MetaFilter posts tagged with holidays and christmas

A BetaMaXmas

Korou — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:10:38 -0800

80s era holiday television complete with antenna, TV guide, and remote.

No, No, Nostalgia!

not_on_display — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:33:56 -0800

NetClassixFilter: The next time you're standing clueless in the greeting cards section of your local drugstore franchise, you'll be wishing you'd visited the Gallery of Unfortunate Greeting Cards instead. For all your holiday needs: Val en tin e's Day, St. Pat ric k's Day, E a s t e r, We dd in gs, 4th of July, Hal lo we'en, Bi rt h d a y s, Th anks giv ing, Ch ri st ma s, and of course, Washington's Birthday. [via Cap'n Wacky] Cap'n Wacky has previously sailed the seas of MetaFilter.

wonderful ecards

nickyskye — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 10:16:02 -0800

It has now been several years since Jacquie Lawson, an English artist living in the picturesque village of Lurgashall in Southern England, created an animated Christmas card in 2000. The e-card, featuring her dog, Chudleigh, her cats, and her 15th-century cottage, was sent to a few friends for their amusement. Those friends sent the e-card to others, and within weeks Jacquie was inundated with requests from all over the world to design more e-cards. My favorite Christmas ecard of hers. A lovely birthday card. 101 ecards with about 15 new ones released each year. The international prices/membership fees, in the USA $10 per year.

Buy Handmade

divabat — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 15:53:46 -0800

I pledge to buy handmade this holiday season, and request that others do the same for me. Why? Better gifting experience, better ethics, better for the environment.

Santa's Sackfull of Obscure Christmas Music

jonson — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 17:25:17 -0800

So you're in the mood for some Christmas music, but you're tired of all the old standards. Not to worry, the web has you covered courtesy of several vinyl sharing blogs. First off, there's Check the Cool Wax, with the soundtrack to Rankin/Bass's Night Before Christmas, Pee-Wee's Christmas Special, Yuletide Disco, Western Christmas Songs & Exciting Christmas Stories featuring Batman, Superman & Wonder Woman. Much, much more inside.

Jugglin Xmas Monkeys

Secret Life of Gravy — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 08:16:54 -0800

Have yourself an Ugly Little Christmas! Cause nuttin' says Christmas like Juggling Monkeys.

you have as much to do with Jesus as you do with Scooby Doo

amberglow — Sat, 10 Dec 2005 09:16:15 -0800

"Give the Jew Girl Toys" --music video by comedian Sarah Silverman
Claus...Claus...is that German?

Lights please?

ScottMorris — Fri, 09 Dec 2005 02:13:17 -0800

Dec. 9, 1965: "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?" [Realmedia] [More inside]

Merry Christmash!

Robot Johnny — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 21:34:18 -0800

Santastic: Holiday boots for your stockings. Mash-ups of decades of Christmas records just in time for the holidays. The quality varies throughout, but it makes for some fun manic listening if you've grown tired of the same perennial chestnuts. Merry Christmash to all, and to all a boot night.

Fa la la la la... la la la la.

miss lynnster — Fri, 24 Dec 2004 07:33:58 -0800

The history of the Christmas tree began in Germany. They are a fairly recent tradition in America, a country which first shunned any "frivolity" over the sacred holidays until Queen Victoria made Christmas trees cool. The American addition of electric Christmas lights, on the other hand, is a fairly recent tradition in Germany, a country where Christmas tree candles are still in use. Even in 2004, electric Christmas lights are used far less extensively in Europe than America... but maybe someday they'll want to be cool like us, too.

In this corner...

braun_richard — Wed, 22 Dec 2004 06:51:55 -0800

James Lileks vs. James Wolcott. That link is Wolcott's blog entry about this whole "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" thing. This is Lileks' response. Can't wait for Round 2!

Bah and the Humbugs!

Shane — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 12:44:19 -0800

No Xmas in U.S. this year: Santa on Fed's "No Fly" list.
Okay, that's just "News" from the website of satiric rockers Bah and the Humbugs, skewering Xmas since 1985. MP3s of the entirety of this year's CD Farhenheit 12/25 are available on the website, or you can buy the CD for $10 and all ten sheckles go to the UN World Food Programme. More tracks here, including the "Jolly Roger the Xmas Pirate" series and "Free the Reindeer. " Great stuff for that awkward holiday family get-together, where the music won't offend but the cool lyrics can keep you chuckling to yourself all night.

A cappella holiday music

bradlands — Wed, 10 Dec 2003 10:29:05 -0800

A Cappella Holiday is a refreshing alternative to the tired, workaday holiday fare that may be piped into your office. All holiday tunes, but all a cappella, with some real gems you've never heard before. If your ears have been malled by Muzak and it's making you anything but merry, this free, streaming radio station might be the tonic. (There's a non-holiday a cappella station too, if you're just fa-la-la'ed out.)

