I tried working as a private library for a while. Didn't much like it.
When I was younger, I worked in a Movie Theater. I used to love working the holidays. Admittedly movie theaters are a special brand of retail (and I might be a special brand of crazy) but it was loads of fun seeing all of the people come in on Holidays. They would range anywhere from people who didn't have families and didn't want to be alone all the way to families that brought themselves in as a 'Special gift' to go see a movie. And then there were the teenagers (like myself at the time) that wanted to get away from the 'Family' pressures and hang with the gang for a while.
I would sign up for doubles on Dec 24-25 and my boss would look at me like I was crazy. But he, it meant that he could spend time with his family.......... so he hated me for it!
I don't think I could go back to even that type of retail and I have a HUGE amount of respect for anyone that can work the holidays like that these days. I think they should get paid MORE than the rest of us yobs who actually get to turn it off at the end of the day. Personal opinion.
@FinneousPJ Indeed I do, since 2006. At least this job is inherently less stressful than the last one--I don't have ICU nurses calling me and telling me that the ICU status board is down again. Oh, joy--I have 1 minute to fix it before things get ugly. *yeesh*
Those of us who have worked retail have been there with you, @Nonnahswriter. That kind of work schedule on holidays applies to various IT jobs as well. I have the emergency phone (when the queue shuts down incoming calls route to it) so when the people who work at my company get calls from patients asking about their medical supplies and problems arise my phone will ring, even on holidays. Our locations are listed as "staffing as directed by local management" on the 24th, so I know some people will be working thus I will be working, as well. I wouldn't be surprised if the on-call pharmacists get a call on the 25th; if they encounter troubles then my phone will ring on that day, as well.
My other gripe about Christmas was the lack of goats--they can be festive, too. Fortunately, now we have Christmas carols sung by goats. Purchasing the album also contributes to a good cause, too.
And here we will start the proof of Marriage: I will not be pleased with the goats album my dear @Mathsorcerer . Buy it if you must, you can listen to it when I am NOT around. Recall, I left you in the living room when you were listening to selections On-Line. It was worthy of pain reliever. He doth forget that I endure young musicians practicing instruments on a regular basis.
@Nonnahswriter I have sympathy and empathy for your situation. I worked retail a long time and understand the woes that go with the field. Best advise: chin up, smile on, be friendly and efficient. On your break find a place you can let off steam.
@Nonnahswriter I have sympathy and empathy for your situation. I worked retail a long time and understand the woes that go with the field. Best advise: chin up, smile on, be friendly and efficient. On your break find a place you can let off steam.
especially people who celebrate it as a religious holiday(which it is, btw. Regardless of the association with saturnalia or the fact that atheists still celebrate it you can not say it isn't a christmas holiday.)
This is the kind of attitude that bothers me the most, the fact that religious Christians take such a proprietary stance about the holiday. Historians all believe that if there was a being such as Jesus Christ, that he was most emphatically not born in winter time. The Winter Solstice was adopted as the date because (among other reasons), people needed something to celebrate during the 'Down' season.
Not to mention, what does Santa Claus and elves and mistletoe have to do with the birth of Christ? The answer is nothing at all. The 'Christmas tree' was pagan. The actual day itself was a Pagan holy day. It is actually MUCH more of a pagan holiday than anything Christian.
But more than that, the overwhelming sense that Christians look DOWN on the rest of the world for celebrating "Their" holiday. Given the tenants that Christianity is based on, love, sharing and generosity, I would think that they might tone down their "holier than tho" attitude a bit.
This is the first time i've heard someone say that historians don't think Jesus was a real person. Everything I've read says exactly the opposite. In fact there is as much or more evidence that he existed as nearly any other famous ancient person. Even the wiki says that the vast majority of scholars agree that he existed with all the relevant citations to properly agnostic historians needed to satisfy all but the most fanatical contrary mind. As to the date of his birth, I've yet to hear anyone nail down solid evidence that they know anything at all when he was born. So i don't think people can say he was or wasn't born on a certain date.
Whatever the reason the church chose that date as the date to CELEBRATE the birth of Christ (whenever it really was,since they didn't know) if not for Christians celebrating that day, Christmas would not exist, so it certainly seems properly proprietary to me. I find it hard to believe that pagans celebrating saturnalia would have made that day famous to the whole world in the same way. Also Santa Claus is St. Nicholas btw.
Sorry you feel that Christians look down on you or are holier than thou. Your posts seem very anti-Christian when it comes to Christmas. Perhaps you've had bad experiences but don't let that color your perception of an entire group of people (1/3 of the entire population of earth 2.2 billion!)
Personally for the holiday season I'm looking forward to 1) The food 2) Friends flying in from out of town 3) Star Wars (I'm seeing it with said friends on the 22nd) 4) Exams being over 5) Having a lot more free time to test out SoD. 6) Having more free time to work on my mods
In religion it comes down to which Jesus you are talking about, there is a historical Jesus and a Religious/Mythical one. Jesus is mentioned in several Roman scriptures, so he is a historical figure, but him being the son of god is a myth, as that cannot be proven.
