I always had fond memories of Christmas; my mom always made it special. We never got much "stuff" but there were nice, cozy times. However, what I have found is that many people are weird about Christmas. They go overboard and expect too much from a single day or season. And then they get bummed afterwards. I spent last Christmas alone and it was much less stressful. My boyfriend and I have been doing T-Day for years and love to relax (well, I do all the cooking, LOL). Halloween has gotten so gory. I used to enjoy seeing decorations but now they are morbid. I don't think it's good for children to see all that negativity and blood, etc. I guess since Halloween is in five weeks, I am gearing myself up for the onslaught. It really is hard to endure sometimes. Thank God I no longer watch tv. It would be that much worse.

*My point here is that I am starting to steel myself for this hype and I just wonder if most people on here enjoy constantly seeing decorations a month early or Christmas lights two months late?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/24/2010 01:10AM by banana who.

yeah

i actually

for the most part

do enjoy the holidays quite a bit ( as long as i don't get too cerebral about it and start pontificating on anything just slightly below the surface too deeply

guilty

as accused

Yes, especially if I focus on the valuing of people and their company, and ethnic ritual, more than the material nonsense leading me by the nose into holiday iniquity

Yes!

I like the feelngs, and the decorations and throwing parties,the weather and the food. Sharing it with the kids and having a good time.

I have always loved halloween since a kid, im a big horror movie fan, infact i used to collect alot of movie memorabilia. I even adapted all the food to raw goodies.

Christmas was great too.

No.

I like every day to be special. I like being treated well and treating others well just because of love. It is wonderful being surprised. Thoughtful moments throughout the year are meaningful. Spontaneous parties are exciting. I give gifts when I feel inspired to do so. Being genuine is important to me.

Holidays require that everyone behave a certain way on a certain day - and to me that has less meaning. I don't want anyone to give me a gift because they are expected to do it. (And I don't want to be expected to give gifts either.) The commercialism of holidays makes me sick. I see it as mass hypnosis and indoctrination into a consumer culture. Ick.

I guess when it comes to holidays others could imagine I'm a Scrooge, and in a way I guess I am; however, for me the majority of days in a year are full of wonder and happiness. I hate holidays, but love every day.


My favorite raw vegan

Trive, you said exactly how I feel! I don't like special days because it seems forced and therefore phony to me. I had a boss with a dour demeanor--never smiled--and she was SO cheerful during the Christmas season! And of course, business as usual afterwards. Very sheeple-esque. But I understand people on here who love the rituals and spending time with loved ones. I don't think of the people drawn to this lifestyle as very 'worldly.' They march to their own drummers and even when it comes to holidays, they do things their own way.

i like halloween because of all the memories i had as a kid trick or treating
and yeah... i loved making a BIG fat deal out of making all the costumes, painting my face etc.

thanksgiving.. not too crazy about because i don't like turkey


christmas... i like it because people act weird ' n crazy and not their normal selves and plus have very good memories ... what with everyone wasting a zillion bucks putting up the craziest light displays with snowmen bobbing their head up and down from fake roofs,.. u kind of have to like it ... in a sort of sad pathetic beautiful way

Halloween is easy to love if you've got little kids (which I do, yay!). We spend time planing and making their costumes and then go out for a trick or treat to see the local decorations and other kid's costumes. My littles leave their candy in a big bowl overnight for the great pumpkin (they know it's me) to exchange for a cool little present so I don't have to deal with the sugar overload. And we usually go to a party in town that has fun activities.

Thanksgiving and Xmas are both a time to see family for a big overnight party, dinner, gift giving. My aunt decorates her place and has a huge tree and it's super fun for the kids to visit with her family. I am fairly relaxed about diet to the point where I'll eat lots of what is prepared (no bird for me but that's only one dish, I don't miss out at all!) which my family appreciates and which doesn't hurt me any. We have a great time, I've learned to balance it all so it's very low stress. We've made arrangements for less presents this year too so that won't be as overwhelming as it sometimes is. My kids are happy with one or two fun things each, no need for 14 gifts a piece!

coco,

that is a cool way to approach the candy thing - leave the junk in exchange for a present. I like it.

The holidays are what you make of them; I enjoy them all, I like the traditions, the lights are cool, bring back warm memories of days long ago when everything was right with the world, at least in my young childhood mind..


so I try to carry on the traditions with the young ones around me and make their Christmas & other holidays enjoyable as well.

