In the Lobby Lounge Café...

... you can talk all day.

But don't look for me there. I'm already gone.

Merry Christmas!

Talk about whatever you like, especially Christmas. Whether you like it or not, you still might like talking about it.

They say it's the "season to be jolly" and Santa is praised as a "jolly old elf," but I've known a couple people who were jolly...

... and I think people found it annoying and wish they'd settle down.

I presented my musing to Grok and received this distinctly non-jolly response: 

The notion of "jolliness" during the holiday season, particularly around figures like Santa Claus, is indeed a cultural expectation that doesn't always align with personal experiences or preferences.... The idea of being "jolly" during the holiday season is deeply ingrained in many cultures, especially those influenced by Western Christmas traditions.... This image has been perpetuated through various media and commercial representations, setting a somewhat unrealistic standard for holiday cheer.... 

Your experience of knowing people whose jolliness was perceived as annoying might reflect a broader sentiment where excessive cheerfulness can seem forced or out of touch with one's actual mood or the realities others might be facing.

At the Christmas Eve Café...

... you can talk all night.

"Christmas in a Minor Key."

Meade has found a distinctively un-annoying Christmas album:

"Last Christmas was originally released in 1984, but lost the top spot to Band Aid's single, which raised money for famine relief in Ethiopia."

"The charity made a renewed bid for the charts this year, with a 40th anniversary 'ultimate mix' of Do They Know Its Christmas, blending vocals from the various versions of the song that have been recorded over the years, But the re-release faltered after a row over the lyrics, with critics calling the song outdated and colonialist, and Ed Sheeran saying he wasn't asked for permission to re-use his voice. In the end, the song charted at number 12, nestled between Kelly Clarkson's Underneath The Tree and Andy Williams' 1963 standard It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year."

BBC gives us the latest news about this year's Christmas pop charts, in "Wham! are Christmas number one for a second time."

It's funny to think of Wham and that charity duking it out over the decades. And right now, Wham has the moral high ground, because Band Aid's moralistic posturing became politically incorrect. 

But Band Aid is still a charity. Shouldn't Ed Sheeran have registered his objection privately and accepted the flow of money to what presumably is still a reasonably good cause? Reading that linked article, I see that Sheeren cited a statement made by a rapper who, 10 years ago, declined to participate in Band Aid because things like that "perpetuate damaging stereotypes that stifle Africa's economic growth, tourism, and investment, ultimately costing the continent trillions and destroying its dignity, pride and identity."

The rapper, Fuse ODG, who is British-Ghanian, said "there's a way to do things without destroying our collective pride. There's a way to do things without it costing us in tourism, in investment, you know? We could make it more like a partnership - solidarity instead of charity."

The objection is surprisingly right wing! It repels tourists and investors.

That's different from the usual criticism from the left — that Band Aid is "colonial" and "more about making white people feel good than helping anyone."

"At Christmas time, we let in light and we banish shame."

Don't say "Christmas." Don't even say "joy."

A Grok summary, at X:

During a recent event at the White House, Jill Biden mentioned the need for 'joy' during the holiday season, a comment which some interpreted as a subtle mockery of Kamala Harris's previous campaign slogan 'sense of joy.' Jill Biden later clarified that her remarks were not meant to be taken as an insult, emphasizing that the audience was reading too much into her statement. The incident has sparked discussions about the dynamics within the Biden administration. This story is a summary of posts on X and may evolve over time. Grok can make mistakes, verify its outputs.

Here's the relevant video clip.

🚨 JUST IN: Jill Biden is now OPENLY MOCKING Kamala Harris’ “joy” line

The audience even knows what’s going on, and breaks out into laughter 😂

Anybody still think Jill Biden DIDN’T vote for Trump? 🤣 pic.twitter.com/8ePBuLQVKD

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) December 11, 2024

"Joy" is a Christmas word: "Joy to the World/The Lord is come"/"Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring." It's a word that might be selected by someone who wants to avoid limiting her message to Christians. It seems more general, even as Christians hear it as specific to the Christian religion.

Jill also says "peace" and "light": "I hope that you all feel that sense of, you know, peace and light." 

