<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ Dec 26 2006, 06:43 PM) [snapback]366838[/snapback]</div> I read it as "Hey you buncha losers, what the heck are you doin' on PC on Christmas, don't you have a life?" all with a huge smile on his face and tongue firmly in his cheek. Just my take.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ Dec 26 2006, 01:43 PM) [snapback]366838[/snapback]</div> I didn't read the OP as "some of us violated the sanctity of the holiday," but rather as, "some of us had nobody to spend the day with." Of course, a lot of people obviously had time before or after family gatherings, besides those for whom Dec 25 is just another day. It's always been kind of a depressing day for me because, as a secular holiday, most people spend it with family, and coming from a dysfunctional family, I long ago moved as far from my family as I could conveniently get. And since my friends were all with their families, it always seems like a lonely time. And here in Spokane, I don't really have any friends. Fortunately, I got through the day by napping, reading a book, and watching a movie. And posting on PC. And reflecting on my upcoming trip to Mexico.
Just about every day I go to a club, hang out, and maybe learn something from people I have come to care about. Does it matter that this club exists in cyberspace? Visiting with friends here sounds like a "Christmas thing" to me. May we all have a Happy New Year regardless of when it starts.
- I'm not Christian - All the stores / bars / clubs / etc. were closed - I just got my Prius on Dec 22nd
Not sure if I posted anything or not...but I got on, did a little moderator house-keeping and such in the evening after the kids were in bed. Easy enough to grab the laptop in front of the TV while watching football and thinking away the calories from Christmas dinner!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Oxo @ Dec 26 2006, 08:29 AM) [snapback]366648[/snapback]</div> I had plenty to do on Christmas, but somehow found time to visit PC for few minutes. Are you going to be doing a headcount on New Year's too? Yes, I do find it addictive, but there could be much worse things to be addicted to.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Dec 26 2006, 10:02 PM) [snapback]366973[/snapback]</div> Interesting that there were varied interpretations of what I had written in my 'Christmas' post. It shows that when people read what we have written many see a meaning in it that is different to what the writer intended (so always take care!). In this case your responses have caused me to wonder why I wrote this question. I think it mainly stemmed from the fact that when I looked at PriusChat the next day I did not expect to find much as I assumed that almost everybody would be preoccupied with other things. But there was almost as much as usual, so I counted them - hence my comment. This raises the question of why some of us put something on PriusChat which has no relevance to Toyota or cars. In my case, as a non-American, I'm sometimes interested to see what the reaction of Americans will be (pity there are so few members from other nations here). Another aspect of this is the extent to which posts stimulate replies. Some posts get very few responses, some get hundreds or thousands. What have these got in common? As for what I personally was doing on Christmas Day: well, I am at an age when the merry-making of youth does not appeal to me. My kids have their own homes and their own little kids. I find a short visit to homes with boisterous infants or noisy but inarticulate teen-agers is enough and I am pleased to get back to a corner of my own cave reflecting on what has been and what might have been, I'm not religious, although I was brought up as a Christian and had the Christmas story ground into me year after year.
I can't wait for his take on new-year's eve posters. Also ... "at the age on not being into merry-making" ??? Sorry to hear that. I think I'll hang myself before I get there. Wait ... I'm already over middle age though ... when does that happen?
For some of us, the 25th of December is just that...the 25th of December. Nothing more, nothing less.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hill @ Dec 27 2006, 12:17 PM) [snapback]367193[/snapback]</div> You mean me?! New Year's Eve is not celebrated so much in England as it is in Scotland, where it's BIG. Round my way the arrival of the New Year won't be noticed much except by a few idiots who let off fireworks at midnight, presumably to wake up everybody else. As for the age of merry-making. Maybe not so much an age related thing as something in the genes.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(OaklandPrius @ Dec 27 2006, 03:31 PM) [snapback]367241[/snapback]</div> You have my sympathy. Even before I "found religion", I could tell Dec. 25th was something special.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Schmika @ Dec 27 2006, 11:31 AM) [snapback]367275[/snapback]</div> Thanks, but I don't need your sympathy. In my (and many others) world, it's just a day where a large percentage of the world's population chooses to celebrate something I'm not involved in. No different than the holidays specified by the different religions throughout the world. You have your holidays, I have mine. The only thing "special" about the 25th of December is the fact that most stores/restaurants are closed, so I need to plan my day's entertainment beforehand.
We I am really not sure if I posted or did not but I generally look around daily when I can. I too was working and that involves a lot of waiting and Prius Chat, and reading is a good way to wait. Keeps me out of trouble.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Oxo @ Dec 27 2006, 11:25 AM) [snapback]367274[/snapback]</div> Speaking of New year's Eve, there's a funny (and fun) tradition in Spain. Being a church-ridden country, there's always a church nearby and a lot of bell-ringing. In this case, twelve strokes of the bell for 12 midmight. So the tradition is that you are supposed to eat one grape for each of the 12 strokes, in time with the strokes. But Spanish grapes are huge. I don't think I've ever seen grapes here as big as they have. The result is that it is very amusing to try, or to watch someone else try, to eat one grape for each stroke of the bell without falling behind.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(OaklandPrius @ Dec 27 2006, 05:45 PM) [snapback]367330[/snapback]</div> I'll bite, what are your holidays?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Schmika @ Dec 27 2006, 06:15 PM) [snapback]367471[/snapback]</div> I don't want to get in a "my religion is better than yours" battle here, that would be pointless and a waste of time. My religion is my own personal business, and I don't care to evangelize it here. That's just the way I was brought up, sorry if you don't like it. The point of my posts is that there are many people in the world who don't celebrate Christmas. No need to feel sorry for us or pity us. However, we are out there, and we need to entertain ourselves somehow. So what if we choose to spend the time at PriusChat rather than movie theatres, it shouldn't be a big deal.
My wife and I went to my parents in the morning and went home to wait for Christmas dinner (also at my parents). Plenty of time to visit PriusChat.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(OaklandPrius @ Dec 28 2006, 12:05 PM) [snapback]367758[/snapback]</div> point well taken. i for one would have enjoyed an answer from you and i doubt that Schmika asked the question to provoke a pissing war over religion. i come here to broaden my knowledge of how other people live and think. i cant help but feel that this was a missed opportunity to gain a better understanding of something i know nothing about
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA @ Dec 28 2006, 12:44 PM) [snapback]367779[/snapback]</div> I think you are right. But he does believe and assert that his religion is the Only True Religion and that all others are false. His "evidence" in favor of this is that the official book of his religion says so. However, he is a decent guy, and tries not to be more offensive than his exclusionist belief imposes on him. And I am sure he was just asking out of curiosity. My sister has exactly the opposite belief. She belongs to Westernized sort of quasi-Hindu church, and believes that all religions are valid and legitimate paths to god. She believes that when Jesus said he was the only way, he was speaking in the broader context of all the millions of incarnations in which he has appeared to all the different cultures of the world throughout time, and that rather than meaning that the cult of Jesus was the only way, it really meant that all religions were manifestations of the same truth. Of course, I think it's all bull, and they're all nonsense. But my sister's view is at least a lot more tolerant and humanistic.
