Seven Swans A-Swimming (Day 7 of the 12DoC link-up): Christmas Pet Peeves

Today I'm bringing you a subject very near and dear to my heart. PET PEEVES. I've done Pet Peeve Posts in the Past (lovely alliteration, right? :P) And while wracking my brain for more Christmas post ideas, I thought wait, I haven't done a pet peeve post in awhile...why not do a Christmas one? To be safe, I looked back at my previous pet peeve posts (again with the alliteration... this is fun B-) and sure enough, not a SINGLE pet peeve about Christmassy stuff. SO.

*drum roll*

I'm going to give you some pet peeves I have about Christmas in particular. Your job is to realize that these following things I'm going to rant about are my opinion, so don't take anything personally. To those of you who disagree with me on the following pet peeves, please understand that I don't look down on you for that, believe me, I know I'm weird about some of the things I have opinions on. If you think differently, that's totally fine. I respect your opinion as I hope you will respect mine.

And, above all, don't take this too seriously. This post is supposed to be FUN. Just sit back and enjoy my tangents. ;)

~ Pet Peeve #1 ~

The thought that Christmas songs should only be sung between the day after Thanksgiving and the end of the year

Guys, I love my Christmas songs. Personally, I don't think songs like "Hark the Herald Angels Sing", "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" and "Silent Night" should be only played during the last little bit of November and the month of December. I know some people think that this tradition makes these songs more special...and in some ways I see their point...but I'm not going to go 11 months of the year without listening to my favorite songs. Just saying.

~Pet Peeve #2 ~

When people substitute Christmas with other words or phrases like "Xmas" or

"Happy Holidays"

Do I think people sin when they say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas"? No. That phrase is perfectly fine...but something about using that instead of a good ol' fashioned "Merry Christmas" rubs me the wrong way. I just feel like substitutions are used in order to remove all signs of God from the season, and that frustrates me. Probably in most cases, that thought doesn't even cross the person's mind who uses the substitute phrase. But with everything already moving away from focusing on Christ during Christmas, that one thing is kind of the straw that breaks the camel's back (to use a Christmassyish metaphor...you know, camels...wise men...? *crickets* Never mind.)

~ Pet Peeve #3 ~

Santa Clause

(a.k.a St. Nicolas, Father Christmas, etc.)

I don't have anything against the story/ies behind this traditional figure, but the way this man has become such a huge part of Christmas...drowning out the story of the birth of our Messiah...makes me want to push back with shunning him completely. That, of course, would be the extreme reflex to the issue, and one I won't make, but the fact remains that I think he shouldn't be such a huge part of JESUS' BIRTHDAY. I mean, really?

~ Pet Peeve #4 ~

When secular stories are mixed with the Biblical Christmas story

 I don't remember when, but at one point, I watched this cartoon about Santa getting his sack stolen or lost or something and this little orphan girl helping an elf find it. At one point, she asks why the magic sack is so important, and the elf explains that it was made from the same swaddling cloth that Jesus was wrapped in as a baby, and that was why it's magical.

At the time, I don't think it bothered me...I was probably like five or six, and theology wasn't as important to me as it is now. But years later that sort of thing really bothers me. I don't like when my REAL God is mixed up in stories that are obviously UNreal. It's almost like Jesus' birth is lumped in with the other traditional fairy tales as "one of those stories". A tradition, but not necessarily something that ACTUALLY happened. And that ruffles my feathers. (Ok, I'm not going to even try to get that metaphor to work as a Christmas metaphor...)

~ Pet Peeve #5 ~

When the wise men show up at the stable

 This. Just. WHY??? Have the people creating nativity sets ever actually READ the Christmas story? Luke chapter two, y'all. THE WISE MEN DON'T GO AND WORSHIP JESUS AT THE STABLE. That's the shepherds, ok? The wise men come at least a year later, maybe two. Jesus is a toddler when they show up. And, above all, I sigh extra loud when I see a picture (like the one above) of ONLY the three wise men at the stable. *face palm* Not only do these people get the wrong people in there at the wrong time, but they don't even have the RIGHT people in there at the right time! (a.k.a the shepherds) 

Also, to go along with this pet peeve, here's my other wise men pet peeve: nowhere in the Bible does it say that there were THREE wise men. They brought three different kinds of gifts, yes, but that doesn't mean there were only three of them. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

So, there are a few pet peeves of mine when it comes to Christmas. I probably could have come up with more...but we'll leave it at that before I end up offending everyone in the world. XD

Which pet peeves do we share in common? (If any! ;P)

Which ones were you surprised to see up there?

What's your opinion on these? (I ask in fear and trembling...please be nice in your disagreement guys. I don't want to have to delete any comments, ok?)

Well, I hope you enjoyed reading my rants. Thank you for putting up with me and my opinions. Again, I don't judge you for having a different opinion on any of these pet peeves of mine. I only posted this for entertainment purposes, don't take anything personally. I DON'T HATE ANY OF YOU. YOU ARE STILL MY FRIENDS.

