Festivus

[EarthBound]

Originally Posted by Spock

Yes NYC is probably my favorite city to wander through at Christmas time; albeit heavily armed. No other city in the world has the "feeling" of NY at Christmas. May it be peaceful for a long time.

Never been to NYC, been meaning to go while I'm within a day's drive from there, though....

Lights are pretty!

[Spock]

Originally Posted by EarthBound

Never been to NYC, been meaning to go while I'm within a day's drive from there, though....the lights...they're pretty and look wonderful reflecting in the snow, which we have a lot of here in New York.....
Lights are pretty!

So you must be upstate....it can be fantastic when it snows up there-as long as you don't have to drive. I had relatives that used to live in Croton-On-Hudson.....now they live in Az. as the *wonder* of snow wore off as they got older.

[EarthBound]

Originally Posted by Spock

So you must be upstate....it can be fantastic when it snows up there-as long as you don't have to drive. I had relatives that used to live in Croton-On-Hudson.....now they live in Az. as the *wonder* of snow wore off as they got older.

I still have 'wonder' for snow....as in...."I wonder where I am"

[Spock]

Kirk: Everybody remember where we parked.

It applies the morning after a snow also.

[EarthBound]

Two snowmen are standing in a field. One says to the other: "Funny, I smell carrots too".

[Spock]

you have been away from civilization too long

[Spock]

[BeardofPants]

Heh. Not quite what I get when I'm shouting serenity now!!!!! @#$!@@#$ at my work colleagues... More like this...

[Butterbeer]

heh, sienfeld is great. is that book availabale in the uk?

is it good?

mmm, i could read it AND then give to me brother for christmas!

now that's the spirit!

[Spock]

BOP- good one!

[Nurvingiel]

Originally Posted by Spock

...remember Christmas is a fictional holiday started by The Church to stamp out the pagan winter festivals. Jesus was born in the spring by biblical accounts but there wasn't any major pagan holiday there to wipe out so they moved it back.

I knew that Christmas occurs when it does because of an attempt to override um... the Pagan holiday taking place on the shortest day of the year. But Christmas still isn't a parody, it celebrates something very special and meaningful. My point about Festivus is that it's a parody (or it seems that way) of something else, rather than standing alone like Christmas or Whitsun or whatever.

Pagan is a word almost completely devoid of meaning, but I can't think of a better one. Doesn't it just mean "non-Christian"? What a vague word. Hmph.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Originally Posted by Nurvingiel

I knew that Christmas occurs when it does because of an attempt to override um... the Pagan holiday taking place on the shortest day of the year. But Christmas still isn't a parody, it celebrates something very special and meaningful. My point about Festivus is that it's a parody (or it seems that way) of something else, rather than standing alone like Christmas or Whitsun or whatever.

Pagan is a word almost completely devoid of meaning, but I can't think of a better one. Doesn't it just mean "non-Christian"? What a vague word. Hmph.

Not quite; it means closer to "non-Christian (and related groups), non-Jewish, non-Muslim, and non-atheist". I think that properly it means essentially polytheistic (less Mormon).

Joshua

[Arien the Maia]

The episode with Festivus was on tonight!!!! I cracked up and had to come an post about it! "Fight your Father!"

[Spock]

Yep, we watched it again...it's one of our favorites. Yama Hama!

[Captain Stern]

Hmm, has anyone posted how the Festivus holiday came about? If not then let me:

As told by Frank Costanza (founder of Festivus) to Cosmo Kramer:

Many christmases ago I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had... but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him I realized there had to be another way! The doll was destroyed. But out of that a new holiday was born! A Festivus for the rest of us!

[Arien the Maia]

Originally Posted by Captain Stern

Hmm, has anyone posted how the Festivus holiday came about? If not then let me:

As told by Frank Costanza (founder of Festivus) to Cosmo Kramer:

Many christmases ago I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had... but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him I realized there had to be another way! The doll was destroyed. But out of that a new holiday was born! A Festivus for the rest of us!

I forgot about that! too funny!

[Spock]

Indeed!

[Nurvingiel]

Originally Posted by Gwaimir Windgem

Not quite; it means closer to "non-Christian (and related groups), non-Jewish, non-Muslim, and non-atheist". I think that properly it means essentially polytheistic (less Mormon).

Joshua

Interesting. While that rules out billions of people, it's still quite a vague term.

Hindu=Pagan, for example? Unless Paganism (?) is a religion itself, it doesn't make a lot of sense to use it, since it refers to an extremely diverse group of people.


Here is your thread back now.

[inked]

MOre of the lack of reason for the season???????
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The Sunday Times - Britain



The Sunday Times November 06, 2005

Christmas lights fail to shine in equality zone
Dipesh Gadher



A COUNCIL is planning to scrap grants for festive lights because Christmas does not fit in with its “core values of equality and diversity”.
A report drawn up by the council in Suffolk concedes that the move could lead to officials being accused of “not supporting the spirit of Christmas”.



The move is the latest in a string of decisions by organisations to downplay the celebration of the birth of Christ — ostensibly to prevent offence being caused to non-Christian religions. Last week it emerged that Lambeth council in south London had insisted on renaming its Christmas lighting displays as “winter” or “celebrity” lights.

The latest is Conservative-controlled Waveney council in Lowestoft which provides grants totalling £10,000 for festive lights. Its report states that because Christmas focuses only on the Christian faith, continuing the funding would “not fit well with the council’s core values of equality and diversity”.

Officials are proposing to cut the lights grants to £5,000 next year and to stop them altogether by 2007. The report is due to go before councillors on Thursday.

“This is just another example of political correctness gone mad,” said Sue Allen, chairman of the local lights committee. “I was a bit surprised about the wording of the report. However, I can understand why the council is doing this and I believe there are more worthy causes in the district who deserve the money.

“It will just mean that we will have to work harder to raise funds for the Christmas lights in the future.”

Mark Bee, the council leader, yesterday insisted that the wording of the proposal had been drawn up by officials and said the change was being proposed solely on economic grounds.

“I consider the wording of the document unfortunate and I will be taking it up with the officer on Monday,” said Bee. “I do not see the reason for this as one of equality and diversity. It is one of economics.

“I am a practising Christian and attend church and feel that religion of all forms is something that should be embraced.

“We do not live in an area of great cultural diversity in this part of Suffolk, but if there were any communities that particularly came forward for funding we would deal with them in an equal way.”

Previous examples of Christmas being sidelined by officialdom include Birmingham council renaming the festival “Winterval” and job centres and Red Cross offices banning trees and decorations.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...859540,00.html
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Or,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...on/4398680.stm

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With commentary...

Various communities in the UK would like everyone to experience the Mood of Their Choice At An Unspecified Season for Some Reason, but not in public, because that would not be Diverse™.

more: http://spleenville.com/wordpress/?p=737

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Enjoy the meaningfulness of whatever whenever in the mere pragmatism of a materialistic age of this is all there is.

[Janny]

Down with Piglet and other symbols of Christian dominance and oppression!

*finds corners to go and fume in*