Holiday season is coming!

[XRay]

I think Halloween marks the start of holiday season. So, how are you guys feeling this fall and winter?

Halloween is okay. I am not a huge fan of sweets (unless it is in liquid form, I love soda, juice, and smoothies), and I am very picky with the candy that I do eat. I think my workplace might have a Halloween party/dress up day in our office.

Speaking of costumes, I feel like there are not a lot of good costumes for guys. Girls get all the nice flashy costumes. Actually, that goes for fashion in general; I think I will make separate topic on this.

Thanksgiving is time for me to be fat, although I will probably limit my cooking since I do not think I can finish all the food since it is just me and my mom. I will probably stuff myself when I eat out with my friends though.

I hope the Switch might be on sale for Black Friday! I think I will get a new portable charger too since my old one recently broke. I want to give all my friends gifts, but most of us are all a little broke and none of us can afford to buy 10 gifts that we each really want. I guess the physical gift itself does not really matter since I value each other's company more, but having physical gifts that we want would be nice though.

Christmas is my favorite holiday. Well, more specifically, I find Christmas Eve to be the most wonderful time of the year; Christmas day itself is just okay. The gifts are nice though, but I am not expecting any this year.

Staying up late for New Year's Eve is fun, although it feels kind of of short.

Since I am not in New York anymore, I think I will miss the snow too.

Edited October 23, 2018 by XRay

[Karimlan]

Shouldn't it be Thanksgiving?

Ever since I've moved to the Philippines about four and a half years ago, I've found the holiday season to begin in September. Hearing Xmas songs THAT early unnerved me at first. Even more startling is the fact that most malls here are putting up Thanksgiving sales (that incidentally happen on the third Friday of November), and I thought, "I know the first American teachers landed here on a ship dubbed the USS Thomas, but were they related to the Pilgrims or something?" I've never understood the logic, and I'm afraid I never will.

[NinjaMonkey]

38 minutes ago, XRay said:

I think Halloween marks the start of holiday season.

I'd go with the 1st of December, myself.

[XRay]

1 minute ago, NinjaMonkey said:

I'd go with the 1st of December, myself.

But Halloween and Thanksgiving are holidays too.

[NinjaMonkey]

2 minutes ago, XRay said:

But Halloween and Thanksgiving are holidays too.

I'm not American.

[XRay]

5 minutes ago, NinjaMonkey said:

I'm not American.

Oh. I see.

[IfIHadToPickADude]

2 hours ago, NinjaMonkey said:

I'm not American.

Do you not celebrate Halloween were you live? I'm pretty sure Halloween is a worldwide holiday, as far as I know.

[DisobeyedCargo]

4 minutes ago, IfIHadToPickADude said:

Do you not celebrate Halloween were you live? I'm pretty sure Halloween is a worldwide holiday, as far as I know.

It is celebrated in a lot of other places but in different ways if I recall 

[NinjaMonkey]

1 hour ago, IfIHadToPickADude said:

Do you not celebrate Halloween were you live?

I don't no. Also, people usually get the day off on holidays, and yet, not on Halloween for some reason...

1 hour ago, IfIHadToPickADude said:

I'm pretty sure Halloween is a worldwide holiday, as far as I know.

Yeah, I'm sure those Islamic countries are totally fine with people celebrating ghouls, demons and all the rest of the Halloween monstrosities .

Edited October 23, 2018 by NinjaMonkey

[Anacybele]

1 hour ago, NinjaMonkey said:

I don't no. Also, people usually get the day off on holidays, and yet, not on Halloween for some reason...

Halloween isn't a federal holiday. Only on federal holidays do we get the day off.

But as an American, I mark Halloween/October as the start of the holiday season myself. I can understand why other regions wouldn't, especially since Thanksgiving is US-only (and Canada has a Thanksgiving too, but it's in October). But for us, it's just a little earlier.

My favorite part of Halloween is the costumes. Not really so much the candy. But I had to get some of the new glow-in-the-dark candy that released this year. No, the candy itself doesn't glow, it's the wrappers. XD

Best part of Thanksgiving imo, is cranberry sauce and pie!

Christmas? Decorating, singing carols, and buying gifts for people! I realize Christmas is a religious holiday and I don't consider myself a part of any one religion. But I celebrate it as a family holiday and I grew up celebrating it since I was born into a generally Christian family. So while I've eliminated the religious parts of it for myself due to a lack of interest (not that I hate God or Jesus or anything, just don't have the interest. And I do believe a god of some kind exists), I still do everything else involved in the holiday.

