Yule is Cool

[Opsa]

I'm starting this thread up as a counterpoint to the War on Christmas thread.

I'm with Darlica on this one: Christmas in the northern hemisphere is a dark time, as the winter solstice brings our shortest daylight all year. Rage, rage against the dying of the light, I say! And rage, rage against soul-eating consumerism, as well. Do not stew in a pit of greedy wants, that's not what it's about, or was EVER about! Christmas wish lists are for children. Adults need to grow up and stop thinking about what they want and why everyone on commercials seems to be getting cars and wide screen TVs and diamonds for Christmas. Those are just ads, people! They are not reality. They are not even close to the norm, so don't be fooled by them. They are only commercials by big companies trying to goad consumers into thinking they have to spend all their money at this time of year. They are merely a phony, last-ditch attempt at making all they can this year. You have a right to ignore them, you know. Turn off the sound on your TV and say rude things if you have to, being unreal, they cannot be insulted. And fer heaven's sake, don't give them any money and maybe they'll go away.

I do the yule. I have a Christmas tree. We have a potluck dinner with whatever relatives and friends would like to come. We do not spend a lot. I make fudge as gifts. I shop at church bazaars and yard sales. It's funny to me how the media is saying that it's now the green thing to do. I've always done it. I call it "antiquing".

I love holiday lights. They make people's homes look fun and different. Fun and different is cool. If everything sat unchanged all year long I would be bored. The best place to look is the poor neigborhoods. The more santas and baby Jesi on the lawn, the better. It doesn't matter if it's tacky. It'll be gone in another month or six. Lighten up!

Anyone want my fudge recipe? It's easy as anything and makes people happy.

[Darlica]

Yes, I would like to get your fudge recipe, you should post it at the food and kitchen part of the forum!

Start a X-mas food/sweets thread and I'll see if I can dig up my saffron ice-cream with strawberry sauce recipe!   

As I said before I get a reason to hang shiny things in the windows and put up decorative lights (bought at the after X-mas sales  ) cook and eat tasty food and spend time with the family.

believe me anything that make this time if the year lighter, brighter and more colourful is something good!

Do I think much about the origin of Christmas during the holiday? Can't say I do, I'm not religious and I fell it would be very close to hypocrisy if I became a believer just during December.
Besides we had pagan traditions of festivities around the winter solstice long before Christianity arrived here so I might as well be celebrating Yule...   

[Sibling Chatty]

Yes on the fudge recipe. I've lost mine in the move.

I'd be more Christmassy/Yule inspired, but there's the financial aspect. Now that Dan's back to working part time--maybe next year, after we're actually stable.

If I find the eggnog fudge recipe, I will share.

[Bluenose]

I like the Christmas celebrations, atheist of good standing that I am.  I like the lights - have done our house with LED lights this year - much brighter and use a lot less electricity, the local kids seem to approve which is all I need to be happy about it.  In my area many people decorate their house with lights - its just plain good old fashioned fun.

As for the gift thing, Mrs Blue and I buy things through the year, if we are in some little curiosity shop in a country town and find something that might make a good gift for a particular person we buy it.  We keep all the things in The Gift Box.  We find that it allows us to take advantage of bargains when we find them, plus it spreads the cost out over the year so that we don't notice it.  Also it means that we often manage to get unusual things that are really appreciated.  Sometimes we make things for people - at the moment Mrs Blue is making a patchwork wall hanging for my mum, for example.  Anyway, we aim to finish our Christmas "shopping" by the end of November - trust me, it takes a lot of the hassle off.  I look at all the people rushing around the shops and think to myself thank goodness I don't have to deal with that!

Our family has a big Christamas dinner at my sister's house.  Mum provides the turkey, my brother in law cooks it slowly in the kettle barbecue over charcoal (YUM!)  My sister provides all the veges, nibbles extras, trimmings and all sorts of other things, plus she copes with the majority of the work.  I provide the alcohol and crackers (the bon bon type, not the edible ones) mum also makes the pudding.  Altogether it is a cooperative effort and we all have a good time and no one has too high a burden, financial or otherwise.

