It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling
You “Be of good cheer”…
It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
It’s the hap-happiest season of all!
With those holiday greetings
And gay happy meetings
When friends come to call…
It’s the hap- happiest season of all. – Edward Pola and George Wyle
When I was a wee lass, and the song which provides today’s title and epigram was a recent holiday hit rather than a hoary standard, today would be the first day in the American calendar year that one might be likely to hear it in a public place. For most of the 20th century and perhaps earlier, the day after Thanksgiving was the agreed-upon beginning of the Christmas season in the United States; since most people (outside of retail) were off from work that day, it was a convenient opportunity to put up decorations, obtain and trim a tree or even go shopping. Macy’s department store in New York has reinforced this every year since 1924 (with the exception of 1942-44) by the inclusion of Santa Claus in its popular Thanksgiving Day parade, heralded as the “official” kickoff of Yuletide festivities.
But as the years rolled by, marketing became a science and advertising became ever more aggressive. Merchants began erecting early Christmas displays even before Thanksgiving, and were it not for Halloween’s growing popularity as an adult drinking holiday they might have broken into October by now. On November 1st every large retail chain (anxious to sweep away any lingering thoughts of mortality which might have entered less-impenetrable consumer skulls from the rare horror imagery among the sexy Muppets, sexy foodstuffs, sexy police-state functionaries and sexy superhuman serial killers) rips down the Halloween décor, shoves it into closeout bins and plasters the entire premises with red and green, fake snow, creepy Saint Nicholas caricatures, incessant Christmas and winter-themed music (including modern arrangements of the eponymous tune), and unrelenting encouragement to buy, buy, buy! But the traditional launch date hasn’t been forgotten, oh no! Now it’s become “Black Friday”, the worldwide festival of conspicuous consumption which started out as an in-joke among Philadelphia retailers in the 1960s. Thanksgiving has been reduced to a sideshow, one of the less important events of “Black Friday Week” as advertising trash infuriatingly insists on calling it; those unfortunate enough to depend on retail employment for their livelihood are forced to skip the day altogether as their employers shift “Black Friday Sales Events” back further and further into Thursday and demand that the wage-slaves be on hand to deal with hordes of drooling morons who lack the sense to stay home and enjoy the sorts of activities that Christmas songs still pretend characterize the season.
As you can probably tell, I most certainly do not approve. We’ll be spending the day as we always do: finding a Christmas tree on our property and decorating it, and having Thanksgiving leftovers for dinner. Unless there’s some dire emergency, none of our vehicles are going farther than the mailbox, and we aren’t going to do any online shopping either, not today and not on the newest pseudo-event, the even-more-stupidly-named “Cyber Monday” (and no, not on Boxing Day either). I’ve already bought most of my presents, and will obtain the rest on my trip to New Orleans week-after-next; and though I do love this season for the festivities and the visiting and the gift-giving and the donations to Toys for Tots (my favorite charity), I will be staying as far away from retail establishments as is humanly possible for the next month. I also won’t be donating to the Salvation Army, who as I’ve explained before were one of the originators of “sex trafficking” hysteria and are still among its most vociferous and dishonest proponents. By all means, donate to the needy during this season of goodwill, but there are plenty of charities who manage to accomplish that without also funding crusades against human rights.
I like you more and more every time I read your blog. 🙂
😉
Maggie, you know I respect you tremendously, but I have to question your use of the phrase “wage-slaves”, especially in light of your tireless fight against the “trafficking/slavery” rhetoric being recklessly thrown around these days.
You’re technically right, but you have to admit that all of the rhetoric in this essay is a bit on the bombastic side. 😉
Yes, I’m technically right, which still counts as right. 😉
I am perhaps a bit over-sensitive about this because this is the third time in as many days I’ve gotten into a discussion about this. One of my Facebook friends referred to retail as “a shit job” and implied that only morons were desperate enough to take such jobs.
I am in retail myself. By choice, in fact. If I had to pick between an admin job that involved data processing in a cubicle all day long in solitude, and a retail job that involves social contact and sharing with people, it’s an easy choice. It is an honest job with no shame attached to it, and I am a little sick of people denigrating my choices because they think it is demeaning, or “slavery”.
I’d write more, but I am going out to a flea market to spend the money I earned at my “slave” job.
Dear Sasha, thank you. I hate the “wage slave” term. It’s patronizing at the least. I’m also fed up with certain jobs being trashed. If people didn’t work jobs considered “slave” jobs then a lot of the world would quit running. One of the many reasons I work is to give back to society. Taxpayers help those who can’t work (like the disabled who have tried to work and can’t) and those in need in other ways. This is very needed. There’s only one disadvantage to working to me and that’s you don’t have as much spare time. Other than that there’s only advantages for me doing it.
