Xmas Stuff

[lpetrich]

I have very little interest in it.

I'm posting on the winter solstice, and I wish to note that axial tilt is the reason for the season. Our planet's equator is tilted about 23.5 degrees to its orbit plane, and that's what makes the seasons.

Why do we make lots of light? Because that's what we are short of.

Why do we have Xmas trees? Because they look alive rather than dead. That's what "O Xmas Tree" is all about.

It's hard to tell what people were doing before they had written records, but what they built can sometimes give some hints.

5200 years ago in Ireland: Newgrange Stone Age Passage Tomb - Boyne Valley, Ireland - a broad mound with a tunnel into it that is aligned to the winter-solstice sunrise.

6900 years ago in southern Germany: Goseck Circle: The Oldest Known Solar Observatory | Ancient Origins - a circular palisade with openings in it:

• North
• Southeast - toward the winter-solstice sunrise
• Southwest - toward the winter-solstice sunset

 

[DBT]

I'm just glad when its over and things get back to normal...whatever 'normal' happens to be.

 

[sinkorswim]

Christmas. The quintessential america holiday. All about "more, bigger, better, fancier."

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

 

[southernhybrid]

We don't celebrate Xmas or give gifts to each other, but I did give some money to a couple of friends with financial problems and this year, I also bought a couple of small gifts for the grandchild of a very poor Christian friend of mine. At this point in my life, giving is a lot more rewarding than getting.

I do feel like I have an obligation to send gifts to my two grandkids and I send some money to my son. My son and I just consider it Festivus. He sent us a little card that said, "Festivus for the rest of us". And, we had two friends over last night so we watched the Seinfeld episode that was about Festivus. Point being, that one can have a little holiday fun without taking it too seriously.

But, I would just as soon not have any holidays. Take today. We have a lunch date with my boring, wealthy, shallow, Trump supporting brother in law. I am not looking forward to this. Thankfully, we rarely see him more than once a year. Funny, how siblings often have nothing in common other than genetics.

Loren, you need one of the refrigerator magnets that I sometimes give away this time a year. They say, "Axial tilt is the reason for the season".

 

[Toni]

We don't celebrate Xmas or give gifts to each other, but I did give some money to a couple of friends with financial problems and this year, I also bought a couple of small gifts for the grandchild of a very poor Christian friend of mine. At this point in my life, giving is a lot more rewarding than getting.

I do feel like I have an obligation to send gifts to my two grandkids and I send some money to my son. My son and I just consider it Festivus. He sent us a little card that said, "Festivus for the rest of us". And, we had two friends over last night so we watched the Seinfeld episode that was about Festivus. Point being, that one can have a little holiday fun without taking it too seriously.

But, I would just as soon not have any holidays. Take today. We have a lunch date with my boring, wealthy, shallow, Trump supporting brother in law. I am not looking forward to this. Thankfully, we rarely see him more than once a year. Funny, how siblings often have nothing in common other than genetics.

Loren, you need one of the refrigerator magnets that I sometimes give away this time a year. They say, "Axial tilt is the reason for the season".

I think it is important to celebrate holidays, even if they are only random days on the calendar that pop up, apropos of nothing. Most of us are so busy in our lives that without these dates on the calendar, we'd so rarely consider how important it is to just stop whatever important thing we are doing and think about and spend time with those we love, be they family or friends. Christmas for me is about the more generous impulses of humans, to reach out to one another and to share what we have, especially with those who don't have enough. It's a time to gather together and to spend time just enjoying one another and re-establishing those connections that can stretch very thin in our busy lives where time and distance create such barriers to intimacy.

And let's be honest: we all have those relatives and sometimes friends with obnoxious viewpoints and unreasonable dietary demands. I think it's good that we have occasions where we are obligated to, even if it's just for a few hours, to set aside our differences and remember that there is a bond between us and people that we may not see often but with whom we share some history and perhaps some genetics--and that perhaps what we share: history, family, humanity is greater than our petty political or childrearing or dietary differences. Friends are wonderful. I'm fortunate to have had some of my friends since we were 7 or 8 years old. But it's only family who remembers those days back when and who really knows the family secrets and family pride that helped make us who we are.

 

[rousseau]

I'd be content passing up exchanging gifts, but I do enjoy giving them. But because I'm forced to ask for gifts I usually take the opportunity to add to my book collection. This year I'll be getting a copy of The Cambridge History of Ancient China, The African Colonial State in Comparative Perspective, and Expedition to the Zambesi by David Livingstone.

 

[Tharmas]

I agree with Toni. I think it’s good to take some time off from real life and spend some quality time with friends and family. I’m fortunate that there are no assholes in my or my wife’s families, though. My wife’s family are what used to be called “Rockefeller Republicans,” meaning they’re embarrassed by Trump and politics is avoided as a topic of discussion. As for my late parents, they were socialists when socialism wasn’t cool, and they raised their children right.

As for gift giving, at my age there’s no point in trying to surprise and delight me. My sister in law will give me a calendar. My wife will give me a book I’ve asked for. Actually the missus and I generally use the season to give each other (or both of us) things that we need but haven’t been able to justify the expense. This year we went out the Monday before Thanksgiving, with no crowds but already Black Friday prices in many stores, and got her an iPad and me a real office chair.

