Official Holiday Hate Thread

Do you hate holidays?
Are any of them pointless to you?
Is Vanlentine's Day really a "Hallmark Holiday"? And, if so, wouldn't that make our modern Christmas something similar?

It seems more and more holidays are becoming less and less what they're supposed to be about - at least for the major ones. Christmas is coming sooner each year so the stores can profit off them, Thanksgiving is more about the food than it is about the people/being "thankful" for everything (personally I'm thankful for my family and friends year round but you dont see me eating a feast on a daily basis). Columbus Day? Do I really need to comment about that? What about Veteran's Day? Yeah, we should honour our Vets for the sacrifices they've made and how they've contributed to our country... but thanks to various presidents we have a new generation of Vets who shouldn't have had to make such sacrifices in the first place... not to mention what about all the other people who sacrifice? What about a "Police Day" for all the policeman who die in the line of duty? "Firesman Day" for the same? "Unknown Citizens Day" or "Good Samaritan Day" for the general public who put the lives and/or safety of others before their own? And yet... we have a "Secretaries Day"? Seriously, why? Are their jobs of being slaves to "The Man" any more important than the people who work fast food so our fat asses can enjoy a nice juicy, savory... burger, pizza, etc?

So what holidays do you hate?
Which ones do you enjoy?
Are any of them 'worth it' anymore or have they all become pointless/corrupt?
Any bad experiences that or other reasons you hate any holiday?

I don't think anyone can actually count Secretaries Day since I've never even heard of it or known anyone to "celebrate it" so thats one of the disposable holidays that we have like "national no smiling day".

I don't really "hate" any holiday, I enjoy most of them but I do hate the commercial monster that came by and did lots of very unpostable things to them all...

I guess I'm strange, I like nearly all the holidays for what they are supposed to be and I havent forgotten what they are as I've "grown up" and gotten older/more jaded.

Columbus Day, well all I can say about that is that columbus was rich, famous and hired by the Queen of spain (not italy) to do a job that he failed at however when he did find land he saw some red-ish/tan people and went "oh, we must be in india, those must be indians" (ok, I don't know if thats how it happened but its awfully coinsidental). Fact of the matter is the land was discovered long ago by a VIKING (who's name I can't remember ) but being America we can't have a viking as the one that discovered America because of the notion that vikings are all poor crazy war hungry savages... So, the people that make these kinds of decisions got together and said "so, who do we want as the guy that found us. We have a rich, famous bumbler and then there are Vikings" and being a sign of the future they went to pick fame over fact and here we are with columbus day... Ok, thats my own little twist to the whole thing but it makes semi sence I think...

^^Agreed.

Last October ago I posted a rant about how stupid Columbus day was. Around these parts, Italian Americans celebrate Columbus day as some kind of Italian heritage day. Kind of sad really, considering who Columbus really was.

By the way, Leif Erickson was the Viking who discovered America first. He had Columbus beat by almost 500 years. LOL

He has his own holiday, by the way. It's celebrated October 9th, just a few days before Colmbus day.

I say we should all celebrate Leif Erikson Day from now on.

I Vikings!

endless dark wrote:

Fact of the matter is the land was discovered long ago by a VIKING (who's name I can't remember ) but being America we can't have a viking as the one that discovered America because of the notion that vikings are all poor crazy war hungry savages... So, the people that make these kinds of decisions got together and said "so, who do we want as the guy that found us. We have a rich, famous bumbler and then there are Vikings" and being a sign of the future they went to pick fame over fact and here we are with columbus day... Ok, thats my own little twist to the whole thing but it makes semi sence I think...

Leif Erickson is the viking in question.

Edited: Yikes...seems like La Diva Carlotta had me beat for a minute there!

Christmas would have to be my personal choice for the anti-holiday. Not for economic reasons, or religious, but the fact that my family has made it that way:

Every year, the family gets together, none of us like each other, especially towards me. My grandmother gloats that she's still alive, and pretty much tells everyone snidely how worthless they are, hands out gifts from the dollar store and tells stories about how things were better back in her day.

The only happy memory I have of that woman, or of Christmas in general, is when I finally had it with her about five or so years back, while she was rambling on during dinner, I looked up, 'Grandma, you're a c*nt, no one here likes you, no one loves you, we're just here because you've got a will and a lot of cash that you've been stingy with our entire lives, and Grandpa needs the company now-and-then, so please, shut the f*ck up, and stop being a bitch and just eat your damn food'. She went off crying, and I continued eating, finished my food, got up, smoked a cigarette and drove back to my apartment.