What I find especially funny is that “wage slave” has always been a favorite term among Marxists. Not the modern variety, which seems to be everybody, but the genuine article.
In-store retail work, like prostitution, will probably be one of the last jobs to employ real human beings, and for the same reason: customers like to interact with a human being. Now a lot of retail is done online these days, where the advantages of almost infinite inventory, variety, and choice can predominate and software can shine like nowhere else, but if I’m going to go to the trouble to get up, get out, and go to a store, then dagnabit I want to talk to somebody with a PULSE!
The older I get, the more I detest the grotesque commercialisation around Christmas and the ‘run-up’ period to it. And now Black Friday has been imported into the UK; and this morning my email inbox is full of special offers. And so far this morning in Belfast, there is one broken wrist after a bitch fight over a flat screen TV in Asda (Walmart’s name here).
I might regret asking this, Maggie, but what are your thoughts on “Small Business Saturday”? I hadn’t heard of that one until this year, and it sounds like a pushback (however small) against the aggressiveness of the big-box chains.
That being said, I’m right with you on “Black Friday,” although part of me wants to witness it just out of sheer, morbid curiosity because I’m alone and don’t have much else to do, as well as “Cyber Monday.”
The need to survive makes people do a lot of things they might not otherwise have done. It’s the way of things.
It’s a push back alright … and a pretty “pussy-fied” one at that. They’re taking SATURDAYS – which is the day AFTER the big businesses so they are immediately putting themselves in the secondary position – hoping to come out in a primary position – and that never works.
I love small businesses – but their time may be up. Like I said – I still like going to the mall and shit and roaming around town – but honestly – the selection of available products isn’t 1/100th of what you find at the major chains and the internet.
The internet is a true revolution. I have a 30 year old Honda sport bike and, using the internet – I can still get parts for the damn thing to keep it running top-notch. That was impossible 30 years ago.
Interestingly, I was thinking this morning how the internet is almost a return to the days (at the turn of the 20th Century) when people could purchase almost anything they might want or need from a Sears catalog versus the local store. Funny how things can come full circle.
That being said, you make a good point Krulac. I like small businesses too, but I don’t even see themselves trying to achieve the primary position with this. They basically seem to be saying “after you’ve gotten all those incredible big-box deals we can’t possibly offer, please throw us a bone too!”
Like yourself, I enjoy roaming, but my trouble is I don’t want to expend the effort (and gas) unless it’s to acquire something (I’m an introvert too, but I haven’t overcome it like you have), and for the most part the things I would like to spend my disposable income on stopped being made a long time ago…
Your line about “unrelenting encouragement to buy, buy, buy” reminded me of this tongue-in-cheek classic which dates to the 1950s. Tom Lehrer nailed it many years ago.
It’s one of my favorites of his. My favorite line from that is, “Angels we have heard on high/Tell us to go out and BUY!”
Which shows that it’s nothing new. A few of the forms may be new (I’m guessing Tom Lehrer never heard of Cyber Monday), but the Charlie Brown Easter special had a gag where all the stores were decorated for Christmas, with “ONLY 249 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS” banners hung all over. And the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special noted that the stores were decorated for Christmas before Lucy had finished eating all of her Halloween candy.
Okay – I don’t drink much – but I’m sitting my ass down right now after a long day working in an Arabic country and it just feels naughty as hell to drink rum and coke and I’m on my second one. So forgive me if I become a bit incoherent! LOL
Captain Morgan and Sand – it’s a smooth buzz …
Especially after spending some time today re-familiarizing myself with the M240B machine gun. I do this just as a precaution for working over here but let me tell you – if you gave me a choice between Katie Perry and an M240B – I’d have a problem choosing.
Right …
Well, here’s the deal …
There’s another side to commercialization. Going to the mall – meeting people. What a lot of people fail to recognize is that interaction with other humans that you don’t know – is a good thing and develops the soul. That’s one of the reasons I went back to bouncing in bars. Human interaction. I think the real Christmas spirit is in meeting people. When I meet someone, like a checkout clerk – I note the name on their name tag and I call them by their name when I talk to them. Most people don’t. Since I work (bouncing) in a “service job” … I know first hand it’s a great way to connect with people.
You especially need to “force” yourself to go out of your way to interact with strangers if you’re an INTROVERT. Now, I may not seem like it – but the Goddamn Navy repeatedly diagnosed my ass as an introvert … well, it’s the Navy man … how the fuck can they be wrong? So I make the effort to meet and get to know new people and it just really makes me feel good.
