Happy Holidays to all GMGers!

[Harpo]

Wishing you a peaceful New Year

[secondwind]

Best wishes to all GMGers.  I hope that you find joy in whatever way you celebrate the rebirth of light and hope at the darkest time of the year.  And here, from my favorite composer from my home state of Michigan, is a little Christmas song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dqi0EhDVgs

[drogulus]

Wishing you a peaceful New Year

      Wow! A groovy Christmas to you, too!

       And as you've guessed I'm sacrificing literally scores of assorted animals to Jove for all the unbelievers, who deserve a wonderful holiday 75% as much as we believers do. Don't thank me, it's just the kind of guy I am!

     

      This is not a good likeness, it makes him look stern. He'a really kind of a cool god once you get to know him. But hey, I'm not trying to push him on anybody. I mean, this is still a free country!

     

[Gurn Blanston]

Merry Christmas

Tony, I love this picture; it incorporates my personal tastes to a tee. Thanks.

And to all:

I say Happy Holidays not to diss Christmas, but to include it in the whole panorama of holidays celebrated at this time of year, and not to miss one. From those  of us who celebrated this week's Winter Solstice to those who celebrate whatever else is in their hearts, Happy Holiday to you all.  0:)



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Listening to:
Royal Concertgebouw / Dorati - The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II, Tableau III - Waltz Of The Flowers

[Szykneij]

Tony, I love this picture; it incorporates my personal tastes to a tee. Thanks.

Thanks, Gurn. I don't remember where I found it on line, but it's the illustration I used on the cover of our winter concert program this year.

[Lethevich]

Happy Christmas, and all that shizzle :3

The BBC are showing their second Christmas Bohème in recent years - I wonder if they're trying to establish a tradition.

[secondwind]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBLxfvACQhE   

Loved it, Dave!  Now that's Minnesota!

[Spotswood]

those  of us who celebrated this week's Winter Solstice to those who celebrate whatever else is in their hearts, Happy Holiday to you all.

My weekly column includes a few thoughts on this subject.

[Gurn Blanston]

My weekly column includes a few thoughts on this subject.

Interesting, Joe. Even though it is unsafe ground to assume an urban background for everyone (I live so far out in the country it actually makes sense to consider the Solstice!), still, the essentials are on target. One rarely has a kindred spirit to talk to, especially here, on the Buckle of the Bible Belt...



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Listening to:
Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova \ Massimo Quarta - Paganini Concerto #1 in d for Violin 2nd mvmt - Adagio espressivo

[MN Dave]

Loved it, Dave!  Now that's Minnesota!

Ha! Yep. 

[hildegard]

 

  Wishing everyone on GMG a rockin' New Year 2010!

[Lilas Pastia]

Can one OD on Mandarin oranges?  If so, I'm surely very close!

French Canadians such as myself refer to them as 'les oranges de Noel'.  Right, Andre? 

Sorry for the delay, I just bumped into this thread. Yes, indeed. In my parent's time, Christmas during the Depression meant you got a couple of oranges in your Christmas stocking. If you weren't a good child, it was an onion instead  .

Brahmsian, where are you from? Didn't you have anothe name before? Which reminds me I'm supposed to change mine come next week...

I don't know about you people, but apparently it's become politically incorrect to wish Merry Christmas  . Even Happy holidays is suspect. I'm not joking. Only christians and jews celebrate in december. Since there are groups/religions that dont have anything to celebrate, the newest fad in some commercial districts is to wish Happy December to their clientele.

[karlhenning]

Well, we went to dinner on Christmas Eve with a young Pakistani couple, and we all exchanged Merry Christmas without even the shade of ill will.

[owlice]

We still do citrus in the Christmas stockings in my house. My son gets a grapefruit (which he much prefers to oranges), and I usually get an orange, tangerine, or clementine in mine

Haven't heard the onion idea, but I like it, I like it!

[greg]

      And may all your submarine launched missiles produce pretty spirals.

Such as this one:

[Lilas Pastia]

Well, we went to dinner on Christmas Eve with a young Pakistani couple, and we all exchanged Merry Christmas without even the shade of ill will.

Of course, Karl . But you see, when you want to be 'in', stupids things are done and ridicule ensues. Ever saw Molière's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme? 'Nothing new under ther sun' and all that jazz  This 'December' thing has caused quite a stir here, as it originated from 'Le Plateau' (of Frites Alors fame ), Montreal's version of Greenwich Village. The Plateau has become a symbol of political correctness, green practices and otherwise decadent thinking. I love the place for its narrow streets, many trees and countless second hand book and record stores  , but there's no denying its gentry seeming rather out of touch with 'the people'.

Owlice, I didn't make that up. Authentic folklore, I swear. I don't know if it often happened, though, The  onion was more of a threat than anything else, I think,. If you lived in the Depression era and had to scrape around for just about anything, even an onion must have been condsidered an expense. Especially in that era of kids-by-the dozen ! (NB: both of my Mother's parents came from 21-children families ) . But I guess every child dreaded to be asked if he/she got an onion for Christmas

[Wanderer]

... the newest fad in some commercial districts is to wish Happy December to their clientele.

Shocking! How dare they wish that when potentially some of their clientèle might be in mourning?

[springrite]

First of all, Happy Holidays to all GMGers!

Some of you may have noticed my absence for a while. My sister, who had 16 hours of brain surgery 3 months ago, has been having difficulties. She's experiencing pain that the doctors say are "beyond what a human can endure" almost 24 hours a day. The only radical way to stop it would make her recovery impossible. But other ways to control it has been minimally effective, make the pain "barely bareable" from "unbearable". I have been at her side 24 hours a day for over 10 days now. She is all skins and bones now and I have lost about 4 or 5 kilos.

My only wish for the Holiday Season and for the coming New Year is for my sister to be free from her sufferings and fully recover. As I said to her many times recently, I will dedicate the rest of my life to give her a wonderful life and proof that all the suffering is worth it. That is a tall order, but God willing, she will have it.

Again, best wishes to all!

[Elgarian]

First of all, Happy Holidays to all GMGers!

Some of you may have noticed my absence for a while. My sister, who had 16 hours of brain surgery 3 months ago, has been having difficulties. She's experiencing pain that the doctors say are "beyond what a human can endure" almost 24 hours a day. The only radical way to stop it would make her recovery impossible. But other ways to control it has been minimally effective, make the pain "barely bareable" from "unbearable". I have been at her side 24 hours a day for over 10 days now. She is all skins and bones now and I have lost about 4 or 5 kilos.

My only wish for the Holiday Season and for the coming New Year is for my sister to be free from her sufferings and fully recover. As I said to her many times recently, I will dedicate the rest of my life to give her a wonderful life and proof that all the suffering is worth it. That is a tall order, but God willing, she will have it.

Again, best wishes to all!

This puts things into perspective pretty effectively. What a terrible thing to have to bear. Please accept my very best wishes to you and your sister, and my hopes for a successful resolution of this horrible situation soon. Will you keep us informed about how she's doing, please?

[Lilas Pastia]

Paul, this is a terrible thing . I wish you and your sister manage to come out of this in the best possible shape.