So yes, happy holidays indeed.

Ba-hum-bug!

Actually, my office celebrates secretaries day. We get gifts and free lunch and everything. However, I certainly think that fast food workers/retail workers, etc should also have their own day! Its the same shite anyway.

One that bugs me is MLK Jr. Day. Not because he wasn't an awesome dude, but because the only reason we get it off is because of the ski lobbyists and their want for another three day weekend. Yes, we do get a day off, but I really despise the underhandedness of it and their reasoning in sheer profit. They didn't give a sh*t about commemorating the man, only about upping their ski sales to rich a**hole white people.


And haha, love that story, Loki.

My Father sounds like your grandmother, Loki. Not enough adjectives in the English language that describe his a-holeness.

I can't celebrate Martin Luther King, because being forced to do some sort of book report/speech on the man every year just makes me recoil at the sound of the name alone. I was just discussing with a friend last night, as we were celebrating the publication of her Master's thesis, how much aversion I have toward US History. I did a lot better in Western Civ in college than US History 1&2 just cause it was more broad and all encompassing.

I like the US, and being American don't get me wrong, I just hate anything that reminds me of sitting in school hearing about the forefathers for the millionth time.Maybe that's why I don't like Philadelphia either. Getting sick in the 4th grade on a field trip after being taken to see the liberty bell.

Boy, can I hold a grudge.

I love the holidays, but that's because I do my best to make them special.

There's a history of substance abuse in my family, so I've had lots of birthdays, Xmases, etc. screwed up by someone's cruel behavior. So I made sure I enjoyed these times in my own way: spending time w/friends, going for a walk outside in the quiet, or just holing up in my room. All a holiday is, really, is a chance to appreciate someone or something that is special to you. And maybe it should be something different and personal for everyone, instead of us all bowing to the false idol of "tradition."

In any case, no one gets to rob you of a very good day. Or of your chance to make it a good holiday for someone else. That's the way I see it.

(All that being said, holiday travel always sucks.)

I actually love the holidays with Halloween topping the list by 150% and Christmas coming at a close second. I enjoy the spirit of them and love doing my best to make it just as special to everyone else as it is to me. Being a mother you just cannot just HATE a holiday because it really does reflect in your expressions and body language. I refuse to let my son see me hate anything I want him to grow up and make his own opinions and not have me instill them in him now as a teenager.

I love Christmas.
Hate the stress of trying to figure out what to get people. But when it's all sorted and they get to open it, their expression is enough.
Especially when I bring tears to their eyes for being so thoughtful
Once the tree is actually up, I enjoy just sitting in the living room and looking at the lights.
Or reading with the lights in the background.
And of course, when we all get together (just myself, parents and brothers with their significant others) eat a giant meal and enjoy the sweets I make.
Then crash in the living room, stuffed out of our minds, watching tv.
Same routine every year

I pretty much love any holiday where I can get dressed up, drink a whole lot, eat a whole lot, give and receive gifts, etc.

I especially love any holiday where I can get creative and crafty. I love making things for people.

Eh, I'm not big on holidays except for Halloween....kind of. Even Halloween has gotten a bit wonky after years. I just don't see the point of it. I can be a spooky gal every day of the year and make spooky things when I wish to. I can have a nice dinner with my family and be thankful for having them any day that I wish. I'd rather celebrate the day of their birth and give them something special on those days than scrambling around stores looking for christmas presents for everybody. Or give somebody a gift out of the blue because I was thinking about them and so on.

I don't make much of holidays, but I still participate in them for the sake of my family..most importantly my mother and brother. My dad is indifferent about them as I am.

I support anyone's right to celebrate and worship whatever they want, as long as they don't push it in my face. I don't care about Christmas, but I think it's shitty that they can't even call it Christmas anymore. That's a clear-cut case of the majority feeling they have to prostrate themselves before the fringe groups.

Anywho,

The worship of the 23rd virgin-birth savior in human history/mythology, Jesus, is the furthest thing from the holiday. Now it's just an excuse to sell useless sh*t, to people who feel indebted to buying these items for loved ones, to justify that love. It's despicable, and the reason why people get trampled to buy things. Which is why I think people are tired of the holidays. That people become absolute jerk-offs, because they all need to buy things and do things, to be good toward their loved-ones. People drive like maniacs, you can't park anywhere, everyone is rushing around and pissed off, because they feel like they're failing at being decent people. Because they're not buying or doing all that sh*t. There's all these deadlines to "love" everyone around you, which is terrible.

