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Merry Christmas, HN

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Re: Merry Christmas, HN

#171

Post by SamPatt »

thowaway959125 wrote: post #123
labrador wrote: post #58

In case you're homeless and living in your car rejected by everyone you love because you can't stop drinking, but temporarily holed up in a roadside motel over Christmas with a case of vodka... that was me. It gets better. I now have 5 years sobriety, but I'll never forget that despair I felt and how my mind was in a loop thinking about killing myself. I've put a temp email in my profile in case you want to reach out…

You can see from my comment history that I have a history of problems with alcohol also. I have spent many Christmas's holed up in motels alone with a bottle, thinking "what's the point?". You think going through that one year would be enough, but it wasn't enough to learn my lesson. It's no place to be, but it CAN get better as you've pointed out. I noted in a prior comment I went from a senior software engineer to…

Nice work man.

Merry Christmas.

Re: Merry Christmas, HN

#172

Post by toyg »

osullip wrote: post #32
blhack wrote: post #21

It should not be lost on anyone that this holiday comes immediately after the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year. The future is hopeful, and the days have already started getting brighter. Merry Christmas, HN!

Except in the southern hemisphere.

Christmas celebrations in the Southern Emisphere are a curious legacy of colonialism. In the same way we still celebrate Saturn every week because the Romans conquered the whole of Europe and North-Africa, people over there will celebrate Christ in the middle of summer probably forever - just because Europeans planted their flags in every nook and cranny.

Re: Merry Christmas, HN

#173

Post by wrp »

To everyone whose response is, "I'm not a Christian, but...," why dump on other people's good wishes? If a holiday is about free time, good food, meeting friends, and general expressions of good will, who cares what the historical origin was? When I lived in the Middle East, I always responded to "Happy Eid" in kind, not "I'm not a Muslim, but..." I accepted the holiday in its intended spirit and I honestly enjoyed Eid over there as much as Christmas in America.

Re: Merry Christmas, HN

#174

Post by SamPatt »

rubicon33 wrote: post #160
didgetmaster wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't have to 'hit rock bottom' to have temporary times of despair in your life. Even if you have a lot of things going for you, we all have times when we feel sad, depressed, lonely, in a rut, overwhelmed, or other negative emotions. If you find yourself in one of those times, convince yourself that it is only temporary and look for the good. Help someone else out because serving others will give you a boost. Su…

I'm one of those people that from a young age gave religion a bad rap. The problem is nobody ever told me about its utility. I was just dragged to church every Sunday and occasionally lectured on God / etc. It was really easy for a young mind to get cynical about it especially amongst a family that was very preachy. I wish someone had said "whether or not you believe in THIS god, there is utility in believing in SOME…

The problem is that religion perpetuates itself by adherence to a set of shared beliefs, so it cannot survive a significant proportion of followers saying "these beliefs aren't literally true but the benefits of community and belonging are absolutely worth it."

If faking belief weren't so detrimental to the soul it would be an obvious choice for those people with a stubborn habit of needing proof.

Re: Merry Christmas, HN

#175

Post by noyoudumbdolt »

kortilla wrote: post #100
rawgabbit wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Christmas celebrates the birth or nativity of Jesus. The coming of the promised savior. Jesus' death and resurrection, religiously speaking, reconciled mankind with God. Jesus represents reconciliation and peace. Like the lost prodigal son who returns to his father and is welcomed with open arms.

That’s what the Christian holiday is yes, but that’s not really what a lot of Americans (including my family) are actually celebrating. It’s about getting together with family, exchanging gifts and good food, and reflecting on the year. We do the lights and the tree, not a single mention of Jesus or God though. The overlap of Americanized Christmas and religion in the Venn diagram is much smaller than you would think…

I hope you find room for Christ in your life. He suffered and died so you can be saved.

Re: Merry Christmas, HN

#178

Post by powersnail »

Merry Christmas!

Waiting for my dinner to cook in a shared kitchen of my rented home, my friends on skiing trips, my family on the other side of the earth, and my girl friend thousands of miles away, I have all the Christmas decorations to myself for now. And it's a heart-warming moment seeing a "Merry Christmas" post here. A reminder that on this internet-connected globe, even when physically isolated, we are not truly alone.

Stay happy and stay healthy!

Re: Merry Christmas, HN

#179

Post by phkahler »

highwaylights wrote: post #50
phkahler wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> I’ve spent Christmas alone more than I care to admit over the last decade but this community never fails to offer insight, inspiration, and compassion. This is my first ever Christmas eve alone. I'll see my family tomorrow, but no more inlaws, and my kid is with her mom tonight. Divorce is.... different. I've got wine and a blanket. I'm getting back to FLOSS. Dropped a PR on OBS Studio yesterday. I hope it gets ac…

Just checking in to say you take care too and it’ll be tomorrow before you know it. Your kid will get to be super excited a second time tomorrow when he sees you at the front door! Congrats on getting back to floss. I keep trying to but it’s been hard to make the time this year. Hopefully 2023 will give me a little extra time for it! Happy Christmas mate :-)

>> Congrats on getting back to floss. I keep trying to but it’s been hard to make the time this year.

One thing I see clearly in open source is that people have lives. Participation varies a lot even among great contributors. Some very active people disappear for months only to return later. When you realize it's because everyone has a life outside where we see them, it makes them seem much more human than say coworkers in an office where we show up regardless of other things.

Get back to it when you can, or when it's good for you.

Re: Merry Christmas, HN

#180

Post by lazyasciiart »

jjtheblunt wrote: post #166
ggggiok wrote: post #10

Not a Christian, but appreciate the sentiment. Family is all dead so it's just another weekend for me, no big deal. Hope the rest of you enjoy your festivities, whatever it is you're doing.

> just another weekend for me except a solstice just happened! (sol invictus ftw, in the northern hemisphere) Is it coincidental that cultures and associated religions seem curiously to align holidays around now? is it maybe related to the physical reality of the earth's orbit and inclination of axis?

It is probably not coincidence, but the existence of solstice celebrations that new religions attempted to go-opt/overwrite with their own event.
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