tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251035797708672975.post1464503765815143464..comments2024-02-07T09:39:13.250-10:00Comments on Over the Hill: the Books and Stuff: Time to Think.JOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127111575563904349noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251035797708672975.post-41329116229954930292014-12-14T02:27:03.587-10:002014-12-14T02:27:03.587-10:00Germaine triggers in me thoughts of admiration and...Germaine triggers in me thoughts of admiration and shock in equal measure. That probably attests to her intelligence and personality. I read The Female Eunuch years ago and I found it such a rich experience that it's my "to-reread" list next year.<br /><br />I was born in a coutnry that didn't celebrate Christmas but in which Christmas' Eve was still observed. My late nan went out of her way to make sure we had the family around the dinner table on Christmas Eve. No presents, those were left for the 6th January. The government thought that people would forgo their religious beliefs. They were so wrong! Even Fidel himself came down from the Sierra Maestra mountains wearing a necklace with red and white beads symbolising Chango/Santa Barbara. We don't have to do anythng at Christmas if we don't want to. Call me Scrooge (and maybe I am) but I find the whole Christmas excess a tad bit off-putting. To me it's time to spend with the family, being jolly and being satisfited with what you have. Which sometimes it's a heck of alot more than what other people have.<br /><br />Great post, I'm with you. I'm taking a month-long break from blogging.<br /><br />Greetings from London.A Cuban In Londonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251035797708672975.post-81529032669899119032014-12-11T23:10:14.574-10:002014-12-11T23:10:14.574-10:00I think Germaine is right about a lot of things!! ...I think Germaine is right about a lot of things!! Enjoy your candles - they sound wonderful.JOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03127111575563904349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251035797708672975.post-60370922625697501952014-12-10T23:30:34.832-10:002014-12-10T23:30:34.832-10:00I'm doing my very best not to get sucked into ...I'm doing my very best not to get sucked into the present-buying mayhem but it's not easy. Next week we light the Chanukah candles and I shall make absolutely sure that for eight days I stop for at least the time it takes for the thin, tiny coloured candles to burn down and I do some thinking. Germaine is right. We all need time for that.Rosalind Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05363027308436257933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251035797708672975.post-76754147723537139612014-12-10T23:09:10.604-10:002014-12-10T23:09:10.604-10:00Oh money - I do get that it absorbs the lives of t...Oh money - I do get that it absorbs the lives of the poor, who have to scrabble for enough to buy food. But somehow it has taken centre stage in all our lives - and what a lot we have lost in the process!JOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03127111575563904349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251035797708672975.post-11401328294734704012014-12-09T10:55:24.017-10:002014-12-09T10:55:24.017-10:00"Thinking" is a lost art! So it seems is..."Thinking" is a lost art! So it seems is celebrating anything without the accompaniment of shopping, scurrying and hurrying and stress. And spending money. Lots and lots of money. Karen Jones Gowenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11378428503220197256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251035797708672975.post-33824870132186670672014-12-08T07:48:03.790-10:002014-12-08T07:48:03.790-10:00It's the being swept up without reflections th...It's the being swept up without reflections that gets to me. I'm all for razzmatazz, but not at the price of no thinking!JOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03127111575563904349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251035797708672975.post-41148257851869656682014-12-08T01:02:03.733-10:002014-12-08T01:02:03.733-10:00I am with you both here. I do not belong to a form...I am with you both here. I do not belong to a formal religion, but I have my beliefs and above all, I believe in the message that Christmas was originally intended to send to the world. I also think it is sad that the success of the season is measured by financial figures and not by what we can do to share a little love with others around us. I subscribe to the festivities in a very modest way and use it mainly to spend time with my family. A lovely post, Jo. I think few people take the time to stop and stare.Vallypeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08309284606572565277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251035797708672975.post-34985132664262018542014-12-07T22:51:53.563-10:002014-12-07T22:51:53.563-10:00I'm in the corner that has no religious convic...I'm in the corner that has no religious conviction, so should be marketer's dream. But I want time to reflect on the dark and the passing of the year. Not all this endless shopping! It saddens me that the 'success' of Christmas is measured - by the government - in how much people spent, not the time they shared with people they love.JOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03127111575563904349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251035797708672975.post-34052020778008877982014-12-07T22:28:26.454-10:002014-12-07T22:28:26.454-10:00As a Messianic Jew, Christmas has a religious sign...As a Messianic Jew, Christmas has a religious significance, both as a Festival of Ligt (Hanuka) but also as a remembrance of the birth of Jesus (Yeshua). Thus I fond meaning in the time of year. I think it is sad that for so many people it has become merely a commercial enterprise loaded with unrealistic expectations. Each year seems to be worse.... not sure what the answer is...''Chritsmas'' has now been hijacked by the retail industry......sad.Carol Hedgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10359578624109905400noreply@blogger.com