Seasons Greetings...

[Vajradhara]

Namaste all,

so... there are some strange things that happen during this time of year, at least for me, as a non-Christian.

let me give you a for instance...

the owner of my company was just walking around wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and what not. he stopped by my office and asked "did you get one yet?" to which i replied "one, what?" he said "a seasons greeting." he then proceeded into my office, extended his hand for a shake and then said "have a cool yule."

personally, i find it quite amusing. my response was "oh, thank you. have a wonderful Christmas holiday!"

i guess.. i'd like to know if other non-Christians have these same types of interactions during the season.

another thing... people just don't seem to get... is that we don't exchange gifts at this time of year. actually... what we do is bake things or make things.. and if we go to a party or something, we'll bring cookies, cakes or whatnot. we don't send cards or things of this nature. heck... i pretty much did this same thing even when i was a Christian, of course, that was too protest the commericalization of the whole thing... which still irks me.

in any event...

to all my Christian brothers and sisters,

Merry Christmas!

to all my Jewish brothers and sisters,

Happy Chanukah

to all my Muslim brothers and sisters,

Happy Kwanza

to all my Pagan brothers and sisters,

Happy Solstice

[I, Brian]

Good thinking, Vaj.

Merry mid-winter celebration to all!!

[brucegdc]

And a merry winter holiday (or not) of choice to you (or summer holiday of choice to those below the equator).

Yes, I get some odd reactions this time of year as well, as people occasionally wish me a merry christohsorryhanukkah :-) Either that or look strangely a second afer saying Merry Christmas and blank on an appropriate greeting.

Unfortunately, I know a couple of people who get downright rude when wished a Merry Christmas and insist on telling whoever wished them that that they don't celebrate Christmas. Me, I just smile and say "thank you. Merry Christmas to you".

[Zazen]

my mom got me a book on scientology

merry christmas

[Susma Rio Sep]

I greet people Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Honestly though I am not excited. I leave the celebratous details to the wife and am glad she leaves me alone. But I remind her to be frugal with time and trouble.


Vaj says:

"to all my Pagan brothers and sisters,

Happy Solstice


And I thought Buddhists are pagans, or guys still living in remote countryside villages of very small populace.

"Pagan"? with an uppercase P?

Pagans, do they make a religion with set beliefs and observances like Buddhists, and Christians, and Jews, and Muslims, and Baha'is?

Solstice? Any peculiar Buddhist calendar observed by Buddhists in this forum or Buddhists generally?

Susma Rio Sep

[Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine]

Thank you, Vaj and have a blessed season.

Originally posted by Vajradhara
the owner of my company was just walking around wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and what not. he stopped by my office and asked "did you get one yet?" to which i replied "one, what?" he said "a seasons greeting." he then proceeded into my office, extended his hand for a shake and then said "have a cool yule."

personally, i find it quite amusing. my response was "oh, thank you. have a wonderful Christmas holiday!"

i guess.. i'd like to know if other non-Christians have these same types of interactions during the season.

another thing... people just don't seem to get... is that we don't exchange gifts at this time of year. actually... what we do is bake things or make things.. and if we go to a party or something, we'll bring cookies, cakes or whatnot. we don't send cards or things of this nature. heck... i pretty much did this same thing even when i was a Christian, of course, that was too protest the commericalization of the whole thing... which still irks me.

I know exactly what you mean. I've been trying to get some of my neighbors to stop wishing me a Merry Christmas (to no avail) and I've been teaching some of my professors (and a few of my fellow students) about my holidays (one of the students, a Discordian, just goes during Passover since he knows I'll be bringing hot dogs and/or sausages [kosher for Passover ones] to school for lunch/dinner, and he prefers them over the non-kosher products.)

I'm going to have an easier time "teaching" Yuri, though, since he worked his first year in Milwaukee at the Jewish Home, so he's had some experience (as far as I know, his class on ethnicity and sociology in the former Soviet Union will be held [oh joy! oh joy!] so it'll be a reciprocal flow of info.) Anyway, I used to leave him with a simple bud blagosloven, which is Russian/Ukrainian for "blessed be".

Enough about that rigamarole (sp?). *waves right hand in a dismissive manor* Back to regularly scheduled discussion.

Personally, I love to bake, plus I've learned how to weave wheat straw into different decorative items, like corn dolls, so I might start giving something made from straw along with my infamous baked goods. I can't afford any of the things advertised, and I enjoy making a complete mess of my kitchen (it's either that or donate money to a charity that follows the recipient's ethics in his/her name.)

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine