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Merry Christmas Everyone

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Re: Merry Christmas Everyone

#251

Post by pitaj »

AznHisoka wrote: post #247
jedberg wrote: post #13

I'm Jewish, so all my Christmas's growing up were kinda the same. Sleep in, have brunch, wander over to my neighbor's house around noon to see what kind of loot they got and help them play with their new toys. Sometimes we'd go out for Chinese food and a movie. But my favorite was Christmas 1999. My girlfriend was out of town with her family and there was no reason to go home to mine, so I was alone (my roommates wer…

OK, i am ignorant, but why do most Jewish people eat Chinese food on Christmas? Is there something I am missing?

I believe it's because Chinese restaurants historically are the only ones open since they don't celebrate Christmas.

Re: Merry Christmas Everyone

#252

Post by bloomingeek »

egeozcan wrote: post #119

Merry Christmas! Mutlu Noeller! Frohe Weihnachten! I was born in Istanbul, a sprawling, chaotic city that's a fascinating blend of thousands of cultures. Christmas was always a thing there, even under an Islamist regime. As a non-believer, I never cared much for religious holidays, but I did enjoy the cozy decorations and sipping Glühwein (mulled wine). Beyond that, it didn't mean much to me. Now I live in Germany. M…

Wonderful!

Re: Merry Christmas Everyone

#253

Post by tasty_freeze »

AznHisoka wrote: post #247
jedberg wrote: post #13

I'm Jewish, so all my Christmas's growing up were kinda the same. Sleep in, have brunch, wander over to my neighbor's house around noon to see what kind of loot they got and help them play with their new toys. Sometimes we'd go out for Chinese food and a movie. But my favorite was Christmas 1999. My girlfriend was out of town with her family and there was no reason to go home to mine, so I was alone (my roommates wer…

OK, i am ignorant, but why do most Jewish people eat Chinese food on Christmas? Is there something I am missing?

Chinese restaurants are often owned by first or second generation Chinese immigrants who (1) aren't Christian and (2) haven't been in the US long enough to adopt local customs. Since restaurants often are marginally profitable, they tend to stay open on Christmas because there is profit to be made, especially since most of the competition is closed that day.

If you are Jewish, Christmas obviously isn't nearly as important to your (often nominally) Christian neighbors and there isn't much to do on Christmas day. If you decide you don't want to cook, Chinese restaurants are way over-represented in the choice of open restaurants. Once you do that for a couple years it becomes its own tradition.

I grew up in a Catholic household but my family, after years of making Turkey and spending hours cooking, for the past few years has switched to Chinese food on Christmas. I don't miss the turkey and gravy.

Re: Merry Christmas Everyone

#254

Post by throw-qqqqq »

matheusmoreira wrote: post #90
jakebasile wrote: post #50

Merry Christmas! I had rented Final Fantasy 7 from Blockbuster so many times that my brother decided to get it for me for Christmas. Even though I never really snooped for presents he decided to mess with my head and wrapped it in two large bath towels and put it in an even larger box. This giant package below the tree for me, and it sounded like cloth - I figured it must've been a jacket or something until I opened…

Spending Christmas Eve with family is the best. Really cherish those moments. The pace of everyday life is so fast, it's easy to forget what's really important. Merry Christmas.

Truer words were never spoken!

I see my family too rarely because of the everyday hustle. I love the holidays for the slow pace, the long lunches and dinners. Talking about nothing and everything.

Re: Merry Christmas Everyone

#255

Post by tasty_freeze »

I grew up in a family with eight kids. Mom was stay at home and Dad did well, but with eight kids each individual kid received a few mostly modest presents.

When I was in college and home for Thanksgiving, my folks invited everyone out to dinner. After ordering, my dad would often introduce a topic of discussion that we'd bat around until the food came. That year he said: if you didn't need to worry about money or success, what other career path might you find interesting. Without much thought I said, I'd like to play electric bass, due to the fact that when I listened to albums, I was really mostly following the bass. I don't even recall what my other siblings said.

On Christmas day there were the usual gifts: socks and underwear, a couple of new shirts, and a book or two. But after that was all done, my dad said: tomorrow when the music store is open, let's go buy a bass. It was a $200 hondo (a fender p-bass knockoff) and a 15 watt Crate amp. What an extravagant gift! I'm 60 now and still playing, though never professionally. :-)

Re: Merry Christmas Everyone

#256

Post by s5300 »

lazystar wrote: post #12

three days before xmas in 2022, my partner of 6 years threatened to kill me because i was scared to travel through an ice storm to her mom's house. while she was downstairs getting her pocket knife, i texted her best friend for help and got her to call her and she talked her down. the ice storm prevented any travel for 2 days; we still made it to her moms for xmas, but i was gone mentally for the next year and a half…

[dead]

Re: Merry Christmas Everyone

#257

Post by stormfather »

mathgeek wrote: post #236
bowmessage wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don’t poison yourself with that chemical food!

I hope that Christmas finds you in a wealth of joy and whatever you’re looking for that causes such comments. We are all fighting our own battles and this is my sincere hope that you win yours!

Sorry, what? Not wanting someone to poison themselves is an expression of love

Re: Merry Christmas Everyone

#259

Post by bradleyy »

tasty_freeze wrote: post #255

I grew up in a family with eight kids. Mom was stay at home and Dad did well, but with eight kids each individual kid received a few mostly modest presents. When I was in college and home for Thanksgiving, my folks invited everyone out to dinner. After ordering, my dad would often introduce a topic of discussion that we'd bat around until the food came. That year he said: if you didn't need to worry about money or su…

I also play electric bass, and love this story. The real question is: do you still have the Hondo?

Re: Merry Christmas Everyone

#260

Post by fumeux_fume »

My fondest memories of Christmas are from childhood when we’d spend Christmas eve and day at my grandparents house in Pasadena with my aunts and uncles and their families. The kids usually shared a few rooms and in the morning our stockings would be hung on the doorknobs so we could entertain ourselves silly putty, highlights magazines, and slinkies while the adults slept in. However, the Christmas gift I’ll never forget was my first DVD player. It was a discounted Proscan model, but still cost a bundle back when VHS was the dominant format. While fiddling with the menu for The Matrix, I stumbled upon the commentary track which I had no understanding of. I finally pieced together that I was listening to the directors talk about the movie as they watched it, as if we were in the same room together. This kinda blew my mind and set me down a path at a young age of appreciation for movies as an art form and dialogue between artist and viewer rather than just passive entertainment.
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