patrick.net

You're not the first person to complain about this. Just listen to the story of how this guy got sucked into the "Christmas in October" trap:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaxKiZfQcX8

There is really nothing wrong with consumption and/or consumerism. What are we if we cannot even enjoy life? On the other hand, consumerism is the perfect synthesis between living and capitalism.

We really need people to spend us out of this recession, which is mostly psychological, just like other parts of the economic cycle.

Geez...now we are attacking businesses selling products. And all because everyone wanted to talk badly about President Bush.

We talk bad about Obama
We talk bad about FHA
We talk bad about the tax credits

Geez, everyone is in a bad mood about the efforts being made to turn around this economy.

4X says

Geez…now we are attacking businesses selling products. And all because everyone wanted to talk badly about President Bush.
We talk bad about Obama
We talk bad about FHA
We talk bad about the tax credits
Geez, everyone is in a bad mood about the efforts being made to turn around this economy.

Aha! It only took four comments to make this political. New record.

i know...Im sorry for that...just pointing out the negative mood that I am seeing across the nation.

Peter P says

There is really nothing wrong with consumption and/or consumerism. What are we if we cannot even enjoy life? On the other hand, consumerism is the perfect synthesis between living and capitalism.
We really need people to spend us out of this recession, which is mostly psychological, just like other parts of the economic cycle.

If you can't enjoy life without buying things, it's probably better that you not live.

Kevin the link didn't work, can you possibly try again or post the name of the video?

It's hard to get away from holiday uber-hype now; it's all over TV, radio... hell you can't go into a drug store for toothpaste without being bombarded by muzak jingle bell versions. When you don't buy enough garbage they'll just subject you to it longer.

If you can’t enjoy life without buying things, it’s probably better that you not live.

Under capitalism, one ought not to enjoy life without paying a fee. :-)

If someone is enjoying life for free, don't you see a business opportunity?

I really don't understand the animosity towards consumerism. I agree that shopaholism is bad but so is alcoholism. No one is ready to revive the 18th amendment, right?

As for Christmas hype, the political noise over Christmas bothers me more than the store's blatantly holiday whoring. I mean Christmas doesn't need an official seal of approval does it? I don't have a hard time sifting through crap made by Buddhists and sold by jews, to find valid gifts for my loved ones. It's the a-holes that wants to kybosh any and all display of Christmas that bothers me far more than any Christmas sale.

I mean people protest middle school Christmas pageants but give the Menorah on the school's front lawn a wide birth. But those Christmas a-holes with their Peace on Earth rhetoric must go away.

I just don't get it.

Don't get me wrong I'm not against a menorah, but I am against people with selective principals.

Four, it would be a different matter if the money being spent in vain was not tax payer's money.
It's the forced philanthropy that T's people off the most. And don't get me started on the CEO benefactors.

If you can’t enjoy life without buying things, it’s probably better that you not live.

It could be said that consumption is necessary even for basic forms of life.
However, if your life's goal is shopping for luxury goods, you're setting your sights too low.

I'll submit there's something to be learned from getting out of the consumerist loop.
Take 6 months off from discretionary purchases--and see what you discover about yourself.

Yom Kippur is still pretty non-commercial.

"Dear Gd please don't kill me this year for all the shit I've done" just doesn't translate well to greeting cards and gifts.

Yom Kippur is still pretty non-commercial.
“Dear Gd please don’t kill me this year for all the shit I’ve done” just doesn’t translate well to greeting cards and gifts.

Elliemae's ideas for jewish greeting cards:

1) Outside: You don't write, you don't call...

Inside: That's okay, the nice paramedics call & check up on me now that they know where I live...

2) Male version: Outside: You're engaged?

Inside: That gold-digging shiksa, you want I should lay down & die?

3) Female version: Outside: You're engaged?

Inside: What type of medicine does he practice?
:)

ok now...back to the topic with no politics. I love Christmas, although it has lost its meaning just like other holidays. I can agree that it is more of a corporate holiday now, however, it can also be a fun time of the year for families that are close. We use this as an opportunity to have big meals with each other and to celebrate our closeness.

I am ok with the holiday buying season because we dont find as much joy in shopping as we do eating meals together and spending time with each other.

Liz Pendens says

Kevin the link didn’t work, can you possibly try again or post the name of the video?

Fixed the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaxKiZfQcX8

Tenouncetrout says

As for Christmas hype, the political noise over Christmas bothers me more than the store’s blatantly holiday whoring. I mean Christmas doesn’t need an official seal of approval does it? I don’t have a hard time sifting through crap made by Buddhists and sold by jews, to find valid gifts for my loved ones. It’s the a-holes that wants to kybosh any and all display of Christmas that bothers me far more than any Christmas sale.

The people making the noise are the Christmas "defenders", who throw a fit every time somebody says "x mas" or wants santa instead of Jesus. Nobody is protesting Christmas, they're just protesting religion. Personally, I don't really care that much. If my kids ask me what the deal is with the nativity scene, I tell them that some people believe that an unwed pregnant teenager was a virgin -- but, you know, people 2000 years ago weren't so bright.

I'm about the least religious person I know, but we celebrate Christmas because it's a fun winter holiday. An excuse to spoil my kids, go visit my family, and sit around in my pajamas all day. For us, it's Santa, trees, and eggnog. I really don't understand why people get so worked up about what other people make of it.

Well it's pretty damn hard to argue it's about religion, when there are Menorah's on almost every other street corner, and the judge that is going to hear the case has a Methuselah(sp) on his chambers door in either a City, State, or Federal building take your pick you find at least one in every public building in America.

It has nothing to do with the Lefts self righteous policing of separating religion and state, and every thing to do with sticking it to the Right, and their constituents religion of choice.

And besides it's a Christian holiday, just how can do you expect people not to have a baby Jesus?
That's like telling the jews they have to eat Buger king Whoppers for passover sader.

Nomograph says

Kevin says

The people making the noise are the Christmas “defenders”, who throw a fit every time somebody says “x mas” or wants santa instead of Jesus. Nobody is protesting Christmas

Just like the Christmas selling starts earlier every year, so does the clamor over the Fake War on Christmas. There is no war on Christmas, but it *does* sell a lot of books and advertising space for AM talk radio hosts.
It also doesn’t surprise me that Trout falls far the Fake War on Christmas . . .

Seems like there always has to be a protagonist, and something to fight for/against. Christmas is as good as anything else.

It's been a commercial holiday since I could remember. People wear the "put the christ back in christmas" buttons and bumperstickers on their cars - but you see many of these stickers & buttons at the mall. The hype says that the way to prove your love is to spend money - not time (you're spending your time making money).

The "official" christmas season is any time they can get people to cough up money to buy presents that they can wrap up and put under a tree for a month - then on that one special day, people pretend that they love one another and ignore that Uncle Dave is drinking too much and forget that Aunt Susie is having an affair... A time to recall time honored traditions (or so the media tells us) and eat until we puke. Then eat more.

It's the drinking & eating that I love. Jewish or Christian, we all love that part.

exactly it's tradition, even for most hard core atheist.
I have celebrated Yom kippur, pass over and a few other Jewish holidays, I have taken off my shoes to enter a Buddha temple, I have been to a three hour Catholic mass. Non of those experiences were profound enough to make me some Zealot convert, but each of those experiences gave me a fond appreciation for people and their faith.

It's Zealots and the People that want to fight with them at the expense of the people that are far less radical in their religious views, that ruins religion for every body.

The nose picking political religious quarreler are no less guilty of being radical or over zealous in their views than any radical Cleric.