Happy Christmakwanzanakayulolsticesaturnialiaholidays
I hate Christmas.
I hate christmas music, I hate christmas movies (and why an entire industry exists just to make movies that put you "in the christmas spirit" is beyond me. Or that the "christmas spirit" is nothing more than guilt you feel for not participating in the gift grab) I hate christmas food.
I hate that everyone says it's okay not to be christian and celebrate christmas, but don't you dare tell a child under six that santa doesn't exist either. I hate how santa has become the secular jesus. I hate how everyone makes a big deal over wrapping paper. I hate how everyone makes a big deal over decorating and putting up lights. I hate how it fills everyone with stress to do it.
But most of all I hate how everyone says "it's tradition" and therefore I'm a "scrooge" if I don't participate in their game. Actually, that's tied in with the whole "We have to buy ourselves a 'nice' christmas" but I'm always against buying yourself happiness anyway, so that's not just christmas specific. And I really hate that firefox tells me "christmas" is misspelled because I didn't capitalise it. Fuck you, firefox. I deliberately misspelled it out of a lack of respect for it.
I hate christmas commercials. I hate shop clerks that wish you "generic winter holiday happy greetings". It makes me lol that everyone's trying to be so PC, but the assumption that everyone celebrates some kind of winter holiday pisses me off. The real god being worshipped at the end of the year is the dollar. If you don't worship that by buying something, you're the ultimate blasphemer.
I hate that most christians don't even realise the actual date of their lord's birth. I hate that they don't acknowledge they only moved his birthday (how convenient that they can do that) to convert the pagan heathens who had a similar holiday on the winter solstice. I hate that right-wing fundamentalists say they want to bring the jesus back to christmas but don't talk about moving the holiday to the spring. I hate that they insist that things like christmas trees, santa and lights are christian things. You stole them from pagan tribes, you dicks. I hate the entire cultural appropriation.
I hate that "I want to give the kids a nice christmas" is just code for "lots of presents and spending lots of money". I hate spending a lot of money on really nice gifts only to see those exact gifts in the thrift stores a few months later. I hate the bullshit drama surrounding "christmas cards". I hate that the post office and fedex and all other delivery companies get swamped with packages, mail and stress when they don't deliver something on time and are often out until 10pm delivering their shit, often in the cold, for someone else. I hate how people say it's about family in the very next breath and not realise that delivery drivers and temporary clerks in shops have families too. They want to be with their families just as much. As always famliies =/= only people with small children.
I hate the amount of things that are wasted during christmas time. Wrapping paper. Trees. Food. Batteries. Time. Money. Sanity. But mostly wrapping paper, ribbons, tape, gift tags and bows. These things are rarely, if ever, recycled. They cannot be burned in the fireplace. (They won't burn, they just smoke, I've tried) They have no other purpose but to become trash in .25 seconds. You're buying pre-trash. How many trees die every year, cut down so you can have a "christmas tree" in your home for a month? (Why are there no St Patrick's trees?) How many turkeys die every year so you can have a special dinner? Why are their lives exploited for yours, only to be in the trash heap in another month.
I hate how the city of Olympia, Washington put an atheist display as their christmas display and got slammed so badly by christians who were "offended at the lack of jesus" that now the entire practice has been banned. (Normally it was a nativity scene outside the capitol) I hate that atheists and any/all other religions don't make as much of a stink about nativity scenes and the like. When they do, the christians get mad that the state treats everyone like equals. But then on the flip side, you get those annoying "season's greetings politically correct messages". I don't need a greeting for the season. It's cold out. That's the season. "Be happy being cold!" Fuck you.
I hate the grief my family gives me when I tell them just where to stick their traditions. It seems like the only christmas traditions we have are to be stressed out and make every family member feel like crap for the "holiday". Nice goodwill towards all men sentiment there, guise. Really. I hate that because I've chosen to make no-stress my new tradition, that I get shit for it. Thus, my no-stress holiday tradition fills me with stress! FAIL. I hate that "Well why don't we make a new tradition?" is met with scorn, belitting and "You're such a scrooge!" I hate being called a scrooge. I hate that the only tradition I ever enjoyed about christmas was going to my uncle herb's house and then going carolling with all his friends and coming back for cocoa. I hate that when I tell that story everyone insists that it "never happened". I hate that everyone made fun of me when I wanted to convert to Judaism when I was 15 simply so I could avoid christmas. (Hey, to 15yo Piper, you were either xtian or jew or some kind of pre-jew/xtian until you were 18 and HAD to pick one. I honestly thought this. Your tax dollars work, thanks to public school)
Things I like about christmas (This'll be a short list)
The Reverand Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping
Reverand Billy's increasing list of stores he's banned from and arrest record
Cookies (though with my anti-diabetes diet, enjoying them is getting harder and harder)
Chocolate truffles are on sale
Candles and lights (just not putting them up or having to buy a new strand every year cause they broke)
Building fires and not looking ridiculous for wearing layers
Finding little pockets of sunshine and being able to be outside and not be cold
And the number one thing I like about christmas?!
When it's over.
No, this rant is not directed at anyone on my flist specifically, but mostly towards those I know in immediate life, my community and the greater world at large.
