8 Comments on “”

1. katry Says:

   
   November 25, 2016 at 1:08 pm

   Bill Callahan quote
2. Bob Says:

   
   November 26, 2016 at 12:37 am

   Remembering the 1950s when the local downtown Chamber of Commerce would put up and pay for the lights to encourage holiday spending.
   • katry Says:

     
     November 26, 2016 at 1:55 am

     Bob,
     Not everything about Christmas is to encourage holiday spending. The fire station was always outlined in lights and had a waving Santa in front. It wasn’t even in the square. It was lit just for the joy of it.
     • Bob Says:

       
       November 26, 2016 at 11:03 am

       Those folks in retail businesses would respectfully disagree. 🙂
       Most municipalities derive the lion’s share of their tax revenue from businesses. If those businesses have a lousy Christmas season then there is nothing they can do the remainder of the next year to make up the loss. Businesses fail and sales tax revenues fall.

       With all the hand wringing about putting Christ back in Christmas the bottom line is not far from view.
     • katry Says:

       
       November 26, 2016 at 12:30 pm

       Bob,
       I just can’t accept your totally cynical view of Christmas. I get businesses wanting customers, but most towns here have Santa days not related to stores. There are parades, gingerbread making venues, plays and fun rides. There are free open houses in the old captain’s houses where you get soup or a dessert. They are not businesses and many are privately owned.

       Taxes here are mostly from real estate, from summer houses and motels, most of which are closed for the winter. The big revenue comes in summer when the population swells, beaches are filled and tourist shops are open again.

       Christmas is a wonderful season here. I’m sorry you haven’t ever experienced that.
     • Bob Says:

       
       November 26, 2016 at 1:03 pm

       Yes, I’m cynical about the holiday season. I’m sure it’s fun for a lot of people but I realize that if we didn’t have Christmas we would have invented it or something else to keep the economy going. 🙂

       Jesus was born in the Spring around Passover and the Romans moved it to the winter solstice so it’s observance would agree with their previous pagan holidays. Much of our western religious beliefs are based in paganism such as virgin births, angels visiting humans, and miracles all which come from pagan mythology. The disciples who survived Jesus decided that they couldn’t spread their newer version of Judaism to the Roman Empire while keeping the Jewish law because of the requirement for adult male circumcision in the days before anesthesia. Therefore, they changed Jesus from a holy man into the son of God, including resurrection which is also a pagan idea.

       The business community would have come up with something to celebrate like my favorite idea “Festivous”, the holiday for the rest of us from Seinfeld. 🙂 The fighting part could be replaced by another pagan ritual, an orgy. 🙂
     • katry Says:

       
       November 26, 2016 at 1:29 pm

       Bob,
       I think growing up and loving Christmas becomes part of the adult experience. I look at my family and see my mother and father reflected in everything we do around Christmas, even to what we bake. Traditions keep us from being jaded. We are connected through time.

       I know the historical background of Christmas. What you failed to mention was Christ was born somewhere between 6 and 4 BC.

       I think that as people became more sophisticated so did what they believed and didn’t believe. Everything evolves and beliefs are no exception.

       That you only see the commercial side of Christmas is too bad. You are missing so much joy and fun and family.
     • Bob Says:

       
       November 26, 2016 at 2:05 pm

       The best thing about your blog is you. I enjoy our conversations immensely and both respect and love your comments. Of course you enjoy the Christmas season because you are a Christian who remembers every good thing about the holidays from your past regardless how illogical they seem. I have the same feelings about the Jewish holidays even though I am both an agnostic and a gastronomic Jew. (I enjoy bagles & lox and matzah ball soup.) I’m not an atheist because I want to cover all my bets. 🙂

       My father and I both worked in retail businesses and I understand the commercial importance of the season. My dad sold merchandise to retail stores during the year and then worked an extra job as a salesman in a retail store between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

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