I know a lot of people back home who celebrate Christmas primarily through events surrounding their Churches. I’m all good with that. I know a lot of Christians and I love them to death – though I don’t share all of their beliefs. Occasionally I will go to a Church event if one of my old High School buddies invites me – it’s always a good time – and they always have great food. I don’t try to be a “poser” when I attend those events – I let them know I’m a “heathen” and try to get them to lighten up and they always do – and accept me for who I am. This is why I don’t get upset at Christians and will even defend them when they’re attacked.
Soooo … whatever trips your trigger for celebrating Christmas – it’s all good with me brothers and sisters. The important point is to enjoy yourself and celebrate LIFE.
Me? Christmas is about family and not just my own wife and kids – but my Mom and Dad and all my brothers and their wives and kids – and yeah, I guess my in-laws too … LOL.
Life is short man – and I have seen far too many young people taken from this world for no good reason and far too early. So if you have family that is estranged to you – make the extra effort to repair that relationship and re-create those bonds. That’s really the hope of Christmas.
This wasn’t a bad post by a buzzed man was it ? LMFAO …
Someone asked me yesterday if everything was “politics” to me. You fuckers – take this and … Merry Christmas!!
I think I should drink more when I post – I just read what I writ – and it’s fucking GOOD.
This ain’t Christmas here … but you should feel good that this awesomeness exists on this planet. It’s what makes the Earth the envy of every bug civilization in the universe!
If you like rum have you tried drink Havana Club 7 neat or if you must drink Cuba Libre (you big girl) at least use Havana Club Especial. Not a Christmas video but you might enjoy 😉 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLGc4dWc4Dg
For the brief periods of time when I could keep all the annotations cleared off the screen, I saw some pretty hot women.
Aw, these girls are bonding. How very sweet.
And hot, which isn’t a bad thing at all.
Thanks to Staples, I now associate the song Maggie used as the title of this blog entry with late August/early September:
Last night, my room mate told me that if I waned to be a “real American” I would need to participate in this “Black Friday” madness. Thank you, Maggie, for demonstrating this is not the case.
Now I’m the contrary sort, but I refuse to run, like a trained dog when the merchants do their commercial bell ringing. I don’t like Black Friday sales, coupons, store loyalty cards. I don’t like being marketed to.
I know a LOT of people who hate the horrible hype; unfortunately some of them mix it up with their own sales hype. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with marketing in general, only aggressive, intrusive and tasteless marketing. And the absolute worst are Christians who argue against commercialism by trying to claim for themselves a holiday that belongs to everyone.
Well … it IS called “CHRISTmas” you know! 😉
So, do you imagine that calling a car a “Saturn” means it was manufactured there?
No and that’s why I don’t get upset about it. I know Christmas started out as a pagan holiday and I have Christian friends who will admit it. However, had they not “co-opted” it – who knows if the old pagan tradition – or even just the knowledge of it – would have survived?
I mean – whatever hat-tricks they used – the tradition survived and I’m betting you’re even incorporating a bit of the traditions that these Christians instilled in the holiday into your own celebration of it.
Doesn’t matter what some of them say … any more than when I say I won’t call a gay union a “marriage” because I feel no urgency to redefine that word. But who gives a shit? Certainly no gays who claim to be married should since this is just my opinion and they call their union whatever they want and tell me to rightfully fuck off. LOL!
Same thing with Christmas Maggie – don’t get upset when Christians seem to refuse you the holiday – they only have that power if you give it to them. You’re free to celebrate it any way you wish. 😀
Who’s denying that they added to it? Sorry, but putting a new paint job on a used car doesn’t grant you a patent on the internal combustion engine.
Totally agree – I just don’t believe in wasting time fretting about sad-sacks and miscreants who demand things their own way. Hey – if the season is about Jesus for you – I’m good with that. If it’s about something else – I’m good with that too.
Even the black Friday stuff doesn’t bother me. Businesses being commercial don’t bother me either. People who want to partake in Black Friday – I’m cool with them and, were back home right now – I’d prolly be right out there with them because I love people and interacting. I think the Black Friday horror stories are pretty rare and not really representative of the whole.
I think someone sitting around the house with their arms crossed and a scowl their face on Black Friday because they want to demonstrate that they can’t be taken advantage of is a bit funny to me!!
Like I said – I like getting out there – looking at the chicks, watching my girls run around … going into a video arcade to play some games … having lunch in the food court … maybe catching a movie … even on black Friday it’s FUN to me.
All this commercialization … we’re the masters of our own destiny and no one’s keeping me out of a shopping mall with their attempts to hoist some mind control on me! In fact – some of the commercializations are so crazy they make me laugh my ass off!