Edited October 23, 2018 by Anacybele

[XRay]

43 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

I realize Christmas is a religious holiday and I don't consider myself a part of any one religion.

Me too. Even though I am Christian, I generally ignore the religious aspects of the holiday. I just see it as a holiday to spend time with friends and family and gift giving if finance permits.

[Anacybele]

32 minutes ago, XRay said:

Me too. Even though I am Christian, I generally ignore the religious aspects of the holiday. I just see it as a holiday to spend time with friends and family and gift giving if finance permits.

Yep, same here, pretty much. And it's the same thing with Easter. I didn't even actually know Easter was a religious holiday for years. I grew up not knowing. I just enjoy dying eggs and decorating with bunny-themed stuff. :P And I enjoy spring.

[EricaofRenais]

Halloween I like mostly because since I am goth and I have Celtic blood in my veins so I like it.  Thanksgiving is just a day where I end up eating to much and missing my granddad because he would always visit on that Holiday.  Christmas is the most depressing hated Holiday for me, if something bad is going to happen to me it is going to happen in December, every year is the same and the only thing I want every year is to make it through without crying.  Every year I think about becoming a Buddhist after Thanksgiving.   

[Acacia Sgt]

Holiday Season, huh.

Let's see... Dia de Muertos, Start of the Revolution, Day of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Christmas... yeah, talk about right...

[Anacybele]

2 hours ago, EricaofRenais said:

Christmas is the most depressing hated Holiday for me, if something bad is going to happen to me it is going to happen in December, every year is the same and the only thing I want every year is to make it through without crying.

Uh, it sucks that awful things have happened to you in December, but that's not really the fault of anything Christmas-related, is it? Seems a bit harsh to hate the holiday. I'd just hate December. xP

[EricaofRenais]

9 hours ago, Anacybele said:

Uh, it sucks that awful things have happened to you in December, but that's not really the fault of anything Christmas-related, is it? Seems a bit harsh to hate the holiday. I'd just hate December. xP

It is a long story as to why, but yes things involving Christmas are part of the reason I don't like December.  My dad used to make Christmas pure pain and would go on and on about how "evil" it was when I was a kid, I can count the number of times I have had a Christmas tree in my house on one hand.  He has lightened up, but him combined with everything makes me not like it at all.  I still give presents to people and I am nice to people when I go out, but I try to avoid as much stuff and people as I can at that time. 

[Anacybele]

2 minutes ago, EricaofRenais said:

It is a long story as to why, but yes things involving Christmas are part of the reason I don't like December.  My dad used to make Christmas pure pain and would go on and on about how "evil" it was when I was a kid, I can count the number of times I have had a Christmas tree in my house on one hand.  He has lightened up, but him combined with everything makes me not like it at all.  I still give presents to people and I am nice to people when I go out, but I try to avoid as much stuff and people as I can at that time. 

I see. I was just confused. That really sucks though, to have a holiday that's meant to be so joyful and happy ruined for you like that... :(

[EricaofRenais]

1 minute ago, Anacybele said:

I see. I was just confused. That really sucks though, to have a holiday that's meant to be so joyful and happy ruined for you like that... :(

I live with it. I keep hoping that someday I can do some fun stuff, but that will probably have to wait until I am able to move out.

[Karimlan]

@EricaofRenais: Meltdowns like that made me swear off my relatives and move the hell out of dodge, pretty much. I spend my holidays with friends.

[Anacybele]

21 minutes ago, EricaofRenais said:

I live with it. I keep hoping that someday I can do some fun stuff, but that will probably have to wait until I am able to move out.

I see then. I hope you can soon enough though!

[Farina's Pegasus]

Yay... The holidays. As someone who works retail, let me tell you, the time from Remembrance Day (November 11th, I think it's also called Armistice Day but don't quote me on that) until Boxing Day is far and away my least favorite time of year. So many Christmas songs on the radio at work that we can't change the station of or just turn off. So many hundreds of dollars spent on my family and coworkers on things I think they might like, because society has declared that this is the time of year where we buy each other expensive gifts.

Don't get me wrong, I like buying gifts for people I care about. I just... kind of prefer to space it out, not exhaust my savings account in the final month of the year. And yeah, I know nobody's demanding I buy them anything, and at least for the past few years, I've had a lot more choice over what I can buy for whom, it's just... before the actual day is finally here, Christmas is little more than a source of stress to me, deep down. It's a drain on my savings and a huge drain on my not-at-work time. At least with my birthday being just a few days before it, I've gotten quite a few really good, thoughtful gifts as sort of here's-your-birthday-slash-Christmas-present.

