A small holiday rant...

[trystinn]

Now that the holidays are over, with another year between our next slip and slide love/hate relationship to them, I'm going to take a moment to admit to a dark secret: I hate holiday cards. Christmas, Yule, Hannukah, Kwanza, Festivus, whatever. Simply hate them. You can have whatever feelings you want about them, but honestly, there's nothing to redeem them in my eyes and heart. No sappy anecdote about dying Aunt Ida, or the card that arrived posthumously ten years later from Grandpa Milo. Nothing.

Folks who can barely move themselves to respond to emails or return phone calls all year long, somehow redeem themselves by sending you Hallmark's Best (or Worst, depending on your 'status' with the Sender). Not only do these dubious treasures clutter up the house and force me to update the family Address Book, thanks to the *Our New Address, please take note!* scrawled across the bottom of the envelope, they often contain the dreaded "Family Update" insertion.

Folks, I hate these things worse than I hate Spam. Worse than I hate Telemarketers - which for a gal who has her home phone ringer permanently turned OFF, is saying something. Half these cards can be Recycled, the other half will end up lining the rabbit den. I barely recognize some of these names, or how I know them, yet now I am privvy to the most bizarre details of their lives.

Here's what I learned this year thanks to these gems:
Cousin William now wants to be called Liam.
Cousin Enrique lost his driver's license.
Half of the couples we know are splitting, but its "for the best and we're looking forward to being great friends".
Half of the couples we know are "deliriously happy" and/or "settled in to their X year of marriage/dating".

Then there's the more odious holiday cards - the electric ones. Gods almighty, save me from these blights upon my Inbox. Since I live in Dial Up Hell, which folks know since I grouse about it so much, these take literally forever to download. I have gone and showered in the amount of time it takes to download these precious little gems of holiday fun. Responding in kind requires a patience I don't have.

Needless to say: Holiday cards from me have yet to be sent out, but are taking up vital space in my purse and dining room table.

Next year, how about a hug or a phone call? Really, we'd all prefer it.

Comments

[tryst-inn.livejournal.com]

And frankly, I think yours the best reason to do it. Me, I get annual phone calls from Mother telling me whom I offended last year and whom I need to make sure to send them to this year.

Now, to be fair, when I lived in Brooklyn it was an enjoyable weekend jaunt to the East Village to find Hudson Papers - a glorious store of insanely creative proportions where buying one's all occassion (yes, holiday, as well) cards was a feast of the senses.

Gods, I miss that store. Nothing like it here to compare. Perhaps that's my angst.

[wildcelticrose.livejournal.com]

I send mine out because I really enjoy creating them and ghost writing Bad Kitty's holiday letter (that cat has a rather twisted view of the world). If I was told by family members that I "had to" or that it was "expected" or that someone was "offended" I'd have a different view of such matters. There have been years when I was "too busy/broke/stressed", but I always relented at the last minute because it really is something I enjoy and it makes me feel good.

My freinds are scattered all over the world, and none of us has the time/energy/memory to be very good about keeping up as we'd like to. But once a year, we get to share pictures, art and stories and catch up a bit and to reflect on our lives and shared histories. I'm probably in the minority, but I love it.

I'm a bit of a card nut. I keep mine up all year. This year, when I took last year's down, I read them all over again and got all warm, fuzzy and mushy inside.

To each their own...

~L

[tryst-inn.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. Me, I needed to vent. :)

See now, Bad Kitty's letter would have been a real treat instead of a house filled with pseudo-christian sentiments from relatives and friends who know we're Pagan.

[wildcelticrose.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you saw mine on line or not (and I certainly won't inflict it on your dail up) but mine is a multi-faith, multi-traditional card. As a matter of fact, this year's card quoting the last lines of "The Christians and the Pagans" and the wish for for a "Happy Holiday, Whatever tradition you honor". I figure that is respectful for anyone. Anyone who takes issue with it, won't be on my list next year ;)

Too bad more people can't just be respectful of the fact that this is a shared season of many traditions and holidays.

The whole "War on Christmas" crap made me nuts this year. Both sides took it way too far.