MetaFilter posts tagged with holidays

Kwanzaa Cake

mccarty.tim — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 21:43:04 -0800

Sandra Lee: Much loved cake guru, teaches us mere mortals a valuable lesson about Kwanzaa via angelfood cake, in her great track record of cultural and religious understanding. Higher quality vid, w/ads.

Faith in the End Zone

sierray — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 09:33:45 -0800

Cheering for the othe side From the story: "They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas. It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through. Did you hear that? The other team's fans?" A feel good story for the holidays.

A BetaMaXmas

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

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

It happens every year?

knile — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:05:46 -0800

Despite the much-maligned economy, people are seemingly starting the holiday season early this year in Loveland, Colorado by "paying it forward" for strangers' coffee at a Starbucks drive-through. This has happened in 2006 and similar events were debated last year on the blue, which led me to believe it was not a real phenomenon. CNN has the video version of the first link with interviews of those involved. Maybe it's not a PR stunt after all.

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.

Old Weird Europe

huskerdont — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:53:44 -0800

German newspaper Der Spiegel decided to take a look at Europe's oddest folk traditions and festivals. Perhaps you can have a metaphorical hard-on for the phallus festival of Tyrnavos, Greece. Maybe you're hungry for how a small Belgian town celebrates the practice of swallowing live fish. Or, alternately, you can look down on those bizarre practices... while chasing a giant wheel of cheese down a hill. Or maybe you'd just rather celebrate the annual fireworks war of Chios or jump over a baby while wearing a silly costume. Some of the festivals are recent inventions to boost tourism; others are relics of ancient paganism that survived Christianization. What are your favorites?

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.

Holiday Gift Guides

lalex — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 21:57:06 -0800

Need some help with holiday shopping? Me too. Here's a gift guide roundup: NY Mag * TimeOutNY * Wired * Engadget * CNET * Salon * Time * Newsweek * WaPo * Cool Hunting * DesignSponge under $25 and affordable art guide * Etsy * NOTCOT * Lucky * In Style * Style.com * Travel & Leisure * Treehugger * BoardGameGeek * Babes in Toyland (NSFW) * Babble

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.

Harold and Kumar go home for the holidays

ericbop — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 12:07:34 -0800

The winner of the 2007 White Castle recipe competition? Slider latkes. Not Jewish? White Castle will help you put their burgers just about anywhere.

My Jewish birthday is exceptionally awesome!

parmanparman — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 08:22:44 -0800

My Jewish Birthday is better than yours. On my birthday, the Hasidic movement was founded, the first Chabad rabbi was brought into the world, and the Baal Shem Tov was born. So, how cool is your Jewish birthday?

Holiday gifts for the world.

divabat — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 17:46:00 -0800

In need of last-minute Christmas gifts? Want to help the world in some way? Websites like ChangingThePresent and Alternative Gifts International allow you to buy or sponsor something useful as a present - from an hour with a creative coach, to wheelchairs in Cambodia; from walking children to school in the West Bank to flighting corruption. Maybe even a charity gift certificate? [more inside]

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.

Have a Merry Chestwax Christmas

EatTheWeak — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 11:47:57 -0800

Why, God, Why? We've never seen a holiday cash-in too bizarre to love. This season, please to enjoy A Very Idol Christmas.

Kiss me quick for a pint of whelks

reynir — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 08:57:59 -0800

The life and times of the British seaside holiday. The BBC explore the Victorian beginings of this British cultural export, its history and heyday, and the slow decline into genteel decay - and not so genteel - decay.Perhaps buoyed by nostalgia for childhood memories of lemonade ice lollies, sticky gobs of tar underfoot, and sand sandwiches, there's a move to promote regeneration and reinvention. Especially now that the beaches are cleaner than ever, although some still occasionally subject to unpleasant bobbing objects.

Although any regeneration might play on icons like the piers, beach huts, grand hotels, architecture, and classic cafes, it's perhaps less likely to feature traditional and dubious delights like Punch and Judy, end of the pier shows, fearsome landladies and holiday camps. The builders of new sandcastles have grander plans, whether that be the Las Vegas of the northwest, the artist's paradise of St Ives, the surfer's paradise of Newquay, or Hove's multi-coloured pleasure dome. Anyway, would you like this open or wrapped?

Mark your calendar: SLAYER!!!

mathowie — Sun, 28 May 2006 20:42:21 -0800

June 6, 2006 (6/6/06) is the National Day of Slayer and the rules are simple: Listen to Slayer at full blast in your car. Listen to Slayer at full blast in your home. Listen to Slayer at full blast at your place of employment. Listen to Slayer at full blast in any public place you prefer. DO NOT use headphones! The objective of this day is for everyone within earshot to understand that it is the National Day of Slayer. National holidays in America aren't just about celebrating; they're about forcing it upon non-participants.

Drink-o de Mayo?

jonp72 — Fri, 05 May 2006 07:21:26 -0800

Is Cinco De Mayo For Sale By the Alcohol Industry? In the 1960s, Chicano activists in Colorado promoted a boycott of Coors beer in response to employment discrimination against Latinos at Coors breweries. Coors had two problems. They had to fix their image with Latino consumers, and they had to figure out some way to get college students to drink more beer in May. The solution: start sponsoring Cinco de Mayo! Thus, even though Mexicans in Mexico celebrate their independence day on September 15th and 16th, Mexican-Americans are more likely to celebrate the May 5th anniversary of the Battle of the Puebla, which is not even commemorated with a national holiday in Mexico. In fact, the Battle of the Puebla was a skirmish in the Pastry War, a French intervention in Mexico that began because a French chef demanded several thousand pesos to compensate him for Mexican military officers looting his pastry supply.

Celebrate March 20th

Postroad — Sun, 05 Mar 2006 17:54:33 -0800

Celebrate March 20th Women have a special day set aside: Valentine's Day. Now a new holiday being promulgated for Men to show love and devotion from their significant others. [nsfw]

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.

St. Lucia Day

grapefruitmoon — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 07:37:19 -0800

St. Lucia Day is celebrated today, primarily in Sweden . Celebrate at home! Bake some Lussekatter and put a wreath on your head!

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?

I need more money

cleverusername — Fri, 09 Dec 2005 13:29:47 -0800

So, d o e s a n y o n e h a v e a n y s u g g e s t i o n s o n w h a t t o g e t t h i s h o l i d a y s e a s o n ?

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.

Is Hermy Gay?

lola — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 16:12:41 -0800

Sixteen serious questions raised by the 1964 holiday classic Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.