Of course it gets shoved down our throats and for this particular holiday, it starts before Halloween and goes solid 'til after New Year's Day. None of the others you've mentioned, JimmyC, get as much hype, for as long and generally do not grip the whole nation in a whirlwind of specific songs etc.

It used to rile me as much as it seems to Mrrzy, but, anymore, maybe because we do not do much, other than cook a nice meal and maybe put a few things on the Norfolk Island Pine, it seems almost like any other day. If the grandkids were closer, I'd probably do more, but it wouldn't be as *Christmas* per se.

A weekend is too short of a time for families to get together if they live long-distances. Why is that such a sticking point with you? My sisters drove 12 hours each way to visit over the winter holidays. It would never hadve worked out just for a weekend. My daughter, her husband and their boys would have had to come from over 2,000 miles, while my son and his SO would have had about a 20 hr drive. All distances too far, esp. with kids, for a lousy two day weekend, esp. when one considers the jobs and schools which they'd all have to return to on Monday morning!

As for people flocking to churches after 911; it wasn't just churches, it was temples, ashrams, synagogues, school auditoriums, etc. Also, just because someone felt moved to go to what is considered a sacred space to feel some commanality in the grief and shock, does not mean one adheres to the beliefs of any particular building's owners. Churches and such have a history of being traditional meeting places in times of great crises...nothing wrong with that, they usually were the largest structure in town, which could hold the most people, members of that denomination or not.

Mrrzy, hear you! I tried to put "none" on a religion question, once, in hospital. They insisted that I put something. Being young and not quite as sure/bold as I am now, I finally gave up and affiliated myself with the Episcopal Church, on their forms, because that is where my brother went!

If you think that is difficult, though, try going into a doctor's office and write in "adult" where it asks for your age. It really throws them off. I always tell them it's because I do not want them to have any preconceived notions of what my bod and mind should be doing. Some understand and deal with it, others just can't handle the concept.*BG*

Peace sounds good about right now,

kat