1.) Christmas is obviously a religious holiday, so we'll get that out of the way right now. Legally, for that reason, I don't think it (or any other holiday based on a religion) should be legally permitted to be a Federal Holiday pursuant to the First Amendment, but I'm not going to get too much into that right now. Besides that, as has been decided, all employees get compensated for the day (depending on workplace, but certainly Government jobs) regardless of what particular religion they happen to be, if any, so it's at least equal.
2.) Christmas is a time when people pretend that they are nice and giving, which I guess is supposed to excuse how they behave the rest of the year...
3.) Except when it comes to driving, of course, man...yinz are dicks.
4.) There should be official rules when it comes to this holiday. The first rule that I would have is that adults do not buy for other adults, so that we make the giving aspect of Christmas just about the kids. I have a few reasons for this:
4a.) The Christmas game, as I see it, is try to guess who you know that is buying you a present. If you think they are getting you a present, then you are required to buy them a present---or they win. Fortunately, I'm on good enough terms with most of the people that I know that I can simply ask that we opt out of this game. If you get them a present and they do not get you one, then you feel like a dick for making them feel bad about themselves. It's no win.
4b.) The second part of the Christmas game is that you have to make sure to outspend someone who you know is getting you a present, or they win.
4c.) The third part of the Christmas game is that you're not supposed to get cash or gift cards, which unfortunately, usually results in getting people something that they don't really want or, if they did, they would have already bought it for themselves.
5.) Christmas lights are a waste of electricity. I don't care about the environment, but wasted electricity creates additional demand and causes prices to go up.
6.) I do not enjoy the bell ringers. Indeed, I do donate...usually more donating time or foodstuffs than donating money directly...but I do donate. The key with the bell ringers is that you have to avoid making eye contact with them and not verbally acknowledge them in any way, which is tough for me, because I usually try to be polite and cheerful and here I am ignoring someone who is directly addressing me.
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