"Peace" and "light" are also words that, for Christians, call to mind Jesus Christ. Jesus is "the light of the world" — "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Jesus is the "Prince of Peace" — "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

But Jill's audience, hearing "joy," thinks not of Jesus Christ but of a worldly power-seeker who used "joy" as a political brand that worked for a couple weeks and then was recognized as idiotic emptiness. Now, it's a laugh line.

Jill hears the laughing and flaps her arms about. Instead of holding steady and conveying the beauty and seriousness of the hope for peace and light and joy at Christmas, she emits a scoffing laugh and acknowledges that she too can hear what they hear, a reference to Kamala Harris.

"The one year that Mr. Walz spent teaching English in southern China was the start of what would become a decades-long relationship with the country."

"As high school teachers in Nebraska and Minnesota, Mr. Walz and his wife, Gwen, regularly led trips to China in the 1990s and early 2000s to introduce students to China’s history and culture. Mr. Walz has said that he has traveled to China some 30 times, including for his honeymoon.... But the campaign has so far made little mention of Mr. Walz’s experience there, even as it has leaned into depictions of the Minnesota governor as an avuncular Midwestern dad, coach and teacher. And it has yet to lay out how Vice President Kamala Harris or Mr. Walz would handle China, which both the Biden and Trump administrations have treated with toughness...."

From "Tim Walz’s Long Relationship With China Defies Easy Stereotypes/Mr. Walz, the Democrats’ vice-presidential nominee, taught in China and has visited the country around 30 times. But he has also been critical of the Chinese government’s human rights record" (NYT).

Walz's China experience can be interwoven with the "avuncular Midwestern dad" idea (though I don't like "avuncular" with "dad" (because what is an uncle-like dad?). From the article, there's this:

Feliz Navidad.

Feliz Navidance 🕺🎄 #feliznavidad #christmas pic.twitter.com/FoFhlnh3kE

— Gardiner Brothers (@Gardiner_Bros) December 21, 2023

I think it's nice — tapdancing Nutcracker at the White House.

A bit of magic, wonder, and joy brought to you by the talented tappers of Dorrance Dance, performing their playful interpretation of The Nutcracker Suite.

Enjoy! 💕 pic.twitter.com/qXtCm4t37o

— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) December 13, 2023

It's churlish grinchery to take potshots.

"This is not the first midcentury, middle-America food craze to find new life online: Jell-O molds, 1970s-era desserts and 1970s-themed dinner parties..."

"... have all made unexpected comebacks. That’s all 'packaged-food cuisine' born of the hyper-consumerism of the 1950s.... For some, the box mixes and cans — triumphs of postwar prosperity — are a rosy portal to an imagined 'simpler time' of family dinners and easy living. 'That is nostalgia for America,' she said. 'That is our national comfort food.'"

From "Watergate Salad Makes a Comeback/The 1970s-era dish made with pistachio pudding mix, canned pineapple and mini marshmallows has caught the curious eye of the TikTok generation" (NYT).

It's absurd that something embodying nostalgia for a lost culture should bear the name "Watergate." But the nostalgia is felt by young people today, who don't mind mixing the 50s, 60s, and 70s together, not like us Boomers who think the early 60s, mid-60s, and late 60s were distinctly different eras and have long indulged in the deep, mystic belief that the first few years of the 70s were the real 60s.

And maybe there is nostalgia for the Watergate scandal. Maybe it seems poignant and delicate compared to the scandals of today... and even for Nixon. My son Chris — who is reading a biography of each American President — texted me about Nixon recently — somewhat jocosely — "Nixon is underrated. He was liberal!/Got more done for progressive causes than democrats do today." 

Anyway, the nostalgia for lost mid-century America is about far more than food. There's a sense that people lived more rewarding, warm, and loving lives back then. Here's something I saw on TikTok the other day. Let me know how it made you feel or, better yet, if you are not young, show it to someone young and ask them how it makes them feel:

"Cher joins the Rolling Stones with at least one new No. 1 on a Billboard songs chart in each of the seven decades from the 1960s through the 2020s...."

Billboard reports.

Go to the link if you want to see the names of all those #1s in all the relevant decades.

I've always loved Cher, but for me that means the Cher of 1965 (and the Cher of "Moonstruck"). But if she wants to do a Christmas recording, it's pretty much the way I feel about Bob Dylan doing a Christmas album. Go ahead. Do what you want. You've earned it. And I will continue to avoid the annual avalanche of Christmas music.

