What Made you Smile/What Ticked you off Today?

[dsheinem]

Holidays are fucking stupid.

Someone buy this man a puppy, stat.

Dave's mad because no one wants to hang out with him on the holidays.

Holidays are an excuse for obnoxiousness. I'm glad when people don't hang out with me on a holiday.

I have two dogs, both of whom I adore. That said, I have no need of a puppy or interest in having more dogs in the future.

[mjmjr25]

Obnoxiousness is on tilt over at our household. Flags and other decos abound - Leprechaun traps this afternoon, Van Morrison and the Chieftans and some Sin E Re Ra throughout the day and yes, brazed corned beef and Irish potatoes tomorrow.

If things go as in past years - we'll wake up to some hi-jinx. Green footprints throughout the house, green milk, mustard and ranch dressing. I hope we catch one this year - but i'm not holding out too much hope.

[Luke]

Holidays are an excuse for obnoxiousness.

Your parents and/or friends must be dicks, that or you think decorations are obnoxious because I've never felt a quality of obnoxiousness associated with any holiday.

Oh, besides one: Seinfeld addicts who can't shut up about Festivus. Now that's obnoxious.

[the King]

St. Patrick's day is an excuse for obnoxiousness. Most holidays are awesome, but most holidays aren't centered around drinking yourself stupid at 7am while wearing a Kiss Me I'm Irish t-shirt and green beads. Oh, and they don't even eat corned beef in Ireland.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Holidays are an excuse for obnoxiousness.

Your parents and/or friends must be dicks, that or you think decorations are obnoxious because I've never felt a quality of obnoxiousness associated with any holiday.

Oh, besides one: Seinfeld addicts who can't shut up about Festivus. Now that's obnoxious.

I guess you're not one of the restofus then.

Edit: Forgot it was even a holiday tomorrow. Shows what I know. I guess that explains the green.

[dsheinem]

Holidays are an excuse for obnoxiousness.

Your parents and/or friends must be dicks, that or you think decorations are obnoxious because I've never felt a quality of obnoxiousness associated with any holiday.

Oh, besides one: Seinfeld addicts who can't shut up about Festivus. Now that's obnoxious.

Holidays are cool for children, I guess.

As an adult, "buying into" any holiday is mostly an acknowledgement of your own ignorance of:

-the history behind and/or conditions for that holiday's creation
-the use of holidays to drive and validate consumerism, xenophobia, and/or jingoism
-your need to be obnoxious/show off your adherence to "tradition" as part of your social identity

To be honest, I don't really have a problem with the idea of some holidays as such - there's a lot of cultural value in choosing to remember a specific historical date or figure, for example - but the way that we "do" holidays (especially those not tied in any significant way to some moment/person in history) is mostly stupid.

[mjmjr25]

St. Patrick's day is an excuse for obnoxiousness. Most holidays are awesome, but most holidays aren't centered around drinking yourself stupid at 7am while wearing a Kiss Me I'm Irish t-shirt and green beads. Oh, and they don't even eat corned beef in Ireland.

You're picking and choosing parts of Americanized St. Patrick's day festivities to support the idea it's an obnoxious holiday. Stupid drunk people at 7am are stupid drunk people - they are using a holiday as an excuse to drink - they are not celebrating the holiday that most Irish, or Irish-Americans celebrate.

As for corned beef. Why would Irish-Americans celebrate as in Ireland? Wouldn't it make more sense for them to celebrate the holiday of their country (America) and the holiday of their closest relations (Irish immigrants to America) who did and still do eat corned beef? Beef was incredibly pricey and rare in Ireland - though fortunes changed for Irish-American immigrants and it was quite the opposite during the mass exodus from Ireland to America. It was and is a custom of Irish Americans to eat corned beef.

[prfsnl_gmr]

As an adult, "buying into" any holiday is mostly an acknowledgement of your own ignorance of:

-the history behind and/or conditions for that holiday's creation
-the use of holidays to drive and validate consumerism, xenophobia, and/or jingoism
-your need to be obnoxious/show off your adherence to "tradition" as part of your social identity.

I'm not sure I'm with you on this one. I think they are just a harmless, socially acceptable reason for people to get together and have fun. IMO, we don't have enough of those, and since I am not required to celebrate any of them, they don't bother me in the slightest.

(I have no plans for St. Patrick's day, BTW, and I didn't even know it was today until I checked this thread. That said - and now that I know it is St. Patrick's day - I have a good excuse to buy some Irish beers and drink a couple of them with my dinner tonight. )

[dsheinem]

As an adult, "buying into" any holiday is mostly an acknowledgement of your own ignorance of:

-the history behind and/or conditions for that holiday's creation
-the use of holidays to drive and validate consumerism, xenophobia, and/or jingoism
-your need to be obnoxious/show off your adherence to "tradition" as part of your social identity.

I'm not sure I'm with you on this one. I think they are just a harmless, socially acceptable reason for people to get together and have fun. IMO, we don't have enough of those, and since I am not required to celebrate any of them, they don't bother me in the slightest.

(I have no plans for St. Patrick's day, BTW, and I didn't even know it was today until I checked this thread. That said - and now that I know it is St. Patrick's day - I have a good excuse to buy some Irish beers and drink a couple of them with my dinner tonight. )

No worries. I'm mostly just being agonistic on the forum as a way to put off doing work today.

I'll be drinking my share of Guinness tomorrow.

[prfsnl_gmr]

My wife just informed me that St. Patrick's Day is tomorrow. Oh well...I'm still having those beers! (Now, I am just having some more tomorrow!)

No worries. I'm mostly just being agonistic on the forum as a way to put off doing work today.

I am entering my time today - blech! - so I will probably be doing a lot of that too.