The birth of Jesus was written in the gospel of Luke, and he puts the birth of Jesus within 4 BC (Death of Herod The Great) and 6 AD (Census of Quirinius).
In Scandinavia, Christmas is more a cultural thing than religious.
@Qbert - I don't mean to make this personal and I don't have a problem with Christians at all, merely when I see someone express an attitude that is condescending towards anyone who isn't christian who might celebrate the holiday.
As far as it goes, be very careful of what you read on wikis. They aren't by any means rigorous in their research or content. I worded my response the way I did because there are some scholars who doubt the existence of Jesus Christ and i was including them in my statement rather than excluding a community.
Since we don't know what religions may or may not have arisen in absence of Christianity, it is a fools game to speculate. This doesn't change the fact that celebrating 'The birth of Christ' on the day that the pagans had their celebration, when all evidence suggests that was NOT his birth day kind of casts significant doubt on any proprietary ownership of the day. Just because 'The Church' decided to hijack another holiday and make it their own, does not give them ownership rights to it, nor exclusivity to it such that they have the right (which they tend to exercise anyway) to look down on those who don't believe as they do yet celebrate the day anyway.
And regardless of that, celebration of Christmas in this day and age is significantly more about commercialism and sales than any sort of religious holiday.
Speaking as a Christian myself (though I had stopped attending church due to work and other reasons), I don't deny that many of us look down on others and take on a 'holier than thou' attitude when interacting with them. However, I have also seen and heard many atheists take on the exact same mentality when interacting with Christians. To me, it's not about which beliefs you hold as much as it is how strongly you believe in them, and whether or not you are willing to accept that, with the world being as diverse culturally, physically, and spiritually as it is, there will naturally be different viewpoints concerning such important questions as "What happens to us after we die?" If you live your whole life focused so entirely on your own beliefs that you scoff and scowl at other people for believing in something different, then you're doing it wrong, in my opinion.
As many people have said, Christianity is a religion of peace, love, and kindness, but even those core beliefs can and have become twisted by elements such as isolation from other religions, historical conflicts with other groups that continue today, acts of terror conducted by extremists, etc. People are flawed, regardless of beliefs, and they will fall short of the ideal that they strive for. In fact, such a point was talked about often in the Bible, that no matter how firmly you believe in something, you will not always live up to the ideals that you stand for.
Judging another opinion or group of people without discussing it civilly, as in a personal conversation, with those who believe in it is always, in my opinion, a bad idea. You don't get the full picture by relying on media, nor by listening to other people with the same views as you. In order to get a strong, healthy opinion on other beliefs, you need to interact with the people behind it. I am a Christian, and I don't see that changing anytime soon, but I respect people enough to actually talk with them about their own beliefs without throwing out words like 'myth' or 'lie'. To them, it is no myth, no lie. It is disrespectful to them, and to everyone who holds the same core beliefs, not just to the extremists or the popular people who end up on TV.
In Scandinavia, Christmas is more a cultural thing than religious.
In many ways it is like that in the US, though some might find offense in the saying of it (not my intent). We try and observe a separation of Church and State yet the State recognizes it as a Holiday. Non-religious businesses and organizations recognize it as a holiday, not "Necessarily" because of the religious ramifications, but simply because of the culture. Certainly corporations absolutely thrive on it, not from the perspective of any religious meaning, but because it absolutely boosts sales through the roof during that time of year. In short, there are probably as many reasons to celebrate as there are people in the United State and not all of them (and maybe not most of them) are religious in nature.
I personally see it as a day (season) to spread cheer and to be nicer to everyone for a while. I don't feel that you have to believe a certain way or have a certain faith in order to do that or celebrate that. In fact I think that the idea that it is proprietary and exclusive to one group or another is rather anathema to the intent of the holiday. But that's simply my point of view and others may see it differently.
In any case, I do not and did not intend to start a whole religion war here. So I'll back off at this stage.
I just want to commend everyone for having a good discussion and not letting it turn into a flame fest while dealing with a sensitive topic. This is truly in the spirit of the season.
Not to hijack the thread or anything, but here is a question for everyone.
You find yourself trapped on 'The satellite of Love', only instead of being forced to watch Bad Science Fiction movies over and over again, you are inundated with only Christmas movies. My question is, what movie would finally push you over the edge, and why?
Comments
When I was younger, I worked in a Movie Theater. I used to love working the holidays. Admittedly movie theaters are a special brand of retail (and I might be a special brand of crazy) but it was loads of fun seeing all of the people come in on Holidays. They would range anywhere from people who didn't have families and didn't want to be alone all the way to families that brought themselves in as a 'Special gift' to go see a movie. And then there were the teenagers (like myself at the time) that wanted to get away from the 'Family' pressures and hang with the gang for a while.
I would sign up for doubles on Dec 24-25 and my boss would look at me like I was crazy. But he, it meant that he could spend time with his family.......... so he hated me for it!
I don't think I could go back to even that type of retail and I have a HUGE amount of respect for anyone that can work the holidays like that these days. I think they should get paid MORE than the rest of us yobs who actually get to turn it off at the end of the day. Personal opinion.