I see Christmas as a time for family.  I know that many people put all manner of other meanings on it and that is fine, but I see no problem with simply marking the season with feasting and celebration and the exchange of meaningful gifts.  I just let the crass commercialisation wash over me and I do my best to ignore it.  There is much more important things in life to worry about - like having a good time with family and friends!

[Bruder Cuzzen]

The lights are fantastic , when I owned a vehicle I would drive around late at night when traffic wasn't to heavy and soak up the displays , some people have lovely sense of composition .

I don't dress up the place , no one visits me anyway ,maybe I'll put up a couple strings of LED lights (if I can find them).
I do look forward to dinners and gatherings with family and friends , nothing is desired from me except my presence , I find a warm greeting and good cheer to be a fine gift.

For the past twenty years I have generally given gifts to the kids in my life ,that is my nieces and nephews and children of friends . As they got older a red envelope with a hundred dollar bill inside helped make their day . It is my greatest joy to see well raised kids have a sustained period of happiness .


I'm just not a big fan of Santa...the blaggard never gave me a thing , the lousy fraud.

I crucified him in effigy about five years ago , so far most who have seen it think I'm strange or sacrilegious or a blasphemer .
I find myself having to explain what I thought to be obvious.

[Griffin NoName]

I got stuck at a level crossing today. The gates were shut and stayed shut. For an hour. Finally a load of British Rail guys turned up, wandered around with torches, and opened the gates. It wasn't clear if they had mended the fault or merely opened the gates but assuming the former I drove across fast hoping no trains were coming.

The wait gave me the chance to play the ancient game of counting christmas trees. My side of the car, total 1. My sister's side of the car (not that she was present in the car) 0. I won the game.

I love the practice of putting lit trees in the bay window, leaving the curtains open so all can see. It gives one a peek into all those private worlds. It's the one time of year when voyeurism is encouraged !!

[Sibling Chatty]

I love looking at the lights. I'll be taking Mom out to look at lights at some point. There are some nicely done houses here, as well as some overdone, gaudy ones.

[Griffin NoName]

When I was small we used to be taken up to town to see the lights in Regent Street. The best part was we had to be allowed to stay up late for it. I got a taste for it. I always liked staying up late. This may actually be the root cause of my insomnia. I blame Christmas.

[Sibling Chatty]

I blame Christmas.

Blatant cross threading!!

[Griffin NoName]

I blame Christmas.

Blatant cross threading!!

NO it isn't. I LOVE staying up late. It's one of my most basic identifying factors. I'd have been a totally dull person without it. It's great to be able to relate it to Christmas. I use blame in a positive sense. I am a very positive person. 

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

I'm just not a big fan of Santa...the blaggard never gave me a thing , the lousy fraud.

I crucified him in effigy about five years ago

That's the best X-mas lawn ornament ever!

[Sibling Chatty]

A guy here in town has a life sized Santa figure up a tree, with one leg missing. There are assorted polar bears on the ground below the tree, with the leg in the mouth of one of them.

Nearby are reins and a sleigh, and the odd set of antlers...

[Opsa]

  I love it!

A long time ago a friend of mine had an anti-Santa. He was a cheesy life-sized illuminated porch decoration. When his bulb was off, his eyes were bright blue, but with the bulb on, they became darkened pits of pure evil! (Cheap opaque paint- what were they thinking?) So I was helping them decorate for a party and we decided to make signs all through the house warning people to stay away from the anti-Santa on the back porch. "One look into his eyes and you are his!" We placed a sign over the lit anti-Santa that read "TOO LATE!!!" It was really scary. People screamed. Good times.

My sister says she doesn't do Christmas, but she comes to our house for the dinner every year. To me, that's doing Christmas, that's really what it's about. But I don't burst her bubble. I don't care whether people call it Christ or God or Yule or Love in People's Hearts, it's pretty much a celebration of the same thing if you discard the labels. Love is worth celebrating.

[Bluenose]

**RUMBLE**

I have for ages wanted to put up a sign in lights saying Merry Christmas, but then every now and again it would flash Bah! Humbug!  Mrs Blue won't let me...  It's OK, I know who wears the pants in my family...

[anthrobabe]

did someone say


CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

can we go drive by now

love lights-- am mezmerized by the flashing ones---

The yule is truly cool