Taking "Christmas" Out of "A Christmas Carol"

[chazraps]

So, a few weeks back I asked the board if anyone else's grade school experience included a musical called "That's the Way It Is, Mr. Scrooge," a non-denominational Christmas-free version of "A Christmas Carol" that's all about Scrooge raising his self-esteem and using his imagination to be a better person.

I contacted a few of my former classmates for more information on it, and was reminded exactly how bizarre this production, and a few other 90s productions, were. Here's my recap - blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2013/12/christmas_carol_play.php

Did any of you have any weird super-P.C. winter pageants?

[jagilki]

Nope, High School in the 90's in Wyoming. So since were about 10 years behind everybody else, it'd be like the 80's.

[StuntGranny®]

Never ran into this, personally.

It sounds absolutely terrible.

I would consider myself to be a very liberal person, but damn it if I don't cringe every time I hear something like "holiday tree" or "holiday cookies".

[chazraps]

Dec 18, 2013 14:59:55 GMT -5 StuntGranny® said:

Never ran into this, personally.

It sounds absolutely terrible.

I would consider myself to be a very liberal person, but damn it if I don't cringe every time I hear something like "holiday tree" or "holiday cookies".

Holiday cookies never bothered me as Hanukkah cookies taste distinctly different from Christmas cookies and if I can have the opportunity to eat both, I'm down.

[Cela]

I had a girlfriend who taught, and she edited out all Male terms of authority figures in songs. So "Bossman" became "Bossperson."

This always struck me as odd.

[Mr PONYMANIA Mr Jenzie]

might as well have a talking rabbi in it too


ibnoonegetsthejoke

[tigermaskxxxvii]

During my third grade holiday pageant we all wore unisex leotards while dancing around to a song composed and performed by Philip Glass.

[kidglov3s]

I would say that my favorite part of the classic 2012 film opus Last Ounce of Courage was the return of Fred Williamson to the silver screen,

THE HAMMER! They even call his character The Hammer!

My 3rd or 4th favorite part was the bizarre secular nativity play written by the thinly veiled gay stereotype theater teacher,


in which the wise men are aliens,



and performed by children who have for the most part never heard of Christianity.




It's ok gets locked in a closet, FOR FREEDOM!

[A Platypus Rave]

Dec 18, 2013 15:23:23 GMT -5 tigermaskxxxvii said:

During my third grade holiday pageant we all wore unisex leotards while dancing around to a song composed and performed by Philip Glass.

I look towards the sun... and it burns my eyes...

[Apricots And A Pear Tree]

Dec 18, 2013 15:24:47 GMT -5 kidglov3s said:

I would say that my favorite part of the classic 2012 film opus Last Ounce of Courage was the return of Fred Williamson to the silver screen,

THE HAMMER! They even call his character The Hammer!

My 3rd or 4th favorite part was the bizarre secular nativity play written by the thinly veiled gay stereotype theater teacher,


in which the wise men are aliens,



and performed by children who have for the most part never heard of Christianity.




It's ok gets locked in a closet, FOR FREEDOM!

Everything is Terrible had a video on that last week.I don't think I could watch the actual movie.

[mizerable]

Dec 18, 2013 15:27:34 GMT -5 A Platypus Rave said:

Dec 18, 2013 15:23:23 GMT -5 tigermaskxxxvii said:

During my third grade holiday pageant we all wore unisex leotards while dancing around to a song composed and performed by Philip Glass.

I look towards the sun... and it burns my eyes...

Happy Happy Happy

[Michael Coello]

[lucas_lee]

Dec 18, 2013 15:24:47 GMT -5 kidglov3s said:

I would say that my favorite part of the classic 2012 film opus Last Ounce of Courage was the return of Fred Williamson to the silver screen,

THE HAMMER! They even call his character The Hammer!

My 3rd or 4th favorite part was the bizarre secular nativity play written by the thinly veiled gay stereotype theater teacher,


in which the wise men are aliens,



and performed by children who have for the most part never heard of Christianity.




It's ok gets locked in a closet, FOR FREEDOM!

Academy Award Winning Actor Fred Williamson the star of such classics as "Black Cesar" and "From Dusk Till Dawn" I'm in!