The commercialism aspect? Well, what are you gonna do...it is all around us in every aspect of life. I could have a rotten attitude about it, but I choose not to. It's easier to live life as a "happy" person...

So now the true identity of the Great Pumpkin ha been revealed!

(What a great idea, coco! I'll pass it on to my friends with young children. It's worth spreading.)


My favorite raw vegan

I used to really love the holidays, especially when I was younger. But now I usually just feel relieved when they are over. I especially don't like the crowds, and the shopping. Usually when I go shopping its just for everyday kind of things. I usually don't give much for the holidays, or recieve for that matter. I sometimes give handmade items for the holidays, but the response back is usually rather poor. I guess its because it wasn't the most popular electronic game of the season.

Oh, then there is the non-stop christmas music I have heard for so many years. Sometimes its nice to listen to, but not for hours at a time! In the last job I had, the manager had a love for christmas music, and played it for hours. She asked if anyone objected. (how are you supposed to honestly reply to that?)She also extended the music into january. You could almost hear the staff roll their eyes!

<The commercialism aspect? Well, what are you gonna do...it is all around us in every aspect of life. I could have a rotten attitude about it, but I choose not to. It's easier to live life as a "happy" person...>

JK: I don't see it as being unhappy or having a "rotten attitude." I see the commercialism as ruining a wonderful, wholesome time of year by pushing their crap earlier and earlier. It also concerns me what people do. It seems as if for the last 20 years or so, people have been having elaborate Halloween decorations and Christmas ones and they put them up way too soon. The problem is that it ruins it for the kids because it's no longer so special. Especially those who leave up their Christmas lights for two months afterwards (as well as string lights all year round), it makes it more common to see decorations and it's not as magical for the kids. When I was a kid, we would actually drive around right before Christmas to see all the lights. People put up their decorations two weeks before Christmas and everything was gone by 12/27 or so. Don't cling to stuff! Enjoy the rarity of it!

banana,

After I read what I posted I realized that I may have sounded a bit harsh with that - and I didn't mean to come across that way. I completely understand what you mean about pushing it eearlier and earlier.

It does take the fun out of it to an extent, that is true. Unfortunately, we have reached this point, and "more/bigger is better", so there most likely will not be a return to simpler times.

I guess my point was - I could lament over all the commercialism (and I do somewhat), but I try to get past it as best I can & enjoy the holiday magic, especially the wonder in little ones eyes...

I refuse to go into stores that have anything at all like Christmas merchandise after the first week of November; about 8 years ago, I saw a Santa Bear display all done up in a pyramid the week before Thanksgiving at the local Hudson's. It must have taken some college kid hours to assemble it just so. I stopped dead in my tracks on the way to the catalog department and stared. I actually started to reach down to tug the bottomest bear out of line but I stopped myself at the last minute when I realized that, once the bears were all toppled, I would not be able to stop myself from stomping all over them in my autumn-muddied boots, a tirade I could scarcely have afforded(that's a lot of Santa Bears to purchase, wash and send off to the SalVay).

The local Kroger had Big Bags of candy and Halloween decorations up already, two days ago. What in God's name is going on? We all know these people don't care about the holidays--what they worship is Mammon, filthy, stinking, odious Mammon. Now, if I saw a life size replica of the Golden Calf in Wonka milk chocolate and wrapped in gold foil, I'd mortgage my house to buy that sucker. And then, I'd raise it up on a makeshift dais in my backyard, and burn it, burn it with the neighborhood kids all gathered around to smell the stench of molten cheap cocoa butter and paraffin wax, in a lurid parody of that scene in "The Ten Commandments." Oh yes, it'd be a Halloween to remember . . .

Tamukha: Have you ever thought of writing the store about this? I have found that corporations are pretty responsive when people complain about stuff these days. I think they are worried about campaigns against them and fear that if they blow you off they'll really be in for it. I was in a Caribou coffee house last year. They started the Christmas music on November 1st, I think! If I happen to be in one this November and it happens again, I will definitely give them a piece of my mind.

