There.

Said.

What is it with these semi-religious get togethers that force you to wear a happy face while you really just wanna be at home?

Halloween and Thanksgiving are mostly American holidays, I wager. I must admit that I do not know much about them, as we do not celebrate them much here in Holland.

But christmas. what a load of bull! Most people here are not even religious and just use it as an excuse to unleash their excesses. Food! Presents! Peace on earth! [*]

And the next day they just get in their cars, get in line of the traffic jam and curse everything that moves.

Of course, christmas these days are also about LIGHTS! Cutting down trees! How many people realise that their christmas is not even Jesus Christ's birthday, but just the old ritual of pagans turned Christian so the new faith could take hold?

Of course christmasses are spend with family. And loads of people EXPECT their children to just show their faces. While most people have to travel to get to ONE family or even TWO when you are in a relationship, not leaving ONE day for yourself and YOUR family.

What is it like in YOUR family? I see the attraction of a tree with cutesy lights and Bing Crosby singing standards, but the commercialism of it all gets on my nerves...
How do YOU spend your average christmas? You drag yourself through these days as much as I do?

Last year I gave a little candlelit dinner for my three closest friends and made an Indonesian rice table, hehehe.
Then one day was spent at my sister's, cuz she just had a baby. That christmas was special, in retrospect, as my mum was hospitalised a few weeks later and died soon after.

So on top of me disliking the immense commercial side of the holiday and the fake origins, we as family also have to find a new balance in our family. We are parentles now and our family is still in a state of shock over what happened and these things will most certainly color our get together...

Maaaan, I really feel like eloping already. Like I said, we do not celebrate Halloween in Holland much and thanksgiving is for lost Americans. I cannot imagine if I had to be dragged through those too.






[*] I am a person that also detests Mother's Day or Pet Day, to honour and pamper your loved ones ONE day a year.... I adored my mum the WHOLE year, every day. And I love my animals so much, I would not have gotten them otherwise.

I like Christmas. I don't really care if it's a religious festival, or not. I like the spirit of it all.

If it takes one day of the year for people to care about me, then I'm not going to complain.

I haven't really spoken with any friends or family since Wednesday. Nobody's phoned, texed, emailed, come around...

I haven't left my flat since I came home from work on Thursday. There's nothing to go outside for. Nowhere to go and nobody to see. Everybody's all too busy with their own families and their own lives.

The only thing I've got to look forward to is my dreams when I fall asleep.

BinaryJustin said:

I am not a friend?



I wrote a limerick for you!
About peeing through blinds!

And yer working the selfpity approach! WRONG! DANGER WILL ROBINSON! DANGER!

I Halloween! It's probably the only holiday I truly enjoy celebrating. I love getting dressed up and coming up with costumes and seeing others in all their creative glory. And carving pumpkins and all the pretty leaves on the ground to crunch through when trick-or-treating and such.

Thanksgiving with my family is so-so. Pretty much like any other day I go to my parents for dinner.
Thanksgiving with my friends is a BLAST! We make the yummiest food and we all go around and say what we're thankful for and it's makes everyone real happy and feel really, really lucky and thankful that we have such a great group of people who love each other and all that kinda stuff.

Xmas I can lose. I'm not much for all that crap. But I always have to do the family thing. Our "friend" Xmas is pretty fun, lotsa treats and drunkeness, though this year I won't be able to be as generous in years past and I hate not being able to give everyone a little something.

Cloudbuster said:

Come out! Where ever you are!
I can see you!

CarrieMpls said:

Just remember your friends do not like you for the gifts; they LOVE the fact they are able to spend it with YOU!

Cuz you are amazing!

GooeyTheHamster said:

awwwww

I know no one expects presents. I just like being able to give them. Makes me feel good, ya know?

CarrieMpls said:

We always love to find the most fun CHEAP gifts, silly things that make us laugh and are fun to give AND get...

My most prescious gifts last year were fake kiddies guns (two!) that I could strap on my hips while I was cooking dinner...LoL

I LOVE Thanksgiving and Christmas. Halloween is good, but not a big deal to me. Thanksgiving is typically a peaceful day with my immediate family, and maybe a few other relatives. It's a nice mellow precursor to all the Christmas hoopla. I love making fresh cranberry sauce.
Christmas. Ah, Christmas. I really love this one. It's a time when I enjoy being in Colorado in the winter. I like the shopping part -- picking out gifts for my friends and family and walking around with big shopping bags. I like to buy one stock of matching wrapping paper with coordinated bows, so all of my gifts have a common look. I like all the parties that lead up to Christmas -- spending time with co-workers and friends who I don't see as often as I'd like. Christmas Eve is the big day for my family. We usually gather at my sister's house around 9:00 p.m. to eat chicken wings, shrimp, and pizza -- and drink lots of wine. As a kid we waited until midnight, then opened our presents. Now the kids don't let that happen. By 10 or 11, there is a massive tornado of wrapping paper and boxes and "ooh, look at that!" "oh, that's great! how did you know I wanted this???" Then we all sit around talking until the wee hours.

