Bull Shxt: Not Quite a Thread/ More Like a Post.

[Bomber The Cosmonaut]

So today my mother starts going at me 'You should buy something for your sister!'. I don't do presents. I don't want presents. I've been saying this for years and year and YEARS! I never planned to buy anyone anything - and now, the 23:rd - she's suddenly bugging me to buy my sister something!

No! I'm not buying some crap out of some social just because 'obligation'! I never agreed to any of this! This whole present thing is bull! If I want to buy someone something I'll do it because I want to, when I want to, when I have some actual feeling behind it, not because some tradition aribitraily says 'Buy some crap for this one date - OR ELSE!'. So of course if I don't my mum's going to be all sulky, and if I confront her about it she's going to sulk even more! Come on! I didn't buy anything last year, or the year before that, or the year before that! No disaster as of yet!

*sighs* I hate this time of year. Now I remember why. Definitely not going to accept any presents this time around, enough is enough! I've been telling them so many years now!

Capitalistic shit-holiday...

Yeaaaaah, I'm not into Christmas either. I have a big family which only gets bigger by the year. Gets harder to keep up with every year, especially when I'm on the other side of the planet. S'ok, I hate crowds of people anyways. As for gift giving, I'm with you on that, lol. You shouldn't have to give to someone because you feel obligated to.


Also, this constant switch from hot to cold weather is irritating the fuck out of me. Damn it, pick a happy medium and stick to it. I'm sick of getting colds.

[.Rusty.]

Eh I ain't religious so christmas is just a reason to spend time with the family. At least I have money to spend on them this year >.>

[BIG OLAF]

Eh I ain't religious so christmas is just a reason to spend time with the family. At least I have money to spend on them this year >.>

That reminds me, something that really pisses me off is all these bumper stickers and signs I see everywhere:

"Jesus is the Reason for the Season

&

"Keep 'Christ' in Christmas!"

Oh, Jesus Christ is what Christmas is about, huh? That's why Christians stole Christmas (and just about all of their holidays) from Pagan traditions and tweaked them ever-so-slightly to make them their own...and then claim to have 'came up' with them, themselves. Right.

[Enforcer MKV]

5th or 6th day of feeling like utter shite. Haven't been able to sleep right this past week. Didn't sleep at all last night, and I've only managed to take 2 or 3 30 minute naps before being woken up by family, with a not so gentle "wake the fuck up."

Seriously; IIIII'm not really enjoying this whole "living" thing right now. Ugh...

[Sinue_v2]

That reminds me, something that really pisses me off is all these bumper stickers and signs I see everywhere:

"Jesus is the Reason for the Season

&

"Keep 'Christ' in Christmas!"

Oh, Jesus Christ is what Christmas is about, huh? That's why Christians stole Christmas (and just about all of their holidays) from Pagan traditions and tweaked them ever-so-slightly to make them their own...and then claim to have 'came up' with them, themselves. Right.

Meh, that doesn't really bother me so much. Symbols and traditions have no inherent meaning, and rely on us to assign them such. If Christians think that Jesus is the reason for the season, then it is... to them at least, because whatever previous cultures or religions they borrowed their symbols and traditions from, at this point they have been so thoroughly digested and incorporated into their beliefs that they are for all intents and purposes Christian. And because this culture is overwhelmingly Christian, then that's also the meaning it has to the culture at large.

In a similar vein, the Swastika is traditionally a symbol of good luck, or as a tantric symbol in evoking sacred forces. But you wouldn't tattoo it on your arm (regardless of it's angle) and walk around the streets in Brooklyn, Hamburg, or Winchester... would you? If you did, you're not going to get a positive reaction from it. (At least not from anyone you'd want a positive reaction from) Its association with Nazism has largely overwritten whatever spiritual or historical meaning it once had in our culture, and now it means something else.

So Christian symbols and traditions taken or inspired by pagan predecessors are no different in that regard. They are Christian symbols because we, as a culture, say they are Christian symbols. They have a much longer and richer history and meaning as well, if you choose to look into it, but it's not necessary to do so.

Though, from my perspective, it seems like most Christians have themselves already forgotten (or minimized) the relation those symbols and traditions have to their religion. It's largely become more of a secular and capitalistic holiday in both function and meaning. So bumper stickers like those you've described seem to me like pathetic attempts to convince themselves that what they're doing for their own enjoyment, and for the sake of partaking in cultural normatives, has some deeper connection to their religious beliefs.



...By the way, it should be noted that for much of America's early history (particularly in the New England colonies), Christmas was rarely celebrated and was particularly looked down upon by the Puritans as paganistic revelry. They even went so far as to ban it's celebration (at least, any form beyond fasting and pious worship) in Boston. Christmas celebrations were also banned in England for a time during the 17th century under the puritanical ruler Oliver Cromwell and a parliament suspicious of the day's Catholic roots and influence subverting their faith.

[BIG OLAF]

Oh, what's the matter, can't handle an irregular heartbeat/palpitations for half a game? Try living with them 24/7. I can't even sleep right now; my chest is so goddamn tight.

and now I'm worrying myself. If something happens, my mom isn't here. No one is here. That would be it; game over. I guess I just need to listen to some nice music and mellow out.

[Noblewine]

I ate chinese food the other night and I don't think its agreeing with my stomach atm. Spending time with my family has been fun but my aunt has been driving me nuts with her paranoia when one of her cats is missing. Luckily, I found it this morning sleeping in the kitchen.

[Mike]

Shift from XP to 7 or 8 ( please don't be 8 ) coming up at work soon and the current computer I use doesn't meet the requirements. That means I need to all the important stuff and materials I've got on it off and I just know I'm going to forget something.

[NoiseHERO]

Too poor to get anyone gifts, and at the same time xmas isn't as awesome when you were a kid. D:

[Tyreek]

So... I thought the saying goes: "It's better to give than to receive".

I thought it was going to be a good Christmas. Honestly so. I had one more gift in mind for someone. I bought them a game as a gift on Steam. As a sign of our friendship, I thought it'd be nice to have him try the game I spoke so much about. So I did the deed, and send the gift off to his account.

So no more than a couple of hours after some sleep, I see he's been online, but not at the moment. I check it out to see if he got it. Gifts has 0 pending. So I assume he did. Not a word or letter uttered. Ok. Maybe when he gets on, I'll see.

So after I'm out at a family Xmas party, I see him online. So I wish him a Merry Christmas. Not even a reply back. Suddenly, he's offline... WTF? WTF dude?!

So, not even a thank you? Not even an acknowledgement? Not even a fucking hello?! Am I perceiving this wrong, or did you just plainly give me the perception of: "fuck you"? Please tell me I'm looking at this wrong...? I thought we were friends. I thought we were close. Fuck, I thought you'd at least have the courtesy to talk to me! I mean, come on, you were clearly online, and it doesn't take too long to know somebody sent you something. You get notifications!

The end of my Christmas ended shitty, and I pretty much slept if off. It was quite an irony to ruin my night. And I'd feel a lot less crappy if I didn't spend fucking money to share an experience with somebody, who I thought would be enough of a friend to appreciate the gesture... Please tell me I'm seeing this wrong? Please tell me something came up and he didn't notice? Am I overreacting? Really? Want another piece of irony? I have a habit of foreseeing outcomes like this in my head. Amusingly, it happened. I just wasn't ready to believe he'd be one to do it. I hope for god forgiving outcome, that this was clearly a mistake, or I'm about to assume you're going to be another person I couldn't give two shits about soon, if this is not rectified. 3 years going on 4. That's pretty fucked up to do that to me after so long.

I thought it was better to give than to receive. Funny, I don't feel better giving. Not at all.