JK: I took your intensity to mean that it's something you really enjoy. I am born fairly close to Christmas; I actually find that time of year magical, but I feel a bit nostalgic for what I see in movies from the '30s and '40s (long before my birth!). You see so many decorations, but much more emphasis on the love of friends and family and a hope for the future. The push for material goods degrades all that and it's hard to escape it. The best thing is to turn off the boob tube. Last year was the best Christmas I had in a long while. It was also the first one that I was not watching tv, as well as spending it by myself

Ah Ha! Now I get why it's bugging y'all so much! I don't have tv, don't get the paper, magazines, listen to radio, and don't live near any billboards or bus shelters or other places where they stick up ads. I also only get out to shop once weekly and that's to the grocery store. I am not as exposed as some of you I think. I don't even really notice neighbours setting up decorations until it gets closer to the actual time, not unless it starts snowing early and then I don't mind the lights and wreaths then at all.
This might change when we move into the city, we'll be there just after Halloween so I guess I'll see. I still don't plan on spending lots of time in the shopping district though.

coco,

I cannot believe it's as Mercantalismtastic in Canada. But I do romanticize the Great White North a bit

as we have thanksgiving in canada earlier then usa, xmas shyte goes up shortly after halloween

its really annoying

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Jodi--when is your T-Day? I honestly feel that Thanksgiving is my fave holiday! But sad to say, in the States it has come to be almost invisible. It's just like in Canada--Halloween to Christmas. I remember being a kid and seeing decorations with turkeys, pilgrims, and Indian corn (loved that!) displays. Now not so much

Oh yeah, and let's not get started on Sweetest Day! I just saw a sign in a Walgreen's card section. Do any of you celebrate this one? How does it differ from Valentine's and why do they need it, beside more moola?

its usually the 2nd monday of October this year its October 11th

i never heard of sweetest day lol but it does not suprise me !!

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

I dont like holidays in general, I mean they are ok and all, but they all seem to be about giving people stuff and getting stuff... When I give a gift, I want it to be because I saw something somewhere and was like "wow, this is perfect for so and so!" and just give it to them cause I saw it and it made me think of them... having a holiday where one is more or less forced to give stuff, or else face some uncomfortable social consequences if one doesn't, greatly bothers me... thanksgiving I feel differently about, as its more about getting together with tasty food and having a great time with family and friends...although it frequently doesnt end up that way...lol

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Never heard of sweetest day until I lived in a border town and had a boyfriend from the states. I was like "What kind of day? What the heck are you talking about? Valentine's day is in February!" Weird. We don't "celebrate" that one in Canada.
Thanksgiving is Oct 11 this year I think, that weekend anyhow. We're going to my aunties which I love but I really hope she doesn't cook a pig this year, I don't eat it but I don't even like to see/smell that stuff :'(
Some of you may know my history with Pig. For the rest of you let's leave it at, It Was Traumatic.

Wow, it's so wild that in Canada they celebrate Thanksgiving so early (well, in my mind because in USA it's at the end of Nov.). Is it for the same reason--the settlers having a joyous time with the indigeous (lovely how they showed their "thanks"? I read this book on the history of holidays and it was so fascinating! The Pagan influence on Christianity was even greater than I first thought and yet some Christian sects act as if particular practices are 'satanic.' Some fundamentalists don't allow their kids to participate in Halloween because of this, and yet don't realize how pagan Christmas is! The tree is such an important symbol in paganism and they decorate it. So Arbor Day is close to May Day, which is pagan...If you ever get a chance to find a history on holidays, pick it up. It's interesting how Christmas used to be celebrated in America.

I have many fond Christmas memories.
One thing in particular was the solitary activity of setting up a little village on our mantle every year,with the fireplace going,music on the stereo,the cold wintery landscape of the fields behind our house to look at,and the smell of moms supper cooking in the kitchen.
There were no finer and peaceful moments than those.

I still set up a little village,on my own mantle,with the music playing.

It will always be.




Vinny

Ah, that's very sweet. My kids are so fond of the creche as well. We have a teensy weensy little wooden one, handpainted from Guatemala I think. They've loved the doors right off that thing more than once, thank goodness for glue!

oh my gosh

i am remembering things when i was a kid

like this little gingerbread house
i was entranced with
cuz it was the ONLY house that u could eat
it dualed as a christmas tree decoration too
but it was kind of fragile ( sort of)
i preferred to just stare at it forever
before i took little furtive bites out of it