I'm Jewish, we don't have Christmas lol
so unless some friends invite us over no extra holiday for me
And here we will start the proof of Marriage:
I will not be pleased with the goats album my dear @Mathsorcerer . Buy it if you must, you can listen to it when I am NOT around. Recall, I left you in the living room when you were listening to selections On-Line. It was worthy of pain reliever. He doth forget that I endure young musicians practicing instruments on a regular basis.
@Nonnahswriter I have sympathy and empathy for your situation. I worked retail a long time and understand the woes that go with the field. Best advise: chin up, smile on, be friendly and efficient. On your break find a place you can let off steam.
So put up your Poles and start wrestling!
Perhaps we can air grievances later?
It's a Festivus Miracle!
Whatever the reason the church chose that date as the date to CELEBRATE the birth of Christ (whenever it really was,since they didn't know) if not for Christians celebrating that day, Christmas would not exist, so it certainly seems properly proprietary to me. I find it hard to believe that pagans celebrating saturnalia would have made that day famous to the whole world in the same way. Also Santa Claus is St. Nicholas btw.
Sorry you feel that Christians look down on you or are holier than thou. Your posts seem very anti-Christian when it comes to Christmas. Perhaps you've had bad experiences but don't let that color your perception of an entire group of people (1/3 of the entire population of earth 2.2 billion!)
1) The food
2) Friends flying in from out of town
3) Star Wars (I'm seeing it with said friends on the 22nd)
4) Exams being over
5) Having a lot more free time to test out SoD.
6) Having more free time to work on my mods
Jesus Christ is not a historical person.
In religion it comes down to which Jesus you are talking about, there is a historical Jesus and a Religious/Mythical one. Jesus is mentioned in several Roman scriptures, so he is a historical figure, but him being the son of god is a myth, as that cannot be proven.
The birth of Jesus was written in the gospel of Luke, and he puts the birth of Jesus within 4 BC (Death of Herod The Great) and 6 AD (Census of Quirinius).
In Scandinavia, Christmas is more a cultural thing than religious.
As far as it goes, be very careful of what you read on wikis. They aren't by any means rigorous in their research or content. I worded my response the way I did because there are some scholars who doubt the existence of Jesus Christ and i was including them in my statement rather than excluding a community.
Since we don't know what religions may or may not have arisen in absence of Christianity, it is a fools game to speculate. This doesn't change the fact that celebrating 'The birth of Christ' on the day that the pagans had their celebration, when all evidence suggests that was NOT his birth day kind of casts significant doubt on any proprietary ownership of the day. Just because 'The Church' decided to hijack another holiday and make it their own, does not give them ownership rights to it, nor exclusivity to it such that they have the right (which they tend to exercise anyway) to look down on those who don't believe as they do yet celebrate the day anyway.
And regardless of that, celebration of Christmas in this day and age is significantly more about commercialism and sales than any sort of religious holiday.
Speaking as a Christian myself (though I had stopped attending church due to work and other reasons), I don't deny that many of us look down on others and take on a 'holier than thou' attitude when interacting with them. However, I have also seen and heard many atheists take on the exact same mentality when interacting with Christians. To me, it's not about which beliefs you hold as much as it is how strongly you believe in them, and whether or not you are willing to accept that, with the world being as diverse culturally, physically, and spiritually as it is, there will naturally be different viewpoints concerning such important questions as "What happens to us after we die?" If you live your whole life focused so entirely on your own beliefs that you scoff and scowl at other people for believing in something different, then you're doing it wrong, in my opinion.
As many people have said, Christianity is a religion of peace, love, and kindness, but even those core beliefs can and have become twisted by elements such as isolation from other religions, historical conflicts with other groups that continue today, acts of terror conducted by extremists, etc. People are flawed, regardless of beliefs, and they will fall short of the ideal that they strive for. In fact, such a point was talked about often in the Bible, that no matter how firmly you believe in something, you will not always live up to the ideals that you stand for.
Judging another opinion or group of people without discussing it civilly, as in a personal conversation, with those who believe in it is always, in my opinion, a bad idea. You don't get the full picture by relying on media, nor by listening to other people with the same views as you. In order to get a strong, healthy opinion on other beliefs, you need to interact with the people behind it. I am a Christian, and I don't see that changing anytime soon, but I respect people enough to actually talk with them about their own beliefs without throwing out words like 'myth' or 'lie'. To them, it is no myth, no lie. It is disrespectful to them, and to everyone who holds the same core beliefs, not just to the extremists or the popular people who end up on TV.
I personally see it as a day (season) to spread cheer and to be nicer to everyone for a while. I don't feel that you have to believe a certain way or have a certain faith in order to do that or celebrate that. In fact I think that the idea that it is proprietary and exclusive to one group or another is rather anathema to the intent of the holiday. But that's simply my point of view and others may see it differently.
In any case, I do not and did not intend to start a whole religion war here. So I'll back off at this stage.
I knew it... I always knew it!
Eh, I suppose it's not a total loss. At least Santa is watching how good I'm being.
You find yourself trapped on 'The satellite of Love', only instead of being forced to watch Bad Science Fiction movies over and over again, you are inundated with only Christmas movies. My question is, what movie would finally push you over the edge, and why?