I'm not noticing the Christmas advertising as being so much worse, but maybe I'm just tuning it out better. It doesn't tend to annoy me so much as just roll on past me most of the time.

I didn't know you were even doing yuletide this year! I'm jealous of you for being able to write anything long. Ever, including for that, because it's such a problem for me. Though I did have a New Year's resolution fic one year that was about 6000 words. It is frustrating when it seems like a chore though. I imagine I'm not in the fandom, to bounce an idea off, but if you want to chat you're welcome to.

Yeah, I know. I'm the only one EVER to be bothered by the stuff, judging from the rest of my flist.

(Sorry. Someone wrote a nice post about "How should she greet non-celebrators of Christmas" and a number of posters, several Jewish, took it as a reason to say, "Well, anyone who ojbects to Christmas greetings or holiday cards is a jerk or an a-hole." And I don't object to the greetings, and I don't take part in card exchanges myself, but these were all, "I'm Jewish and *I* don't feel oppressed so why should anyone else? Why, I EVEN celebrate it!" and so I'm feeling rather, well.

Oppressed.)

As for the story - I just need to get in the mood to write. And I'm so NOT right now.

I guess I just get a lot of the opposite... not always, but mostly people who are also sick of it (Jewish or not) and so forth. And I don't understand discouraging someone from being considerate. The only thing that bothers me so far is that people at my work just don't get that I'm not going to sing a Christmas carol at the Christmas party, nor am I going to get up and pretend to sing one. Beyond that I'm pretty mellow, but I'm not going to tell everyone else where to draw their lines.

I just had to bite the bullet and write it, but mine was shorter. The final edit still isn't done though.

Remember the foofaraw the past few years about the "War on Christmas"? I think the war is over, and we lost. :-)

Funny thing. I watched a lot of tv yesterday, and I've realized I'm completely neutral about most of the commercials. I think I've reached the point of oversaturation.

Never thought that would be a good thing.

I'll be sure to write a grumpy post soon, but my co-workers are actually behaving themselves this year and remembering that we actually do work for the government. Nobody has tried to make me be Christmassy and if they do, if they start gift wrapping doors and bins again, I have a roll of Happy Chanukah paper...

I'm annoyed by the earliness of the Christmas ads. I once predicted it would get earlier and earlier until it started in January... Though I wish they would realize tehy're defeating the whole purpose of a "Christmas season." It's supposed to be a special time of year for them, and by making it longer and longer, past before Thanksgiving, [Or before Halloween!!!] it makes it no longer special.

I used to like all the Christmas songs and stuff to some extent, but now I'm indifferent. I won't get offended if people say Merry Christmas, though I understand people who do get offended. (I guess maybe because of the underlying assumption that everyone is Christian.)

I once had an incident in 6th grade when we were working ona project in class, and people kept on singing Christmas songs, and I was like "that's not fair, not everyone is Christian." (I went to a public school). So they saing "I had a little dreidel" and were like "are you happy?" and I was like "no." And they were like "what, should we sing buddhist and muslim songs?" (in a mean sarcastic way) and I said "yes." But really, my thought was that they were excluding people like me, and 1 channukah song didn't make everything better because they were still singing songs I couldn't participate in, and my thought was that they shouldn't sing anything at all. Of course, I couldn't articulate that as a 6th grader.

And in 5th grade my school put up a Christmas tree in the lobby, and I went to one of the teachers and told her that she couldn't do that, this was a public school. And she said "this is a birdie tree, not a Christmas tree. [all the ornaments were birds.] See? There's no star on top." As if the star is the factor that makes it a christmas tree. I felt very condescended to, though I didn't pursue it any further.

Eventually I got used to it all as a fact of life that this was just a part of our [American] culture.

Though I wish they would realize tehy're defeating the whole purpose of a "Christmas season." It's supposed to be a special time of year for them

What "they" and "them"? because honestly, the only "they" and "them" that fits into the category of "those who extend the Christmas season to completely ridiculous time periods", from where I am standing, is retailers (by which I mean "corporate entities who appear to suffer from some kind of money-induced brain disease"). I don't know any actual humans, Christian or otherwise, who like it when Christmas stuff pops up early.

I'm wondering about that. It seems somewhat desperate this year - or am I making that up?

It does seem that way. my guess is that it hasn't been a great year for retail.

I keep thinking that there must be *some* people who respond to the early marketing positively, or the retailers wouldn't do it, but who ARE these people? no one I know, certainly. My neighborhood is religiously mixed, but still mostly Italian Catholic, and if anyone even DARED to do anything Christmassy before Thanksgiving, you'd hear the yelling all the way down the street. "AWW my GAWD what is THAT AN YER HAUS! KEN yinz BELEEEEEVE it? She gawt Christmas stuff AN HER HAUS ALREADY!"

What bugs me about that last is it means that not celebrating Christmas is "UnAmerican."

And I don't think either Christmas trees or menorahs should be erected on public property using public money. (It bothers me far less if a private organization donates the money, and I'd probably like it better if they rent the property for $1 or something.)

*hugs* Here's hoping things look up. Sometimes the little annoyances are worse than the big stuff.

See my post today. I'm in a much better mood. Thank you!

You could be in Canada. Christmas ads start here just after Thanksgiving - which is celebrated on the second Monday of *October*. In other words, we've had Christmas ads here for over a month and a half.

This despite the fact that a significant percentage of the population (35% in Alberta) is not Christian.

No, I don't know how the most conservative province is also the most atheist, either.

From what I've heard, retailers started the Christmas stuff around the same time here. That part doesn't bother me because, honestly, I don't see it. It doesn't happen where I shop (they finally put out the Chanukah stuff last week.)

I also understand the need to advertise, but I think it's reached such a saturation that no one does see it anymore.

Christmas time used to give me panic attacks. To the point where I had to go to my therapist and get hypnotised to not react to it! Seriously, it was as big an aversion as going to the dentist. Something that really helped me was buying the CD "Oy to the World". It's your classic Christmas songs, but they're all instrumental, and all the instruments are KLEZMER! It's hysterically funny, and you'll never hear mall muzak the same way again. Every time you hear a Christmas carol you'll think of dancing rabbis. :-)

I go nuts during December. I really do. It's unpleasant for all concerned, including me. And one would think that being involved in Judaism and living in a Jewish neighborhood would change that. It's helped, of course, but LJ gets so...cheery.

And, you know, it's just wrong to say, "Hey, YOU! People I call friends! Stop enjoying your favorite holiday. Right NOW!"

That CD sounds wonderful! Which band is it?

http://www.amazon.com/Oy-World-Klezmer-Christmas-Klezmonauts/dp/B00000FXN2

It's the best therapy EVER for the "December Blues". :-D