Comments on: I disagree with your festive holiday wishes!

By: sage_

sage_ — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:11:40 +0000

i can relate to the feelings of disconnection from a world whose values do not match mine. the only significance i can gleen from this season is joyous recognition that daylight is growing and i will soon be out with the warmth of the sun on my bare skin. in the mean time i take extra vitamin D3….seriously

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By: sugarlarry

sugarlarry — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 08:12:00 +0000

Heeeey, what’s up? The comment I posted has been deleted. Was it perceived as disrespectful? I apologize if that was how I came off. No insult was intended… I just happen to be a fan of xmas, despite being a non-believer. Sure, it might have been poorly written and kind of rambly, but there was nothing resembling an attack of any sort. Was the opinion expressed somehow out of line? Is that even possible at BM? What about this who radical free expression thingy?

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By: Shryche

Shryche — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:41:15 +0000

Wow, so the bloggers around here aren’t allowed to deviate off-topic Sparky?

I get this post. Dusty Bells and all. This time of the year hasn’t been kind to me for a while. I can remember being so out of phase with the “Christmas” spirit that I wrote a piece about it. I never published it and I have since lost track of it’s whereabouts but it was not commercially friendly.

As far as the Christmas Story goes, i can imagine a lot worse places to be forced to give birth to a child than amongst livestock. One being the burned out wreck of a car in a trash filled alley of the worst slum you can name, the other being in a mediocre health care facility understaffed by overworked people with not enough funding and/or ulterior motives. You pick the lesser of those two evils, I’m not going any further with it.

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By: Sparky

Sparky — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 01:10:41 +0000

This isn’t about Burning Man.

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By: Sugarlarry

Sugarlarry — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:02:06 +0000

Burning Man walks into a bar and sees an old, old man sitting alone at a table. Recognizing him as old man Xmas, he strolls on up and lays in on him.

“What’s with all the tacky ornaments, the bad music, the rampant consumerism, that pretending everyone is happy, when for many this season is nothing but loneliness? Huh?”

Old man Xmas looks up at the young pup. Standing before him is the newest of rituals, a festival that features all manner of pretty lights, no little amount of bad music, rampant consumerism, and despite what it might believe about itself, a good many people who still manage to feel like lonely outsiders at an outsider festival.

And so old Man Xmas takes a sip of his beer and asks BM if he imagines that maybe 8000 years from now his original meanings might be lost in hype.

…

Okay, I don’t really know where I was going with that, but my point is that Christmas, or Yule, or Hanukkah or whatever the hell you want to call it, is the ultimate in hackable festivals. This winter festival has been around way longer than BM, and will probably be around long after it’s gone.

Sure, it’s been loaded down with too much bullshit, but the core concept is solid, and as old as human culture, brightening our darkest night with a festival of light, feasting, and rituals such as gift-giving that bind us to each other.

Does it have to mean buttfucking your credit cards? No. Does it mean you have to worship JesusChristyourpersonallordandsavior? No. Does it mean you have to sing shitty carols? No.

You’re free to interpret the event however you like, or not at all. Considering the subculture we’re all part of, hacking Xmas to our own purposes should come easy.

Also, I would like to draw your attention to this excellent alt. selection of Xmas music, because it is awesome:

http://soundcloud.com/bangthebore/stephen-grasso-a-voodoo

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By: joe

joe — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:38:01 +0000

AMEN Brother! Hope is alive!!! Just forwarded this to my priest. He’ll get a kick out of it. May even hear parts of it again on Sunday. He’s more the John the Baptist type – a loud cry in the wildeness. Can you see light without the darkness? Can you see the real me, can ya, can ya??! (with copyrwrite credits to Jesse Jackson and The Who :-))

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By: Dr. Pyro

Dr. Pyro — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:21:36 +0000

Well, that was certainly uplifting.

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By: Rose

Rose — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 08:15:35 +0000

Agree with avatar. Xmas was around a very long time before the story of Jesus. It was overlayed on the solstice to make it seem that the pagans were celebrating a christian festival.

And santa? Check out the original Santa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krampus

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By: KML

KML — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 08:12:53 +0000

Thanks for writing this.

Our culture has little patience when we can’t just walk off our problems. Some life experiences require a lot of processing, acceptance rather than action, and/or are hinged on atypical neurochemistry, (thank you, SMF). I have huge issues on my plate and a bipolar brain. When well-meaning people say “I just want you to be happy,” something inside me wilts. Platitudes may sound great in greeting cards, but we’re not happiness machines by definition.

This year I am at peace with my desire for solitude. Nothing makes me feel more alone than forced performances if I’m not feeling it, whether it’s December or June. I exit gatherings feeling worse than if I’d respected my needs. Oddly enough, I’m feeling a flicker of inner calm, because I honor myself completely when I allow the pain. It is real, it is mine, and it will never heal in any way if I continually bury it under others’ expectations.

I’m genuinely happy for those who feel merry, and I’ll join them when I can. Until then, I’ll be hunkered down and hopeful.

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By: Motis

Motis — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:47:53 +0000

Thanks, I really liked reading this.

I’m an atheist, but I don’t think that’s terribly relevant to what you wrote. . . I just wanted to point it out so some of the other commenters might understand that it’s not relevant. We’re talking about a STORY here, not claiming that it really happened.

I’ve been out on the street, wondering where I’m going to sleep, and recently, too. Right now, I’m a goatherd. I’ve never liked this time of year much, because I had such an awful childhood, and so many Christmas seasons that were just full of disappointment and shame and envy. It’s an ugly time of year for me, and every year I wish I had some good people to share it with to ease my shock and pain. Reading what you wrote helped me to remember this year that I do have the Burner community, even when I’m alone, and that makes all the difference. . . because when you’re part of a tribe, you’re never really truly alone unless you want to be.

Man, I sure hope the Sun comes back. Be well, be good, and be yourself.

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