I'll be back in a couple days with a tag all about Christmas books...so stay tuned!

Until then, let everything you do be done for the glory of God! :)

Pictures are not mine.

Pet Peeve Post

Awesome alliteration, no? That like never happens to me, so I'm going to enjoy the moment...

Ok, moment over. Now onto the reason I wrote this post.

A random thought surfaced in my mind a couple days ago and I decided to put it into action. A rare occurrence indeed since I usually forget my random thoughts a few moments after I have them. And it's a good thing for you that they do! Believe me on that one...
However, this one was so fun, I didn't forget it. I made it into a blog post instead for your enjoyment (hopefully).

I'm going to give you some of my pet peeves. And then you're going to tell me how much you agree with me. Got it?? ;)

Here they are...in no particular order except that this was how they came into my mind and therefore how I wrote them down:

1. Stereo-types. Or, more specifically, people who put other people in stereotypical boxes. God created each of us differently. Each is unique in his/her own way. Even people with the EXACT same personality still don't have everything in common. Trust me on that one. I speak from experience. :)
Like big family stereo-types. As one example.
As another example, you know those people who think PKs should be perfect? Newflash!:  We're not. I will say no more.

 

Legolas from "Lord of the Rings"

2. Characters in movies that never run out of arrows or bullets. This elf had about ten arrows when he began this war...I'm being generous there...and by the end he's killed almost fifty orcs? With more arrows left in his quiver??
Then there's those cowboys with magical guns that never run out of bullets. He's shot twenty-three bullets now...I've been counting...and he's still going strong. Will he EVER run out??
Yeah, there's a reason I prefer swordfights. But even then...

Scene from Disney's "Robin Hood"

3. Sword fights where practically everything is broken...or turned over if it can't get broken. Seriously, it's like they're TRYING to break/cut/knock over all the things in the room they're fighting. There goes the candle...and the table gets knocked over...saw that one coming. Ah, yes...of course. All three vases and the two lamps go crashing to the floor. *rolls eyes*

4. Love triangles. WHY DO AUTHORS HAVE TO SPOIL PERFECTLY GOOD PLOTS WITH LOVE TRIANGLES????? I tell you what...my books are never going to have love triangles in them!!

5. Perfect characters. *cough, cough* theElsieDinsmoorseries *cough, cough* When someone's worst sin is not going to church ONE Sunday...and only because they were being forced against their will to not go...they should not be written about. My personal opinion is that characters should be written about so that we, meaning the readers, can learn from their mistakes. We can't if they don't make any. Character's should be a good representation of real people. And ALL people make mistakes. But they can also learn and apply.

6. When Bible verses are taken out of context. This irritates me to no end. And I'm usually a pretty easy-going person. But when people take God's word out of context and try to make it mean something other than what it was meant to mean...that gets me mad. I could go on and on about this, but I will refrain myself. ;)

7. "White lies". People, there is NO such thing as a "white lie". All lies are bad. There are times, I believe, when being too straight-forward and blunt is not advisable to say the least. The truth should be spoken in love.

8. Women super heroes. Be honest, there are NO good women super heroes. They just can't hold a candle to the guy super heroes. Sorry ladies, but it's true. Besides which, they're usually immodest. Another pet peeve of mine that will not be mentioned in this post because I could go on and on about it...like forever. Women super heroes were really only created to appease feminists. Which brings me to my next pet peeve...

9. Feminists. Yes, I believe women should be feminine...don't get me wrong. Women should act, dress, and look like the ladies God created them to be...which is partially why feminists make no sense to me.
They get jobs instead of staying home with their kids (if they even have any), they push their agenda by forcing movies to make characters for women villains, women super heroes, single moms, women spies, and women soldiers...and then on top of all that, they claim the right to kill their own babies. Why?
Well, the only answer I could come up with was that we live in a fallen world and that people are sinners by nature. That's the sad fact.

I just realized I put feminists into a stereo-typical box. *groans and does a face-palm*
Ok, so there are probably some feminists out there that are great people. Maybe even some Christian ones...though that sounds like an oxymoron.
Ahem.

10. Auto-correct. So sometimes this function is actually helpful. But other times...grrr. Either it fixes words you don't want fixed, or it doesn't fix words you DO want fixed! (Like 'fir' instead of 'for' and 'us' instead of 'is'.)
I'm sure EVERYONE has dealt with this one at some point during their blogging. Especially those of you who post or comment on other's posts with wireless electronic devices. You know who you are... B-)

This is my opinion on all of the above subjects. ;)
Explanation: This picture was taken while dissecting a frog for Biology. My brother, ever the selfie expert, took the picture. (Actually, he doesn't really take selfies. I was joking about that.)

What did you think?
Should I do another Pet Peeve Post?
(I've got LOT'S more pet peeves up my sleeves...hey look, that even kind of rhymed!)
Do you want to make your own Pet Peeve Post? (You know you do...) If you do I'll pay your post a visit and comment. That's a promise!
Which pet peeve(s) do you share in common with me?