Anyway, click if you like. It's Cher's #1 Christmas song:

The Wisconsin State Capitol Christmas tree — under construction.

Seen today. 

Write about whatever you want in the comments.

"Melania Trump has always been a cipher. Is Donald Trump’s wife a reserved, apolitical woman who just wants us all to 'Be Best' and leave her alone?"

"Or is the partner of the biggest bully in American politics a nasty schemer herself? While the former First Lady doesn’t say much, we do know she isn’t afraid to publicly swat her husband’s hand away; she doesn’t 'give a fuck about Christmas stuff'; she occasionally offered the president inane political advice; and she wore a jacket featuring an offensive message during a trip to visit child migrants impacted by her husband’s cruel immigration policies. Melania’s response to Donald Trump being arraigned in New York last week on felony charges related to hush money for his alleged mistress Stormy Daniels is similarly confounding."

Writes Margaret Hartmann, in "Really Don’t Understand This Melania Trump News, Do U?" (NY Magazine).

Apparently, she's the one who doesn't need you to understand. You can understand that.

"I decided to put the Christmas tree up, and I was looking for a tote of Christmas ornaments, and that’s when I discovered him."

A quote from "Illinois woman finds husband’s body in home eight months after he disappeared" (NY Post).

"My impression of Christmas—now that I actually celebrate it with my non-Jewish partner—is that the entire affective structure of the holiday..."

"... is one of high expectations that are inevitably disappointed. It’s a day that promises to grant you access to the ideal version of your family—which of course is always out of reach. When I was on the outside of Christmas, I got to just enjoy the manic optimism that radiated off of other people in the lead-up. I didn’t have anything at stake."

A Metafilter discussion (linking to "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year/The Jewish Currents staff takes on Christmas" (Jewish Currents)).

It’s a day that promises to grant you access to the ideal version of your family... The day can't promise. The promise was always coming from inside your head... or inside the head of some other adult who was making Christmas happen within your family. 

I got to just enjoy the manic optimism that radiated off of other people... That gestures at the emotional work that other people do... for you or in spite of you. 

But consider whether what looks like "manic optimism" is actually religion. That can happen.

The Oxford English Dictionary word of the day is "Christmas, v." — "Christmas," the verb.

It means "To celebrate Christmas; to spend the Christmas period in a particular place." That's intransitive. You can also use it as a transitive verb — meaning "To adorn (something, esp. a building or room) with Christmas decorations" — but that is deemed colloquial, so save that for your more relaxed occasions, such as after people have Christmassed quite a bit, perhaps with a can of pop and some Christian Brothers brandy.

Here are some historical examples of  Christmas — the verb — collected by the OED:

1884 Daily News 16 Feb. 5/3 Two policemen who had too obviously been ‘Christmassing.’

1967 ‘A. Burgess’ in Hudson Rev. 20 99 I Christmassed in the country. 

Those are the intransitive kind. I like this anachronistic appearance of the colloquial transitive verb:

1966 J. Goldman Lion in Winter i. ii. 17 Eleanor. (Moving to the holly boughs.) Come on; let's finish Christmassing the place.

Anachronistic, in that the character, Eleanor of Aquitaine, lived from 1122 to 1204. But who knows how Eleanor talked? Maybe the author wrote the line that way to sound archaic to the people of 1966.

That's her tomb, you may realize. Do you believe in reading after death? If there is reading after death, what books do you think will be available?

I've been criticized for starting the day saying "Merry Christmas, everyone" because what about the way not everybody is Christian?

I've got to admit, the criticism didn't occur to me. Anyway... 

 

I hope that gives you a thing or 2 to think about, and really: The day is Christmas, and merriness can be wished for all. Or isn't that insensitive too?

I'm on record not being able to detect sarcasm in Matt Yglesias, so I'll just give you this plain:

It was smart of Trump to repeal the Obama-era prohibition on saying “Merry Christmas” and I note that at this point even the libs have surrendered in the War on Christmas, which was definitely a real thing.

— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) December 25, 2022

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Did you travel plans work out okay? Are you snuggled up at home? Have you been up for hours... waiting for the others to get up and do Christmas... or just hanging out as you would on any other day?