… Oh, yeah, this thread's not just about Christmas? Well, I don't care much more for Halloween either. At least in this case, I can opt out of celebrating Halloween, since I'm considered old enough to not participate in trick-or-treating. Getting a ton of free candy every year was a highlight of my childhood, but now that I'm an adult and can go hog-wild on the discount candy once the sale's over, the magic's pretty much gone. And I've never been one for décor, either, considering now that I've moved out of home and live with my boyfriend, we'll spend even more money on stuff that we're just going to put away once November/January rolls around. I am still going to get a Christmas tree, but probably nothing else.

I don't begrudge people who enjoy and look forward to the holidays, I'm glad they're able to enjoy them. I'm just not someone who does, not anymore. There's a lot of other smaller and more personal reasons why I don't like Christmas or Halloween (and I don't acknowledge Thanksgiving in any way) but I'll leave it at this here. 

 

[XRay]

1 hour ago, Farina's Pegasus said:

So many hundreds of dollars spent on my family and coworkers on things I think they might like, because society has declared that this is the time of year where we buy each other expensive gifts.

This is the land of the free and home of the brave. If you got the balls to tell society to fuck off regarding decor, you got the balls to tell society to fuck off regarding gifts too. Stick up for yourself more.

I ask my friends and family what they want or simply give them cash if they are not sure what they want so there are no unpleasant surprises or disappointments. Since my friends and I are on a tight budget this year, we are fine with just enjoying each other's company and not receiving any gifts.

Culture and social behavior are subject to the laws of nature just like everything else. Societies change all the time, so you should be not be afraid to adopt or kill traditions that you like or dislike. If you do not want to deal with shitty gifts and social behaviors like I do, just tell your friends and family what your expectations are and that it is okay to tone down or stop giving gifts if it becomes a financial burden.

[Farina's Pegasus]

On ‎2018‎-‎10‎-‎25 at 2:50 PM, XRay said:

This is the land of the free and home of the brave. If you got the balls to tell society to fuck off regarding decor, you got the balls to tell society to fuck off regarding gifts too. Stick up for yourself more.

I ask my friends and family what they want or simply give them cash if they are not sure what they want so there are no unpleasant surprises or disappointments. Since my friends and I are on a tight budget this year, we are fine with just enjoying each other's company and not receiving any gifts.

Culture and social behavior are subject to the laws of nature just like everything else. Societies change all the time, so you should be not be afraid to adopt or kill traditions that you like or dislike. If you do not want to deal with shitty gifts and social behaviors like I do, just tell your friends and family what your expectations are and that it is okay to tone down or stop giving gifts if it becomes a financial burden.

I actually don't live in America, but thank you regardless. 

I'll definitely be more thoughtful with my purchases this year. I probably spent roughly a thousand dollars total last year when I factor in all the people I bought for, so I'm downsizing a lot this year, especially since living in my own home means a lot of money goes into repairs and replacements when things like my washing machine break. Not that I'm strapped for cash or anything, I just like to have savings built up, cause I'll never know when something else is going to stop working.

And as for me- I've told my family and others a couple times before that I don't have any big expectations when it comes to my birthday/Christmas gifts, so if people can only get something small or even not give a gift at all, that's totally okay and they shouldn't feel guilty. I've got pretty much everything I want in a material sense, anyway, the only thing I think I want in the foreseeable future is the new FE game and a couple of odds and ends I'll have to get off Amazon, since I live in a pretty isolated area and shopping in town is really limited.

[Dragoncat]

Been lurking in this thread for awhile. Popped in to say...Black Friday is ridiculous.

"I'm thankful for all that I have."

*later that evening*

"I must have that TV and I will pepper spray anyone who tries to get it before me!"

Seriously. People get shot, bit, stabbed, pepper sprayed. People camp in Walmart parking lots. All because normally expensive items are slightly less expensive but not by much.

[Acacia Sgt]

I'd say it becomes worse when events like that are your best shot for when you actually need something.

Not like it matters much when chances are low to get them anyway. If you think that's bad, then add living near the US border. Because you now also have to add the hundreds and thousands of people crossing the border to get stuff as well. Then again, sometimes the border line over here gets ridiculously long even if it's not something like Black Friday.