Krulac, we might not agree on many things, but I like the way you’re thinking right there.
Yeah, I agree. Merry Black Friday, krulac.
>I think someone sitting around the house with their arms crossed and a scowl their face on Black Friday because they want to demonstrate that they can’t be taken advantage of is a bit funny to me!!
I spend my time not shopping much more productively, and pleasantly than that.
Well you ARE boycotting the day aren’t you? You are restricting your activities to your home or to a very few other places to make a point – aren’t you?
My reasons, for not participating in Black Friday … well, I don’t have any reasons but things that could keep me from participating …
1. Too much traffic.
2. If i were the sort to get “claustrophobic” in crowds (which I’m not).
3. Armed bandits running around
4. No hot chicks in the mall – OR … HOTTER chicks in my house or some other place I have access to! 🙂
5, If my vehicle safety inspection or registration were expired.
6. No clean underwear … no, scratch that one – I’m a submariner and we don’t wear underwear. 😀
7. If I were in a fucking ARAB country (which I AM) 🙁
Personally, I LIKE for people to “market” to me. I don’t have to buy what they’re selling and I actually like it when I can spot the bullshitters and pass them by. That’s an exercise in a vital life skill. What’s wrong with loyalty cards? Isn’t a reduced rate from an excort for a “regular” client a form of a “loyalty card”? I rode business class all the way to the land of the Mohammadans on my frequent flier miles – because I try to restrict my air travel to United. Business class for a 24 hour flight is nothing to sneeze at when you are 6’2″ and 240 pounds! My waist fits in the seats like a glove – but there’s shit I can do for my shoulders – which protrude into the seats and body space of the plane occupants on my immediate flanks!
I’m sorry, but I seem to have missed the passage where I suggested that as a pleasant and productive way to spend the day. Could you point it out to me?
It’s in the entire self-righteous presentation of the subject … which is overtly judgemental for no good reason at all …
This suggests that people who work for a living (on this day) are “wage slaves” (as if the rest of us aren’t). I really don’t see the need to smear a poor gal who works at Walmart with the term “slave”. Exactly what has she done to you or I to merit this except show up for work on “Black Friday” as is her obligation to do? Some of us do have to work, Maggie.
Except that participating in “Black Friday” and doing all the things you mention above are not mutually exclusive activities. Who says you have to find a Christmas Tree the day after Thanksgiving? There’s a whole lot of green-space between Thanksgiving and Christmas – you don’t have to do all the traditional Christmassy stuff on Friday.
Just because you choose to go out on Black Friday and shop shouldn’t earn you the condemnation of being a “drooling moron” as you’ve assigned to everyone who shops that day. I mean – LOL … you pretty much shot 90% of Americans right in the face with THAT one!
I really have to condemn this entire article – which is certainly not one of your better outings. Black Friday doesn’t harm anyone any more than any other day out there. People who shop that day shouldn’t be condemned as morons who “lack the sense to stay home and enjoy” … (the kinds of things that Maggie McNeil says they should enjoy). 😀
The whole article is kind of a real “bah humbug” – condemns anything having to do with Black Friday. You know, lots of kids go to the mall and sit on Santa’s lap on this day. Lots of families go out and look at Christmas decorations in the mall on this day. There’s a lot of social interaction between family members. There’s A LOT of positive to “Black Friday” that you just totally seem to fail to acknowledge even exists.
Kudos on the last two sentences though – we should all be reminded each year at this time what sons of bitches the Salvation Army is … they actually DO HARM … which would have been a nice lead for this article instead of a tertiary thought at the very end.
Dear Krulac, thank you. I’m getting really tired of hearing about the Christians spending a lot of time obsessing about who Christmas belongs to, etc. To this Christian and others there’s way higher priorities than that and that’s what we spend our time on. Sailor Barsoom told me that in Japan Christmas is celebrated even though most people there aren’t Christian. I think that’s wonderful. More power to them. I don’t have any upset over this. I found out from a man from Pakistan in the past few weeks that Muslims in Pakistan celebrate Christmas (he’s one of them). Wonderful! Him and I had a nice talk about our different religious beliefs. There was no hostility. How about talking about Christians who don’t spend time obsessing about who Christmas belongs to? Thanks to all who do this. You also don’t have to take part in Black Friday, etc. I don’t and never will. No one is forcing you to do this. You can make Christmas what you want it to be. This mentality reminds me of the belief that “Christmas is just for kids”. Keep people in those safe little category boxes!
As a Roman Polytheist, I believe all Saturns belong to the Thunder God.
