Pretty sure the national anthem still has those pesky lines:
God keep our land
Glorious and free
Not exactly complete separation of church and state, heh. :p
Also, having spent several years at a Canadian Elementary school, I can vouch for the fact that they go way overboard with those Christmas nativity plays there. I don't remember any of that crap being rammed down my throat here in the UK. Although they were still using the lord's prayer in assemblies at the time, but that's stopped now as far as I know. Swings and roundabouts I guess.
bytor said: My favorite Christmas song:
[Carol of the Bells]
Hey, thanks for posting that. I know that song from Jazz Jackrabbit Holiday Hare 95:
I love that song. I've always been vaguely aware it was based on an older piece of music, but I could never find out what (although, as it turns out, I could just have checked the youtube comments...)
Belial said: N N yesno N what N N
You're so negative.
DoomUK said: People still go carol singing in 2011?
Aw yeah.
Enjay said: >Have you seen anything to suggest that roasted chestnuts existed outside the realms of superstition?
Yes, I like roasted chestnuts. You can even do them in the microwave but taking the nut out of the covering is harder. Around this time of year they tend to close of some of the main shopping streets to traffic and stalls are set up - there is usually at least one chestnut vendor.
That's weird. It must vary based on where you are. I've never seen any.
Danarchy said: >Do you ride on down the hillside in a buggy you have made?
You mean a sledge? Or a toboggan?
See 2:05.
Depending on where you live, it is impossible to avoid hearing this song about two dozen times every December.
>Have you seen anything to suggest that roasted chestnuts existed outside the realms of superstition?
I'm not even sure what a chestnut is.
I'm getting some pretty weird results for this question.
>Wouldn't you enjoy that more than arguing for hours without defining a single term?
Yes!
I was lucky enough to have one of these badboys when I was little. Awesome times.
Plus cheesy '90s advertisement as a bonus:
Oh, and one of these too (except red and black), but it was slower and didn't have brakes. My sister got to use that one, heh. I claimed the better one. :D
Danarchy said:
Hmm, I'm not familiar with this song myself. I think I may have heard it before, though.
I'm envious of you for never even hearing of Slade, until now at least. Let alone of never having been bombarded with their horrible music everywhere you go in December.
Danarchy
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Processingcontrol said: I'm an atheist jew, so no. :)
I'm an atheist, yet I still celebrate Xmas. I figure, the Christians stole the holiday from my pagan European ancestors centuries ago, I might as well steal it back.
Grain of Salt said: Extra dry club soda.
Well, that certainly is...a drink. Nice song, though. Reminds me of early Daft Punk.
DoomUK said:
I'm envious of you for never even hearing of Slade, until now at least. Let alone of never having been bombarded with their horrible music everywhere you go in December.
I've heard of Slade, but I don't think I've heard their music. They seem to be in the same category as Journey and Boston and Styx, which is stuff I try to avoid if at all possible. Must be a British thing or something.
I usually will watch a lot of the Christmas movies and TV show specials and whatnot, and the house will be decorated for most of December and some of January. In previous years when my family was more invoved with the church we'd participate in their drive through nativity scene, which was fun, moving up through the ranks from being an angel to a shepherd to a Roman guard who passed out a pamphlet and held out a trash can so people leaving could drop their money in to further the cause of deluding the masses. You also got to hold a plastic sword and shield so you could sword fight with whoever else was out there. We would go in shifts and come in and eat chili. But in later years interest in the event dropped and we ended up short-staffed so we ended up having to be out on all shifts until they stopped doing it entirely. We also went caroling once.
HWGuy said: a few I find revolting
There's this one song I've only started hearing this year
I hate it so much. It's that same general nostalgic exploitation that's in so many other songs. I don't even see how it is Christmas music.
I've enjoyed Busch Gardens's Christmas Town in the past, but it doesn't seem quite as enjoyable this year. Also it's about twice as religious. One show, which used to be an enjoyable instrumental performance of familiar Christmas songs, now might as well be called "baby jesus baby jesus o look its baby jesus again" When I said that to other people I was with they were like "well it's Christmas town, of course it's religous." I'm like so? Previous years it was general enough so if a non-fundamentalist Jewish, Muslim, or other religous follower were there, they could still enjoy it and not be offended. I feel it is less so now.