The real fun is giving stuff to our grandchildren and great nieces and nephews. Christmas is for kids.

 

[ideologyhunter]

I'm a devout atheist, but Xmas is a convenient time for me to do some give-backs. I make Shoebox Santa packages that I drop off at a church in the next town over, and I take a box of candy/cookies etc. to the local cops who have to work the Xmas Eve/Xmas Day shift. (I was going to do this for the local ER staff at our hospital, but then I wondered how many of them want super-caloric treats after dealing with all the congested American arteries they deal with all day. And I couldn't think up a low-cal Xmas box that would look right.)

 

[Toni]

I'm a devout atheist, but Xmas is a convenient time for me to do some give-backs. I make Shoebox Santa packages that I drop off at a church in the next town over, and I take a box of candy/cookies etc. to the local cops who have to work the Xmas Eve/Xmas Day shift. (I was going to do this for the local ER staff at our hospital, but then I wondered how many of them want super-caloric treats after dealing with all the congested American arteries they deal with all day. And I couldn't think up a low-cal Xmas box that would look right.)

What a nice thing to do!

I will say that in general, people in the medical field do like sweets. You'd think they'd know better but it's a stressful job.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I had Xmas, my daughter will get Xmas. I was the benefactor of a lot of hard work, cooking and gifts from my family, so I fill that role now. The gift giving is great as a Parent or Uncle. And the cooking, it matters a lot to me, to be able to provide something special to family, something better than most other homes, which isn't easy being a fish eatiing Vege-ishtarian. This is all magnified with the whole, my Dad hasn't died from Cancer this year aspect to things.

Other people can go about their traditions as they see fit and I hope they enjoy what they do or don't decide to do for celebrations. Indeed, the axial tilt is the reason for the season.

Happy Tilting everyone.

 

[southernhybrid]

Don't get me wrong. It's fine for others to celebrate holidays and the one nutty holiday that I love iis Valentine's Day. I love love! I also love romance, flowers and candy, so of course, Valentine's Day works for me. Plus, one can buy a few Valentine's gifts without going into debt.

The problem with the winter holidays is that it makes many people feel depressed and isolated, if they live alone and don't have any close family or friends. My next door neighbor is the perfect example. She has told me how much she hates these holidays because they make her think of happier times and better days. Now that she's alone and has never been able to have any children, this time of year makes her feelings of isolation even more intense.

I don't have a problem with little celebrations, like having my two friends for dinner over the weekend. That was fun. And, much to my surprise, the lunch date went well with the brother in law. He didn't brag about how much money he made this year, or talk endlessly about the stock market. He did brag a little to my husband about all the dates he's been getting by using Tinder etc., but he did that when I left to use the rest room. And, he did pick up the check, so that was nice. I just don't have any other relatives near me and if I were really into holidays that would make me feel bad. And, if I was still working, of course, I would love having a few paid days off. But, so far, retirement has been almost like one big vacation, so I don't need any holidays to celebrate.

When I gave the money and a few small gifts to my poor Christian friend, she was very thankful but she did give me a little lecture about Jesus. I listened quietly and then told her that the celebration was all about love. She agreed and we exchanged hugs. She's one of my sweet black friends and I know how much the church means to people like her, so I will never tell her that I'm an atheist. She wouldn't understand. She has enough problems without having to worry about me not having Jesus in my life. . But, even I can cherry pick the best parts of any mythology and spin it to give it a nice, unifying message.


I think my dislike of the winter holidays may be based on my childhood. My mother always went overboard buying us gifts and dragging us to church. My mentally ill father would start out nice, then get in a terrible mood before the day was over. By the time I was around 10, we never saw any of the extended family anymore over the holidays. So, it was always a very stressful time.

My ex was a Baha'i who hated that I celebrated Christmas with our very young son. That always made the season even more stressful. If people didn't spend more than they can afford, if poor people had more to enjoy, if families didn't argue about things, etc etc. I might find a reason to enjoy this time of year more.

So, holidays can be fun for some, but periods of loneliness and isolation for others. Now I need to go and figure out how much money I can afford to give to my favorite charities. That's not as much fun as giving to an individual who needs help, but I think it's important to give at least a little to charity. Maybe that's my holiday tradition now.

Happy Holidays to all those who enjoy this time of year! Happy Festivus to the rest of us. Now who wants to be first to air their grievances?

 

[Politesse]

I like Christmas! It's our only aesthetically cheerful holiday, unless you count July 4th, and the constant sound of gunfire ruins that one for me.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

The Solstice is the Reason for the Season. I've got to get a ten foot sign in my front yard.

 

[TSwizzle]

Christmas is great fun. I had a wonderful night out in the pub on Christmas Eve with friends I don’t see very often and now going to enjoy the day with the family and extended family. I’m in a group text message with family members from around the world, some of them I’ve never met, all messaging happy Christmas and photos.

 

[Rhea]

We prefer the Solstice for the "reaching for celebration when things are dark" aspects.
But I tolerate X-mas for visiting family, it's what they do.