Winter Solstice

Tryptophan-5ht — Tue, 09 Dec 2003 14:06:25 -0800

Are you miffed that Christmas just isn't about Jesus anymore? Annoyed that is all seems to be about commercialism and spending money? You Christians can now empathize with the ancient pagans who were miffed that Christmas just wasn't about Mithras anymore. But don't feel bad about jacking Christmas from them, Mithras jacked it from Apollo, who borrowed it from the Etruscan god Sol.

Have a holly, jolly Christmas....

anastasiav — Tue, 09 Dec 2003 09:48:10 -0800

'tis the season for ... Rankin-Bass TV specials! The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass is a fan-site devoted to the distinctive animation of Arthur Rankin, Jr and Jules Bass. In addition to extensive and interesting background information on your favorite Christmas specials (like Rudolph), you can also learn about lesser-known specials such as The Ballad of Smokey the Bear. The site also includes some rare video clips, including a pencil-test from Frosty the Snowman. There is also a very complete section on the Rankin-Bass TV series, Thundercats. Please also see additional note inside....

Auctioning Tidings of Comfort and Joy

fenriq — Mon, 08 Dec 2003 11:49:30 -0800

eBay Auction of Tidings of Comfort and Joy

The Best Thing on Television in 2002

ZenMasterThis — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 07:16:20 -0800

The Best Thing on Television in 2002 The WPIX Yule Log makes its triumphant return.

Santa needs some sophisticated adult entertainment!

cpfeifer — Sat, 14 Dec 2002 22:13:25 -0800

Santa Rampage! Last weekend a horde of Santa's wreaked havoc on Washington DC's clubs, bars and adult establishments. Amazingly only one santa was decked in the entire evening.

Happy Thanksgiving or Is It?

jonp72 — Tue, 26 Nov 2002 18:52:53 -0800

Happy Thanksgiving or Is It? In 1939, Franklin Delano Roosevelt responed to pressure from the National Retail Dry Goods Association to move the official date of Thanksgiving back one week to the next-to-last Thursday of the month. FDR hoped that this would enliven the economy by adding one week to the Christmas shopping season, but he received considerable political flak for tampering with what many viewed as a sacred religious holiday. (Thanksgiving is considered sacred even though it only became a national holiday due to lobbying by the editor of a 19th century woman's magazine.) New Deal-era Republicans were especially bothered by the calendar change and one essayist at the American Enterprise Institute still seems to carry a grudge. Congress later resolved the issue by passing a resolution in 1941 that designated Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday of November.

Carol Anne — Mon, 24 Dec 2001 14:08:38 -0800

"Jingle Bells" is the first Christmas song we learn. It's the Christmas song no one ever forgets. But when "Jingle Bells" was written in the 1850s by Boston native James Lord Pierpont, it was not a Christmas song. It had nothing to do with the holidays. "Jingle Bells" was what you might call pre-Civil War rock 'n' roll. In its seldom-heard original form, it's about having a flashy vehicle, driving it too fast and using it to pick up girls. (by Larry Katz, Boston Herald--via Fark.com)

y2karl — Wed, 19 Dec 2001 18:29:42 -0800

Alt.Xmas.Music.Lyrics. I've never been accused in the past of only posting serious news item type links - so just to prove that i'm no stick-in-the-mud here is a fun link. It apparently requires no shockwave plugins..... ladies and gentlemen--and especially you cosmopolite European members--I give you, after a wee scroll down and download.... Walking Round In Women's Underwear!! please enjoy this during work hours.

meep — Tue, 18 Dec 2001 08:38:33 -0800

Christmas movies: I have noticed that Christmas movies, especially made-for-TV Christmas movies, come in two flavors: someone discovering the "true meaning of Christmas", or somebody saving Christmas. Sometimes the two are combined. Are there Christmas movies out there without these plots?

plinth — Sun, 09 Dec 2001 08:46:44 -0800

A Very Nice Advent Calendar (and you can't peek ahead), courtesy of hoopla. [via harrumph]

rich — Tue, 27 Nov 2001 07:14:45 -0800

Since the gift season is right around the corner, what are all the audiophiles looking for? Is it a minidisc? Or mp3? Or some kind of combination? Maybe something to integrate into your stereo system?

Which side of the tradeoff is worth it? Cheap capacity with real-time recording limitations or ease of use and multi-format support with high priced memory?

Niccola Six — Wed, 29 Nov 2000 07:20:02 -0800

Not a terribly serious topic, but I saw the Grinch movie on the weekend and hated it savagely. Just deplored it from beginning to end. And as time has passed and I've thought more about my extreme reaction, I've grown to hate it even more. This dude at Entertainment Weekly makes a pretty good case for why this blockbuster is a big chunk o' crap. Thoughts? P.S. I did see Quills last night however, and it was amazing.