nuts for years scouring record stores to see an album with his picture on it. It was about 20 years later I found the cd.

I don't care what religion you are or are not, music is a universal language. Someone said "Music is well said to be the speech of angels". Ravi Shankar, in the album liner of The Concert for Bangladesh said the rishis of old called music "Nada Brahma",

which means that the whole universe was created from the energy of sound - it's only the sound that exists in the beginning. - Nada Brahma & Indian Classical Music

Christmas is Coming!

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