Merry Whatever

[busterb]

I know this's old, but thought that a few might not have seen it. BTW anyone wanting a snail mail card from me, please PM me the address. Happy Holidays all!
Merry Whatever

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my wish for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, politically correct, non-addictive, low stress, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, as well as the secular practices of your choice, but with full respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

And further, please accept my wish for a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2007, but not without due respect for the calendar of choice of other cultures whose contribution to our diverse society has helped make America great (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country, and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, veteran status or sexual orientation of the wisher, wishee or their third party beneficiaries).

These wishes are limited to the customary and usual good tidings for a period of approximately one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first.

Use of the term "Holiday" herein is not intended to, nor shall it be considered to be, limited to Judeo-Christian celebrations or observances, nor to such activities of any organized or ad hoc religious community group, individual or belief (or lack thereof). In particular, the word "holiday" is used herein without reference to its etymology.
Note: By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal, and is revocable ab initio at the sole discretion of the wisher at any time, for any reason or for no reason.

This greeting is freely transferable provided that there is no alteration to the original greeting text. Any transfer is to be at the risk of the transferor who, by making such transfer, thereby agrees to hold the wishee harmless from any and all adverse consequences resulting from such transfer. This greeting implies no promise by the wisher to actually take any action or fail to take any action to implement any of the wishes for the wishee her/himself or others, or responsibility for the consequences which may arise from the implementation or non-implementation of same.

This greeting is void where prohibited by law, custom or policy and is offered irrespective of any card, hard copy greeting or embarrassing self-indulgent letter summarizing achievements in 2006, however mendacious, which may or may not have been purveyed by myself or any member of my extended family.

Merry Whatever
Buster B.

[glatt]

Thanks Buster. These sentiments are very touching. Let me respond by saying "ditto."

[lhatcher]

It's very sad that the world has come to this. I don't understand it. Sometimes I think everyone should just go to their country of origin and let's start over. If you want to visit another country then, get the proper permission and go visit. Let each country have their own rules, customs, etc and all live by the motto "when in Rome, do as the Romans do." Imagine, we could actually enjoy learning about other cultures instead of moving someplace and wanting to take over and make it more like our country.

Merry Whatever everyone, and be careful not to offend anyone.

[dar512]

I don't follow all this PC stuff. I still wish everyone a Merry Christmas. And I thank them warmly when they wish me a Happy Hanukkah or whatever.

[wolf]

I have to find my "Just Say Merry Christmas" wristbands from last year ...

[ferret88]

Originally Posted by wolf

I have to find my "Just Say Merry Christmas" wristbands from last year ...

That's GREAT!!! Where can I get one of those?

[skysidhe]

Merry Christmas busterb


http://badaboo.free.fr/merryxmas.swf

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by lhatcher

It's very sad that the world has come to this. I don't understand it. Sometimes I think everyone should just go to their country of origin and let's start over. If you want to visit another country then, get the proper permission and go visit. Let each country have their own rules, customs, etc and all live by the motto "when in Rome, do as the Romans do." Imagine, we could actually enjoy learning about other cultures instead of moving someplace and wanting to take over and make it more like our country.

I think it's a pendulum. Remember it's not so long ago that our parents gave money in church to convert the heathens and the little brown babies. We just need to find the right balance.

At work this year we had a joint Diwali (Hindu) and Eid (Muslim) celebratory lunch. And it was damn good. We had posters on the staff noticeboard wishing the Hindu/ Muslim/ Jain staff the joys of the relevant holiday. Now we have a Christmas tree in the foyer on our floor and all the staff are taking part in Secret Santa. On Wednesday we're having a Christmas lunch along the same lines as the Diwali one - organised by the staff, for the staff.

If I walk round the edge of the park on the way to work I pass a 12 foot tall Menorah lit with electric lights erected by the Council with a little explanatory notice on it. The street I live on has just had Christmas trees put up on the shops, lit with white lights and part funded by the shopkeepers (Christian, Muslim, Sikh and even the Jewish owners of the Japanese restaurant) and the Council.

It may sound a bit confused, but it honestly works. I get to have a staff Christmas dinner in an Indian restaurant, pull crackers (party favours) wear hats and wish my multi-faith team a Merry Christmas. It doesn't take anything away from my respect for my parents' faith or my perception of Christmas as a Christian celebration.

I'm not claiming Britain or even Leicester are getting it all right - not by any stretch of the imagination. But just sometimes I get a feeling that it might work, and it feels damn good.

Merry Christmas everyone.

[DanaC]

*Smiles* That sounds an awful lot like the town I grew up in. I remember at primary school, we had all the celebrations. We all took part in all of them.

Sounds to me like your workplace has the balance about right, Leicester Council and multi-faith involvement too. Nice.

[Clodfobble]

Why do retail employees have to wish me anything, dammit? Can't I just get an insincere "have a nice day" like every other day of the year? We all just want to get through the line faster anyway...

[SteveDallas]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Why do retail employees have to wish me anything, dammit? Can't I just get an insincere "have a nice day" like every other day of the year? We all just want to get through the line faster anyway...

Oh, a woman after my own heart! I hate chatty sales clerks. But of course it's good for business when they act like that. Or is it?? In Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense, Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton write about an effort on the part of 7-11 to make sure all the employees were smiling and happy to all the customers. How did it work out?

This was good fun, but was it worth the money? . . . The main finding . . . was that clearks in stores with more sales were actually less courteous. Apparently, the crowding and long lines in busy stores made clerks and customers grouchy. This research ultimately helped convince executives to scale back courtesy programs and realize that, for most 7-Eleven customers, good service meant getting out of the store fast, not fake smiles and insincere social amenities.

Yes, I'm starting to read management books. It's a sign of the Apocalypse.

FWIW this is my favorite take on Merry Christmas.

[glatt]

That's interesting. But I think that only applies to retail situations. I've read another study which concludes that in a restaurant, a waiter is able to get better tips if they do something small to make you think of them as a person. Things like telling you their name, squatting down at your level to take your order, maybe even touching your shoulder briefly will all tend to gain them a significant increase in tips by the end of the night. Usually 10 to 30 percent more, if I recall correctly.

[SteveDallas]

Oh, I'm sure it's true that the dynamics change in different environments.

Originally Posted by glatt

squatting down at your level to take your order

I personally would consider this weird.

Originally Posted by glatt

maybe even touching your shoulder

I wouldn't appreciate this at all, and I can't imagine most people would. But maybe I'm just antisocial!

The biggest thing a server can do to make me happy is to not fucking disappear when we decide it's time to get the check and leave. Don't these people WANT us to pay the bill and leave so they can turn our table over to another party of paying customers? Apparently not.

[BigV]

I wish you all a Merry Christmas!

For those of you in the audience who take offense, please feel free to do so.

For those of you in the audience who are indifferent, please feel free to ignore me.

For all the rest of you in the audience who understand that I offer my good wishes in good faith, I add my thanks. Reciprocal wishes are welcome and paying it forward is preferred.

[glatt]

We are having a department "holiday party" tomorrow at work. I'm doing much of the organization. I was wondering what we should do for music, specifically if I should bring in Christmas music (not super religious stuff mentioning baby Jesus, but things like "White Christmas.") I don't know the religious make up of my department, but I imagine it's mostly Christians with a few Jews and maybe a Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist thrown in the mix as well. There are 85 or so of us, and based on people's names and apparent ethnicities I think it's likely that there's a real mixture. The director (my boss) is Jewish.

So what do I do for music? Just pretend it's like any other party and play regular music? What would YOU do?