Holidays are no longer holy-days anymore, just glossy-marketable moments of the year where people feel pressured into doing things. Valentine's Day is right there with Christmas, in the missing the point category.

Oh yeah, the whole Columbus Day talk; that guy was imprisoned when he returned home to Europe for heresy. The church said the world was flat, he proved it wasn't via a mistake, and they said that it was "evil" of him to do so. We don't talk about that much though, maybe a Lief Erickson day would be much more fun. You celebrate by getting drunk, partying like a maniac and having as much sex as you can. I mean the guy had over 100 children around the world, you gotta start somehwere.

I am really bothered by Valentines day.

If love is true then you do not need a special day to commemorate it, as it is always present in much more subtle ways. It should be quietly celebrated as a part of everyday life, not loudly put out there for one day of the year.


A lot of my feelings have to do with how many people in my age group treat it... a guy gets roses and chocolates for a girl, maybe taking her out to dinner, yet all too often expects some sort of sexual favors in return. I know that not all relationships are like this, but it is very often what I see among the guys of my age group. As a survivor of sexual violence, I see this attitude as outright disturbing. What I find even more disturbing is how this attitude is actually so accepted by our society, and many girls, even some of my seemingly smart friends, feel like they have to put out for their significant others even when they don't particularly want to.

I only like valentines day because that was our first date when I sneaked away from my house to go out with him

Christmas, It bothers me that eveyone is so materialistic, and wants the most outrageously priced gifts, I don't care if any buys me gifts, because I can pretty much buy off my wishlist right now If I really want to.

DarkDreamer wrote:

I am really bothered by Valentines day.

If love is true then you do not need a special day to commemorate it, as it is always present in much more subtle ways. It should be quietly celebrated as a part of everyday life, not loudly put out there for one day of the year.


A lot of my feelings have to do with how many people in my age group treat it... a guy gets roses and chocolates for a girl, maybe taking her out to dinner, yet all too often expects some sort of sexual favors in return. I know that not all relationships are like this, but it is very often what I see among the guys of my age group. As a survivor of sexual violence, I see this attitude as outright disturbing. What I find even more disturbing is how this attitude is actually so accepted by our society, and many girls, even some of my seemingly smart friends, feel like they have to put out for their significant others even when they don't particularly want to.

I think its sad also, If I don't want to I ain't gonna put out, no swindling or swooning is going to sway me.

[quote="DarkDreamer"]I am really bothered by Valentines day.

"If love is true then you do not need a special day to commemorate it, as it is always present in much more subtle ways. It should be quietly celebrated as a part of everyday life, not loudly put out there for one day of the year. "


I agree with you 100% - that what me and my boyfriend do. We never celebrate it. We always do little things all year around.

All my friends disagree with me. They enjoy getting a fuzzy pink bear or a cheesy balloon

beautyindecay wrote:

Christmas, It bothers me that eveyone is so materialistic, and wants the most outrageously priced

That is what bothers me the most about Christmas ....I love to give and watching others open their gifts is my greatest joy on Christmas.

Christmas music,the crud they play in stores or dentists offices.That stuff sets my teeth on edge.I hear it every day starting in mid October and heading into Christmas.Where I work right now it's All Christmas Music all the time.
I can't stand Christmas music,I dread it and can't wait for the holiday to be over.

raven-I agree completely!
That's how it is where I work as well.
It's reallllly f-ing annoying hearing 10 renditions of the same damn song within a 15 minute period.

beautyindecay wrote:

Christmas, It bothers me that eveyone is so materialistic, and wants the most outrageously priced gifts, I don't care if any buys me gifts, because I can pretty much buy off my wishlist right now If I really want to.

Agreed. It's awful!

With so many people in bad financial situations this is even worse. A lot of people totally understand and do not request outlandish gifts from people who cannot afford them. But it is also so ingrained in our culture that you have to spend X amount of money on a gift (or spend a lot of time making something nice) or else you're cheap and don't care. Recipients are usually pretty understanding if a broke friend or relative gives them something inexpensive as a gift, but unfortunately those giving the gifts are not always so receptive to this idea...