Happy (*$&#(@* Holidays! ***Updated***

Ok, now before anyone gets upset that this is going to be an anti-holiday post, have no fear. It kind of is.

I wanted to add a little ticker at the top of the site to countdown the days until Channukah. Of course, no site that I've come across yet, has anything remotely festive aside from Christmas. One site only celebrated three holidays: Christmas, Thanksgiving and Hallowe'en. I'm not saying that this was any better, but at least it had a few options, not great ones, but options. I figured that with tickerfactory, I could at least find *one* ticker with a candle on it, to represent the miracle of Channukah, but nope not a one...they don't even have a candle in their 'birthday' category, how odd is that?

I guess the problem I have with the holidays isn't so much "Christmas this" and "Christmas that", it's this whole notion of not offending anyone. When did it become a BAD thing to wish someone "Merry Christmas"? There are people who know that I'm Jewish and they still wish me a Merry Christmas. Am I offended by it? No. Do I correct them and say 'well actually I celebrate Channukah'? Sometimes. But I know that the sentiment is there and their heart is in the right place.

Now last night I was channel surfing and came across The Shopping Channel and they were doing an hour devoted to "holiday trees". I'm sorry guys, but the only holiday I know of that has *anything* to do at all with trees is Christmas. We don't sit around and put presents under the Channukah bush. Why were they so afraid to say "this hour is devoted to Christmas"?

This evening I was channel surfing again (ok, so I watch The Shopping Channel, so sue me) and they were talking about jewellery and how crosses aren't just for Christians anymore and they're a 'fashion symbol'. Huh?! Since when? I know they want to sell their product, but come on guys, don't treat the buying public like morons.

***Ok, just so you don't think I'm sitting here typing this with "Diamonelle" rings on my fingers and toes...I do *watch* The Shopping Channel every now and then, but more than anything, I mock it more than I actually sit down and *watch* it. The only thing I've ever bought on there was an el-cheapo scrapbooking kit. I figured how can anyone go wrong with a 3000 piece scrapbooking kit for $30? One of these days I might actually open it up and use it...

Last night when I was watching their jewellery show, a guy was talking about how great their Diamonelle jewellery is that he took out a loupe and was impressed. Umm a loupe with Diamonelle...right. It cracks Josh and I up when we watch the show and how they try to make even the crappiest, most useless items into something grand.***