Open Thread

[greenchestnuts]

In my infinite togetherness, I inadvertently posted my original question, which was about the weather, to my own journal.

Therefore, here's a new question! This open thread is about celebrations. Specifically, which holiday or celebratory customs would you like to add, and which would you like to make go away forever?

Comments

[kaz]

You... did?

*looks*

You did. Whoops. I totally didn't notice.

Ummm. I am generally pretty happy with my holidays as they stand? Although my family has been talking about dropping presents for birthdays and Christmas: in practice, we end up either telling each other what to buy or getting one another something useless so the spirit isn't quite there, I don't really get birthday presents anyway because it's in March and I'm never around then, and we generally end up getting each other stuff throughout the year anyway. This is probably some kind of sacrilege...

I also wish Advent was a bigger deal in the UK, because it's lonely to have nobody around you celebrating. Also, I Do Not Get mince pies or Christmas pudding, but I figure it must be something you grow up with.

Oh yeah, and I have noooo idea why it's traditional in Germany to watch an obscure British comedy sketch from the 1960s on New Year's Eve, but I think the tradition is sufficiently hilarious (...ly ridiculous) that I wouldn't want to change it. :)

[shiyiya]

Hah, I didn't notice either.

[shiyiya]

I don't know about in general, but theoretically this year I'll be coordinating a group video call sometime around christmas so we can watch each other open the presents we're sending each other. Which will be awesome. I don't really object to holidays at my grandmother's - particularly now that I no longer am required to wear itchy christmas nightgowns, which were annoying - but I won't really mind missing them after I move.

[morethanx]

The group call is such a good idea!

[morethanx]

I'd like a day to celebrate awesome friendships. Also I'd like birthdays to be seen as optional.

[norah_liath]

Hmm. I treat most holidays and birthdays as an excuse for (baking) cake.

We don't really celebrate holidays beyond using them as excuses for cake and getting together, which we're just not very good/pro-active at usually, but even so we don't celebrate many holidays at all. We're not families (both mine and my partner's) that see each other a lot.

I kind of wish people near me would not celebrate New Year's with fireworks, because closing all windows, doors and curtains and using earplugs still only goes so far. One can dream.

[veerserif]

Well, I'm about to go celebrate Thanksgiving for the first time. And I think it'd be nice if Valentine's got expanded to include something, *anything* that wasn't just the narrow confines of heterosexual monogamous romance. (Though I do appreciate the candy sale the day after.)