Compassionate Custy Says Working On Christmas Should Be Illegal
From Fabric Faerie:
Hey everyone,
Sorry it's been a while - I escaped Christmas hell by not going back to work at my store this season. I've just got too much else to do, and thanks to a paid internship, I can handle the lack of income for a couple weeks. I've got a few stories saved up, but those can wait a bit longer.
The point of this little note is to share with you all something surprising I overheard my mother tell my dad on the way home tonight. Now, usually my mother is fairly entitled. She maintains some sense of realism, but overall she gets uselessly upset if a store doesn't have what she wants or if there's a line more than one person long, and god forbid if there's traffic on the way there or home.
So, she really surprised me tonight when she was discussing Starschmuck's being open on Christmas day. Her exact phrasing, which she apparently shared with the slave helping her a few days ago, was that working on Christmas should be illegal.
I suppose it comes from how things were back in her day growing up - shops were closed on Sundays, and Holidays were actually recognized as family time. But I guess it just goes to show that sometimes even the entitled ones can have a silver lining, or something equally as cheesy.
Hopefully everyone's holiday didn't suck too overmuch,
--Fabric Faerie
Posted by Freddy on Monday, December 26, 2011 | Permalink
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Comments (14)
Christmas isn't a holiday for everyone. See: Judaism, Hinduism, etc. It's a religious holiday, and not everyone has the same religion. Or any religion at all.
--AT
Posted by: AmigaTech | Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 12:28 AM
And there are some workers we kinda WANT to have available 24/7, like EMTs, nurses, doctors, surgeons, police (ymmv), firefighters...
Posted by: WMDKitty | Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 03:25 AM
x-x I hate when people say that. I mean it's nice and all that they think so, the pity is greatly apprciated!
But the store wouldn't be open if they didn't come to buy things. >>
Posted by: Yingafred | Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 04:29 AM
While I personally wouldn't want to work on Christmas since I spend it with my family, some businesses offer small perks, such as holiday pay. Same goes for some stores that stay open on New Year's.
@AmigaTech - Christianity being the nation's unofficial religion leads a lot of ignorant people to believe that there are no other religions or religious holidays. Not saying it's right, just saying that it's how things go.
Posted by: Token Female | Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 08:01 AM
@ WMDKitty: While I agree that those professions are the ones that are necessary to be working 24/7, I think the point was that the world will not stop turning if retail establishments were allowed to close their doors and allow the employees to spend some time away from idiot customers for the one day that's reserved for time with family. I was talking with my co-workers yesterday saying basically the same thing. Pointing out businesses that were open while on the way to my mother-in-law's house for Christmas breakfast. I remember when I was a kid, and most every place was closed on Christmas, and if you wanted to buy something you were SOL.
Posted by: NC Tony | Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 08:13 AM
Oops, I meant "one of the days that's reserved for time with family", not "the one day that's reserved for time with family".
Posted by: NC Tony | Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 08:15 AM
Maybe if we acknowledged the secularity of Christmas, we could make it a national day off.
Posted by: Hellbound Alleee | Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 08:19 AM
I usually take the 8 days off for Hannukkah (I save my vacation). It's a nice quiet time - this year, I got to get a couple of gifts on sale, since we had two more days after the Christmas day. Too cool.
Posted by: Sam | Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 11:16 AM
I'm religious by no means, but I celebrate national consumerism day on December 25th every year. It's true the "christian" holidays have permeated culture and i for one don't mind getting time and a half for these holidays...in fact...i wish all holidays were met with the same amount of time and a half every holiday....
Posted by: Bumblebee | Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 01:09 PM
Hey @Token Female,
The USA actually has a little clause in the governing document separating 'church and state'. The USA is as much unofficially Christian as it is unofficially Jewish (see the blind support of the manufactured nation of Israel... (Let the flaming begin)).
Some might like to see my nation become a theocracy. I would not so like. For now, my side is hanging on, despite talking heads saying otherwise.
--AT
Posted by: AmigaTech | Wednesday, December 28, 2011 at 01:31 AM
Reminds me kind of how in school you could have excused absences for religious holidays; it was vague enough so that around the already-given-off-Christmas time, kids could request important days for their holidays too. I think a lot of people in the work place do still try and do that, too. Where I work was closed on Christmas day, though, and closed early the day before.
I felt so bad having to run to CVS on Christmas because my mom had forgotten milk >.>
But yeah, if Christmas was automatically crossed off for everyone, then you'd have every other major holiday's followers asking for the same and equal treatment. There'd be eight days closed for Hannukah, there would be the 1-3 days for Eid after Ramadan depending where the calendar placed it...it'd be a hassle. XD
Posted by: Drive-Thru Guru | Wednesday, December 28, 2011 at 03:00 AM
"omg it should be illegal to be open on Christmas, how awful it must be for you..now gimme a low fat peppermint mocha hold the cream."
Posted by: Mir | Wednesday, December 28, 2011 at 12:06 PM
I won't bother to post about the history of "Christmas" as we know it or why so many religions tend to have holidays at the same time. As one of the very few non-religious conservatives, I will just say this: Happy Winter Festival, everyone. :-)
Posted by: Nocturnesthesia | Wednesday, December 28, 2011 at 07:09 PM
AmigaTech: unofficial means not on the books. Although there is that little clause of "separation of church and state" going on, notice how that doesn't always get into actual practice (e.g. "one nation, under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance which is STILL recited in a lot of public schools, Christian morals being the ones typically followed, a lot of politicians that get into the public eye are Christian, most businesses closing for Christian holidays...) God even pops up in the Declaration of Independence. Although we say they're separated, religion and politics aren't entirely separated in this country.
Posted by: Token Female | Thursday, December 29, 2011 at 10:01 AM