[Blindkarevik]

See, I honestly thought you were invading my thoughts.. cuz just recently, I have been wondering if the whole "Christmas" thing is needed to tell the story, rather it's a device to make Scrooge unlikeable. His entire persona, he has his reasons for being such a horrible person... he is apologetic when he needs to be, but he also does need to be pushed. He's a dick to Bob Cratchet but, some bosses are dicks. He's a dick to the people at the trading post.... but, to be a good businessman you need to be a dick. He's a dick to the people who are trying to get him to donate to charity, well... if you have someone pestering you an pestering you... you might be dick right back to them, regardless if you mean it or not.

His father, basically, disowned him.. he wasn't welcome at his home. Ebenezer grew to adulthood and was immediately sent to work for Fezziwig. All he ever wanted was to become desireable, to his dad, to his boss to his girlfriend. But when Fezziwig took him under his wing, he praised him. Ebenezer took these compliments, which he had never really experienced from a father figure... and would translate it to, "I get compliments when I'm good at business, so the better I am at business, the better of a person I become." Well, he let that sweep him away... so his girlfriend felt like a second-string player. She left him... so all Scrooge had was his business. He created a successful one with Jacob Marley, so he could at least do that with his good friend. Marley died... so Scrooge was left with nothing left but his business. Why get close to people when they all go away? Why be nice, why try to help, when all people want to do is take? Scrooge had his reasons for being a dick. Maybe they're not GOOD reasons, but I could see his reasoning turning many people sour.

However, the second you say "He hates Christmas!"... that turns him deplorable. How can you hate Christmas? Especially when it's portrayed as a magical time for everyone but him... I dunno. I just need things to think about sometimes.

Much like how if I ever did a "How It should've ended.." it would basically have Bob Cratchit coming home, telling his wife and kids they have to pack up and leave because Scrooge is coming to kill them... "I don't know, he was super nice all day. I was late, he doubled my salary. He made me buy coal so we could be warm. He's never done that. ALSO.... he knew SO much about our family. He knows where we live. he knows our names... he even knows Tiny Tim's disease! He's only met Tim in passing, and even then... had no idea Tim as my child, let alone what his name was! Only reasonable conclusion? He has been spying on us, and he intends to kill us the same way he, probably, killed Jacob Marley!"

[Mr T L Wolf]

How about adding Christmas in? I've been wearing a plaid Santa hat at work all week, and almost everyone's called it a Christmas hat. No clue as to why.

[wildojinx]

Personally, i prefer the sequel:
www.platypuscomix.net/kristmas/index.php?issue=10&page=1&seriesID=8

[Deleted]

Dec 18, 2013 14:59:55 GMT -5 StuntGranny® said:

Never ran into this, personally.

It sounds absolutely terrible.

I would consider myself to be a very liberal person, but damn it if I don't cringe every time I hear something like "holiday tree" or "holiday cookies".

I friggin hate that term. It's not a "holiday tree", it's a "Christmas tree". We only use it to celebrate Christmas. If you're gonna call it a "holiday tree", then you better damn well keep it up all year so we can use it to celebrate Valentines and Easter with it.

[Amazing Kitsune]

We still have Christmas trees, Christmas cookies, Christmas break, and Christmas plays. We even have a nativity play every couple of years. That's the way it should be. Of course you should learn about and recognize other religious holidays as well, but it causes no problem to call a spade a spade. Calling it anything else is just being disingenuous and offensive. It's almost as bad as the BCE/CE dating system.

[Cela]

Dec 18, 2013 17:18:58 GMT -5 Amazing Kitsune said:

We still have Christmas trees, Christmas cookies, Christmas break, and Christmas plays. We even have a nativity play every couple of years. That's the way it should be. Of course you should learn about and recognize other religious holidays as well, but it causes no problem to call a spade a spade. Calling it anything else is just being disingenuous and offensive. It's almost as bad as the BCE/CE dating system.

BCE/CE works so you don't have that weird 30 year span where no history occurred.

[mizerable]

I don't see why it's so wrong to recognize what Christmas is. Are you really compromising anything?

People accept what Santa is, even if they don't believe in him...why is that any different with the Nativity? Is someone really that pissed about a baby being born? It's just part of what helped shape where we are today...no one is being forced to believe anything. I don't know why people feel the need the hide what Christmas used to be. And the same applies to any religion...recognizing Hanukkah and so forth. Doesn't make you a follower.

I have to wonder if a lot of the stories we've heard over the years, that may have had religious merits to ancient people, would still be told, if the religion was still a large following?