On Christmas morning we usually go to Mass. Through the years I've run the gamut of emotions with the Catholic Church. My mom is still devout and saddened that none of her kids embrace the Church like she does. At any rate, my hatred and anger toward the Church is greatly diminished. I actually enjoy going to Mass occassionally. I like the pageantry, the ritual. I have pretty much no use for any other aspect of Catholicism. Anyway -- after Mass, it's back to Mom's to get ready for Christmas dinner. It's usually served between 2 - 4. That night, we may go to a movie, or just hang out at Mom's house.

I love my family holidays. And next, I'm looking forward to having a husband that I can share it with as well.

I can't stand 'holidays'. Thanks for posting this Gooey!

Chico1 said:

LoL @ the pic!

I like all these holidays.

Gooey, you would HATE me at Xmas. As a friend said a few years back, Christmas throws up all over my house each year. Lights everywhere, a tacky tree, figurines, wall hangings, stockings, etc. Decorating my house typically involves 10 people, a box of wine and about 8 hours of madness. Then, I spend a month baking cookies, shopping and making presents. All of this to the holiday songs of Bing, Kenny and Dolly, Cyndi Lauper, The Chipmunks and more. I'm annoyingly festive through the whole season (just ask Carrie).

Course, I'm annoyingly festive most of the time Xmas just gives me extra reasons to be a cornball.

What is really funny bout all of this is that I'm not even a christian. I just like the feelings of the season.

endorphin74 said:

I could never hate you. I am just trying to find the right vibe. I have been too close to religion and the origins of christmas to get the vibe you are on.

I bet I would LOVE your christmasses.

But I'ld also be asleep on the couch at 8, cuz that is what food and booz does to me!

Halloween actually gets some religious folk's panties in a bunch due to its suppoedly "Satanic" implications. Its also the only major holiday i can think of that doesn't involve presents or forced family gatherings...you might like it goo.

GooeyTheHamster said:

Um... You know what I mean. I told you all about it.

endorphin74 said:

yeah, that was me.

endorphin74 said:

Aw, see, that's cool. Post pics after you've decorated this year, ok?

I've done that some years, and other years gotten lazy about it. This year, the tacky plastic tree and random red velvet crap and little goofy things on gold loops are going up early.

When I was in Americorps I worked with this awesome ex-Catholic who detested the religious stuff but LOVED the holiday, so she renamed it Winter Happy Time and went all-out. Since then, I've cheerfully celebrated Winter Happy Time.

One thing that we've done in my little family is get away from the gift thing. We might use it as an excuse to unwrap a trinket or two, but for the most part, we get together and choose an experience or one big shared item. . .buy tickets to something, maybe. . .last year the three of us bought a huge bed together, with great sheets . . . stuff like that. And we buy something like that for my larger family. . . we took them to see Chicago (the play, not the city) a couple years ago, for instance. It decreases the focus on a bunch of crap we don't need and gives us an excuse to do something together that we might not otherwise do, as well as giving us something to look forward to post-holiday.

My favorite holiday is probably Thanksgiving, because gratitude is just about the best thing ever, though the last couple of years my parents have been in Hawaii (bastards ) during that time, and they will be again this year. Some of the friends I've celebrated with in recent years have moved away or will be with family. So I don't know what I'm gonna do this year. Keep it small, I guess.

oh dear

Goeey...

Sinterklaas is not very happy right now

BinaryJustin said:

I was going for the smile there, Justin-baby.

You know I love you.

AprilMichelle said:

Yup. Can't wait for the next release of the Harry Potter circus, so the bible belt can have some more book burnings.

AprilMichelle said:

True. But isn't the thing in the US to go 'round stranger's houses and beg for..erm... sugared candy?

I'd be at the door in the goriest costume telling people to sod off and make children cry, hehehe...

Maybe play a nice Exorcist sample "Your mother sucks [BLEEP] in hell!"

Heheh. Is that mean?
[Edited 10/31/04 14:06pm]

We obviously dont celebrate Halloween or Thanksgiving in Australia so I wont comment on those, but I love Christmas and i am not religious in the least.

I love getting together with family and eating and drinking to excess. It has a great vibe and to see the looks on my children's faces is fantastic.



.
[Edited 10/31/04 14:54pm]

GooeyTheHamster said:

Personally I think that would be hysterically funny...you are officially invited to bring your gory self to my house next Halloween Although it is traditional for children to come and beg for treaty, putting up an "out of candy" sign seems to be enough to deter them should you not wish to be bothered.