Thursday, December 23, 2004
Happy Non-Denominational Holiday Season!
Before I launch into this rant, read the title, and feel all warm and fuzzy for a second. Pretend that I care deeply about that message and be moved.
On the flipside, I would like to say the following:
Fuck Christmas. Fuck it right up its festive arse. There was a time, when, as a child I would look forward to the 25th of December with glee. Much of it was related to the fact that I was an only child, and as a result Christmas = Presents. Of course, there was still the 'holiday feel'. You know what I'm talking about. The feeling around that time of year that differentiated it from every other month.
That feeling is dead. I worked on Christmas day last year and, if it didn't fall on a Saturday, I would do it again this year too. Now, Japan is not a Christian country, and therefore, I should not be expecting to have Christmas treated specially, should I? I would agree, if the entire country didn't bend at the altar of Christmas Consumerism for an extra large helping. There is an overabundance of Christmas deocrations, music and shopping - but no actual Christmas. It really takes the fun out of the holiday.
Of course, the Japanese also celebrate (and take more seriously) the traditional holiday of New Year. When I was a study abroad student, I did the traditional thing, ate the rice cakes and associated special new year food and visited a temple on January first to cleanse my soul and pray for a good year to come. The other thing that comes with New Year, are the 'Nengajou' - New Year cards. They look like postcards, and you can buy blank ones, or cards with messages prewritten (for those, like me, who can't be bothered writing a message in Japanese). The difference between western Christmas cards and Nengajou is this:
You are not obliged to send anyone Christmas cards.
Nengajou on the other hand, you are expected and obliged to send one to your bosses and everyone in the department you work with. Not because you like them, but because society demands that they send them to you, and therefore, you must send one to them. Meanwhile, the post offices and convenience stores selling these things sit back and laugh. It is beyond pointless. Granted, I don't mind some of the people in my department, but find the idea utterly deplorable that I HAVE to send people cards to avoid looking like an arsehole.
It gets worse for some other people - my friend Tony, for example, has to send cards to everyone in his current AND past departments. By the end of your career, think about how many of these pointless fucking pieces of paper you need to send out. Tony was telling me of a guy he knew who held a medium rank in the Yakuza. At New Year, he would recieve literally SACKFULLS of the damn things, because nobody wanted to end up on his bad side by not sending him a card.
The final thing I will bitch about is political correctness, and its overwhelming urge to fuck with everything that once was, or could ever be fun. I recieved a card from a British government investment agency. To keep things safe, they cannot mention or in any way allude to any particular event this time of year. No mention of Christmas, New Year, Hannukah or anything like that.
Instead I get the words "amibious, creative, joyful, warm, vibrant, prosperous - our wishes for (investment area) 2005." That is NOT a holiday greeting, that is a politically correct fuck up the arse. After seeing mine, Tony didn't bother opening his, wrote 'return to sender' on it, and posted it back.
In conclusion:
Fuck Christmas, fuck nengajou and fuck political-correctness.
Enjoy your holidays.
On the flipside, I would like to say the following:
Fuck Christmas. Fuck it right up its festive arse. There was a time, when, as a child I would look forward to the 25th of December with glee. Much of it was related to the fact that I was an only child, and as a result Christmas = Presents. Of course, there was still the 'holiday feel'. You know what I'm talking about. The feeling around that time of year that differentiated it from every other month.
That feeling is dead. I worked on Christmas day last year and, if it didn't fall on a Saturday, I would do it again this year too. Now, Japan is not a Christian country, and therefore, I should not be expecting to have Christmas treated specially, should I? I would agree, if the entire country didn't bend at the altar of Christmas Consumerism for an extra large helping. There is an overabundance of Christmas deocrations, music and shopping - but no actual Christmas. It really takes the fun out of the holiday.
Of course, the Japanese also celebrate (and take more seriously) the traditional holiday of New Year. When I was a study abroad student, I did the traditional thing, ate the rice cakes and associated special new year food and visited a temple on January first to cleanse my soul and pray for a good year to come. The other thing that comes with New Year, are the 'Nengajou' - New Year cards. They look like postcards, and you can buy blank ones, or cards with messages prewritten (for those, like me, who can't be bothered writing a message in Japanese). The difference between western Christmas cards and Nengajou is this:
You are not obliged to send anyone Christmas cards.
Nengajou on the other hand, you are expected and obliged to send one to your bosses and everyone in the department you work with. Not because you like them, but because society demands that they send them to you, and therefore, you must send one to them. Meanwhile, the post offices and convenience stores selling these things sit back and laugh. It is beyond pointless. Granted, I don't mind some of the people in my department, but find the idea utterly deplorable that I HAVE to send people cards to avoid looking like an arsehole.
It gets worse for some other people - my friend Tony, for example, has to send cards to everyone in his current AND past departments. By the end of your career, think about how many of these pointless fucking pieces of paper you need to send out. Tony was telling me of a guy he knew who held a medium rank in the Yakuza. At New Year, he would recieve literally SACKFULLS of the damn things, because nobody wanted to end up on his bad side by not sending him a card.
The final thing I will bitch about is political correctness, and its overwhelming urge to fuck with everything that once was, or could ever be fun. I recieved a card from a British government investment agency. To keep things safe, they cannot mention or in any way allude to any particular event this time of year. No mention of Christmas, New Year, Hannukah or anything like that.
Instead I get the words "amibious, creative, joyful, warm, vibrant, prosperous - our wishes for (investment area) 2005." That is NOT a holiday greeting, that is a politically correct fuck up the arse. After seeing mine, Tony didn't bother opening his, wrote 'return to sender' on it, and posted it back.
In conclusion:
Fuck Christmas, fuck nengajou and fuck political-correctness.
Enjoy your holidays.
# posted by Nils @ 10:59 AM 