So we do both.

Today, we are doing xmas for our foreign exchange student who was super excited about an American xmas, not knowing she landed in a house that eschews it. So she got both Solstice and Xmas.

I agree that the over-hype of xmas creates a lot of pain for those without the "right" clan for celebrating it - whether through poverty, death, tragedy or isolation. And that makes me sad for them.

 

[lpetrich]

In Latin America,

• Nochebuena (Good Night) = Xmas Eve = 24th
• Navidad (Nativity) = Xmas = 25th

 Hanukkah or Chanukah (like "kh" not "tsh") is celebrated around then. From Wikipedia,

The Maccabees successfully rebelled against Antiochus IV Epiphanes. According to the Talmud, a late text, the Temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days, even though there was only enough sacred oil for one day's lighting.

Lighting candles each night. Singing special songs, such as Ma'oz Tzur. Reciting the Hallel prayer. Eating foods fried in oil, such as latkes and sufganiyot, and dairy foods. Playing the dreidel game, and giving Hanukkah gelt

Hanukkah's dates are fixed in the Jewish calendar, and in our usually-used calendar, it jumps around between late November and late December. This year it's 22 December – 30 December.

Hanukkah is often presented as a sort of Jewish alternative to Xmas.

Hanukkah features a menorah, a candelabrum that holds 9 candles. One of them, the shamash or servant candle, is used to light the other 8 candles, and on each of the 8 days of the holiday, it is used to light one of those candles until all of them are lit.

 

[lpetrich]

The Jewish religious calendar is a typical lunisolar one, with each year having 12 lunar months and a 13th one added every few years to keep in sync with the seasons.

The Muslim religious calendar is 12 lunar months with no added ones, thus shifting through the seasons.


 Yule is the old-time Germanic winter holiday season, celebrated around the Winter Solstice and Xmas. "Many present-day Christmas customs and traditions such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from pagan Yule traditions." Some northern European languages have versions of "Yule" for Xmas:

Danish, Norwegian, Swedish jul, Icelandic jól, Finnish joulu, Estonian jõulud

 Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights, lasting 5 days. Its dates are from a Hindu lunisolar calendar, and it moves around between mid-October and mid-November in our calendar. Its significance: the "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance".

 Kwanzaa (Dec. 26 - Jan. 1) is a pseudo-African holiday created by black nationalist Ron Maulana Karenga in 1966.

 HumanLight (Dec. 23) was invented by the New Jersey Humanist Network in 2001. There are various ways of celebrating it, and some ways include candles that represent various things.


 Festivus "for the rest of us" (Dec. 23) was publicized by the TV series "Seinfeld" in 1997. It's a sort of anti-Xmas holiday.

 

[lpetrich]

I've reconstructed some Proto-Germanic:

Gôdan Yehwlan

Good Yule

Reconstructionroto-Germanic/gōdaz - Wiktionary
Reconstructionroto-Germanic/jehwlą - Wiktionary

It was spoken by the creators of the Jastorf archeological culture, in Denmark and northern Germany around 500 BCE.


I've tried to go further, to Proto-Indo-European, but it's difficult to get the vocabulary to do so. Appendix I - Indo-European Roots - look at the meanings there. But it's possible to compose some connected text in PIE:  Schleicher's fable - The Sheep and the Horses - has several reconstructions. Here is the best that I could do:

Mânis Gheyôm

Good Winter

Reconstructionroto-Indo-European/meh₂- - Wiktionary
Reconstructionroto-Indo-European/ǵʰey- - Wiktionary

Late Proto-Indo-European was spoken by the Yamna or Yamnaya people of around 3000 BCE, in E Ukraine, S European Russia and W Kazakhstan -  Yamnaya culture


Proto-Indo-European is as far back as I can go linguistically. Before that is rather speculative - "Nostratic" or "Eurasiatic"

 

[ideologyhunter]

Just remember, whatever else you're gonna say about Xmas, it comes with Burl Ives singing 'Holly Jolly Christmas' over the store's PA. That's surely a reason to consider banning the observance altogether in my book.

 

[Angry Floof]

I love Christmas for the same reasons. I don't care about the religious stuff other than to be disgusted by it when I can't avoid it. I say Merry Christmas because that's what I've always done and I don't feel the need to make a point about it If they say Happy Holidays, I'll reply back with that instead.

I really love commenting about and celebrating solstice and other relevant human and earth things that make the season meaningful and real and sacred. Cheap magic, delusion, and superstition are unworthy, ignorant ideas that spoil the true beauty of the holiday.

I love small, simple gift giving although I'd give it up in a heartbeat if it meant the end of crass consumerism.

And I love any excuse for a feast! I love the whole family thing. Any family annoyances are fine because it's only once a year.

I love that I live in the Northern hemisphere and have always experienced Christmas in the winter.

I feel bad for people who are alone on Christmas but don't want to be. For me, ideally, I would spend this time with my daughter and grandsons, but if that can't happen (they're out of state), the next best thing is being by myself in peace.

Happy [insert preferred holiday greeting here], everyone!