I think I'll keep this rant public for a while so people can link it if they want.
I hate christmas music, I hate christmas movies (and why an entire industry exists just to make movies that put you "in the christmas spirit" is beyond me. Or that the "christmas spirit" is nothing more than guilt you feel for not participating in the gift grab) I hate christmas food.
I hate that everyone says it's okay not to be christian and celebrate christmas, but don't you dare tell a child under six that santa doesn't exist either. I hate how santa has become the secular jesus. I hate how everyone makes a big deal over wrapping paper. I hate how everyone makes a big deal over decorating and putting up lights. I hate how it fills everyone with stress to do it.
But most of all I hate how everyone says "it's tradition" and therefore I'm a "scrooge" if I don't participate in their game. Actually, that's tied in with the whole "We have to buy ourselves a 'nice' christmas" but I'm always against buying yourself happiness anyway, so that's not just christmas specific. And I really hate that firefox tells me "christmas" is misspelled because I didn't capitalise it. Fuck you, firefox. I deliberately misspelled it out of a lack of respect for it.
I hate christmas commercials. I hate shop clerks that wish you "generic winter holiday happy greetings". It makes me lol that everyone's trying to be so PC, but the assumption that everyone celebrates some kind of winter holiday pisses me off. The real god being worshipped at the end of the year is the dollar. If you don't worship that by buying something, you're the ultimate blasphemer.
I hate that most christians don't even realise the actual date of their lord's birth. I hate that they don't acknowledge they only moved his birthday (how convenient that they can do that) to convert the pagan heathens who had a similar holiday on the winter solstice. I hate that right-wing fundamentalists say they want to bring the jesus back to christmas but don't talk about moving the holiday to the spring. I hate that they insist that things like christmas trees, santa and lights are christian things. You stole them from pagan tribes, you dicks. I hate the entire cultural appropriation.
I hate that "I want to give the kids a nice christmas" is just code for "lots of presents and spending lots of money". I hate spending a lot of money on really nice gifts only to see those exact gifts in the thrift stores a few months later. I hate the bullshit drama surrounding "christmas cards". I hate that the post office and fedex and all other delivery companies get swamped with packages, mail and stress when they don't deliver something on time and are often out until 10pm delivering their shit, often in the cold, for someone else. I hate how people say it's about family in the very next breath and not realise that delivery drivers and temporary clerks in shops have families too. They want to be with their families just as much. As always famliies =/= only people with small children.
I hate the amount of things that are wasted during christmas time. Wrapping paper. Trees. Food. Batteries. Time. Money. Sanity. But mostly wrapping paper, ribbons, tape, gift tags and bows. These things are rarely, if ever, recycled. They cannot be burned in the fireplace. (They won't burn, they just smoke, I've tried) They have no other purpose but to become trash in .25 seconds. You're buying pre-trash. How many trees die every year, cut down so you can have a "christmas tree" in your home for a month? (Why are there no St Patrick's trees?) How many turkeys die every year so you can have a special dinner? Why are their lives exploited for yours, only to be in the trash heap in another month.
I hate how the city of Olympia, Washington put an atheist display as their christmas display and got slammed so badly by christians who were "offended at the lack of jesus" that now the entire practice has been banned. (Normally it was a nativity scene outside the capitol) I hate that atheists and any/all other religions don't make as much of a stink about nativity scenes and the like. When they do, the christians get mad that the state treats everyone like equals. But then on the flip side, you get those annoying "season's greetings politically correct messages". I don't need a greeting for the season. It's cold out. That's the season. "Be happy being cold!" Fuck you.
I hate the grief my family gives me when I tell them just where to stick their traditions. It seems like the only christmas traditions we have are to be stressed out and make every family member feel like crap for the "holiday". Nice goodwill towards all men sentiment there, guise. Really. I hate that because I've chosen to make no-stress my new tradition, that I get shit for it. Thus, my no-stress holiday tradition fills me with stress! FAIL. I hate that "Well why don't we make a new tradition?" is met with scorn, belitting and "You're such a scrooge!" I hate being called a scrooge. I hate that the only tradition I ever enjoyed about christmas was going to my uncle herb's house and then going carolling with all his friends and coming back for cocoa. I hate that when I tell that story everyone insists that it "never happened". I hate that everyone made fun of me when I wanted to convert to Judaism when I was 15 simply so I could avoid christmas. (Hey, to 15yo Piper, you were either xtian or jew or some kind of pre-jew/xtian until you were 18 and HAD to pick one. I honestly thought this. Your tax dollars work, thanks to public school)
Things I like about christmas (This'll be a short list)
The Reverand Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping
Reverand Billy's increasing list of stores he's banned from and arrest record
Cookies (though with my anti-diabetes diet, enjoying them is getting harder and harder)
Chocolate truffles are on sale
Candles and lights (just not putting them up or having to buy a new strand every year cause they broke)
Building fires and not looking ridiculous for wearing layers
Finding little pockets of sunshine and being able to be outside and not be cold
And the number one thing I like about christmas?!
When it's over.
No, this rant is not directed at anyone on my flist specifically, but mostly towards those I know in immediate life, my community and the greater world at large.
I think I'll keep this rant public for a while so people can link it if they want.