Also, I hate how Saturnalia has been so commercialized by Christians. Now it’s all shopping instead of socially transgressive orgies like in the good old days. People have no respect for tradition.
But I suppose you’re right, it should be for everyone. Io Saturnalia! everybody, however you celebrate it.
walkswitheyesopen wrote:
“I like you more and more every time I read your blog.”
Me too.
🙂
Your lucky they start that late down where you live here in Canada sears sends it’s xmas catalogue out in late august or early september ( talk about trying to get a jump on the other guy).
AGREED!!! OOXX!!
Working on Thanksgiving!? I can’t believe anyone would consensually trade missing a holiday for money, they must be wage-slaves. They probably have false consciousness from advertising. Some things shouldn’t be commercialized. We need to save these workers.
I’m staying at home too, but I don’t mind if people don’t so they can have a little extra scratch. But there are people who are all thereoughtabealaw about this.
I definitely don’t think it should be prohibited. But I’ll tell you this: I’d have a lot more respect for a business that specifically said, “Nope, we’re going to open at 9 AM Friday like we always do.”
Yeah, I know. I was just chiding. I’d say though, that when people do something freely, they probably have a reason to do so.
Part of the reason for having deals on Thanksgiving is precisely that people don’t want to go shopping on Thanksgiving. That means that the store can offer deals and make sure it goes to the people who are really really set on saving money, maybe cause they’re thrifty, maybe because they’re poor.
Stores have a certain profit they have to make to stay in business, above their costs. They can’t sell at very little markup to everyone, but when they raise prices they lose those very price-sensitive customers. Then they’d have to raise their prices even more for everyone else to make up the lost profit.
So they want to sell at very cheap prices to those who have very tight budgets, and make a little money they wouldn’t otherwise, and at higher prices to people who aren’t as thrifty. By selling at lower prices on Thanksgiving, they can make sure those deals are going to those who really really want them, precisely because those who don’t prefer to stay at home.
There’s other things going on too, but that’s part of it. And it isn’t all bad, price discrimination of that kind makes people in general better off.
But, on the other hand, some things are sacred, darnit. Thanksgiving is for about something important. Columbus day, that I could do without.
Except that “Black Friday” deals are mostly lies. They put “doorbuster” prices on a very limited supply of items, counting on a bait-and-switch effect to sell the rest of their normally-priced stock. That’s why people riot and fight; there aren’t enough “deals” to go around. Furthermore, I saw an analysis last year that showed prices are consistently lower in mid-December than in late November. In other words, “Black Friday” is a scam.
Well now I don’t feel so bad about stayin home.
Some businesses are doing that. There’s also been petitions this year to have stores NOT be open on Thanksgiving, etc. Wonderful! Am glad people are at least trying to change this. Action instead of just talking.
Maggie, I apologise for posting this here but I thought you might be interested in today’s episode of Borgen which discusses the pitiful of the Swedish model. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b038h4fs/Borgen_Series_3_Thou_Shalt_Not_Commit_Adultery/
I doubt this series is popular in the US but it is definitely a popular series in Europe, especially amongst those with a vagina and a brain, so I think it’s certainly significant that this was covered the way it was in Borgen, particularly as the unpopular French socialist are about to vote through an unpopular ban on payment for sex.
Unfortunately BBC only allows that to play in the UK.
Go to Media Hint and download their browser extension. It bypasses region coding. That’s how I get Netflix even though it’s not “available” in Australia. I’m told it works on BBC Iplayer too.
Oh sorry, I forgot to say you’ll need to use a proxy, VPN or DNS redirector to watch it if you’re outside the UK or if you live in Europe its on the BBC iPlayer app (Borgen season 3 episode 5).
It’s really annoying you can’t see it because they thoroughly debunked all the bullshit, including how the anti-prostitution brigade distort their stats and conflate trafficking with prostitution for funding, as well as the harm caused by the Swedish model. They also make the distinction between buying a woman and buying service. The prostitute representative argues passionately that prostitutes are not victims and don’t need to be treated like children.
I don’t take part in Black Friday for one very good reason: my check comes in on the first of the month, not the day after Thanksgiving. Cyber Monday is a possibility, though these days I mostly just give cards with a little money in it. The nieces and nephews are all of an age where that’s what they’d rather have anyway.
The earliest I can remember buying for Christmas is thrice when I bought at A-KON in June: a sailor skirt and blouse for Tracy (I’ve never seen her in it), several episodes of Ranma ½ for one niece, and a book for a certain retired call girl I know online.
For some reason, the Ranma ½ link came out wrong. Don’t know if it’s something I did or something WordPress did. Here it is again.
Wishing you a very Happy Christmas!!!