Danarchy said: I'm an atheist, yet I still celebrate Xmas. I figure, the Christians stole the holiday from my pagan European ancestors centuries ago, I might as well steal it back.
My brother and I joke about celebrating the winter solstice instead of Christmas, especially him, since he hates cold weather and wants the sun to come back out.
Danarchy said: Nice song, though. Reminds me of early Daft Punk.
Thomas Bangalter is one half of Daft Punk (you probably knew that, but I'm mentioning it anyway). I always thought A Club Soda sounded like one of the quieter songs on Discovery, but I guess it does also have a lot of that dry house sound that they had on Homework. However, it couldn't have been on Homework, because it has more than two chords. :p
With that in mind, let's have some Christmasy house music.
I'm going home for a week for Christmas (and New Year's) which is time I'll use to see a lot of friends and family. I will most definitely not be singing anything Christmas-themed. I am going to my works' Christmas party tomorrow night, so that's something festive I guess!
I have bought presents and cards for a few people (immediate family mostly) and I probably will end up playing a Christmas themed .WAD or two, although I did make a couple of them myself... I won't be making one this year I don't think, as I'm pretty busy.
I get the impression that you're either a native of the UK or at least live here. But whatever the case, it might be different elsewhere in the country but I've never seen a door-to-door carol singer in all of my life, outside of a piece of romantic imagery on a christmas card.
Danarchy
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Back when I lived in a proper neighborhood, we'd get actual carolers occasionally, I think every year for a while at least. Sort of like how we used to get actual trick-or-treaters.
Grain of Salt said: Thomas Bangalter is one half of Daft Punk (you probably knew that, but I'm mentioning it anyway). I always thought A Club Soda sounded like one of the quieter songs on Discovery, but I guess it does also have a lot of that dry house sound that they had on Homework. However, it couldn't have been on Homework, because it has more than two chords. :p
I uh...had forgotten their names. I am ashamed. On the plus side, I guess that means I have a good ear.
It does sound a bit like Revolution 909 or something.
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DoomUK said: I get the impression that you're either a native of the UK or at least live here. But whatever the case, it might be different elsewhere in the country but I've never seen a door-to-door carol singer in all of my life, outside of a piece of romantic imagery on a christmas card.
Really? I've lived in a number of locations in the UK from the big smoke to the frozen north and I'm pretty sure I've seen door-to-door carol singers everywhere*. Where I live now, it's quite a thing and one of the elder residents of the village press gangs people into doing it every year and then they go back to her house for sherry and mince pies.
*Maybe I have like a sixth sense. "I see carol singers. Knocking on doors like regular people. They don't sing to each other. They only sing what they want to sing..." ;)
Really. I guess it could just be a West Midlands thing.
Enjay said: *Maybe I have like a sixth sense. "I see carol singers. Knocking on doors like regular people. They don't sing to each other. They only sing what they want to sing..." ;)
DoomUK said: But whatever the case, it might be different elsewhere in the country but I've never seen a door-to-door carol singer in all of my life, outside of a piece of romantic imagery on a christmas card.
We didn't go door-to-door, but we have done. But you're right, door-to-dooring is pretty rare.
Danarchy said: I uh...had forgotten their names. I am ashamed. On the plus side, I guess that means I have a good ear.
I still don't remember the other guy's name. I remember that it's double-double-barreled, though. :)
bytor said: I've gone carolling once and had lots of fun. These days I prefer to stay in my chair and in the warmth of my home.
I love to sing but I've found that it embarrasses people when I suddenly start singing aloud in public. There's been acouple times where complete strangers would join in, though.
The wife sings like an angel. Literally! Sang at Carnegie Hall. I have to practically twist her arm anymore to get her to fire up those vocal chords. Her voice is so beautiful.
12-11-11 18:58 
