RamaHanuKwanzMas

[neil]

In 2000 I received a Xmas card which bore on the front 'Best wishes...'

Inside was the following:

  for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress,
non-addictive, gender neutral, winter solstice holiday, practised within the
most joyous traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, but with
respect for the religious persuasion of others who choose to practise their
own religion as well as those who choose not to practise a religion at all;
plus a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically
uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year 2000, but
not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose
contributions have helped make our society great, without regard to the
race, creed, colour, religious, or sexual preferences of the wishes.²*

*Disclaimer: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It
implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for
her/ himself or others and no responsibility for any unintended emotional
stress these greetings may bring to those not caught up in the holiday
spirit.


The back bore a graphic of two felled trees, with the following statement:

This card is manufactured from
illegally imported wood,
stolen from persecuted Indians
in a country you¹ve never heard of.
For every tree cut down at least
two more are wasted.

Neil Crawford
typoG
Flat A
70 Muswell Hill Road
London
N10 3JR

+44 (0)20 8444 1234
neil at typog.co.uk

typog at ridgepaperprint.co.uk
01245 458675

on 16/12/04 3:12 pm, David Bowie at db.list at PMPKN.NET wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       David Bowie <db.list at PMPKN.NET>
> Subject:      RamaHanuKwanzMas
>
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>
> I don't recall if this one appeared in the discussion of mixed names for
> wintertide festivals, but i got a card from the younger of my sisters
> yesterday wishing me a "Merry RamaHanuKwanzMas" on the front, with the
> inside reading "Best Wishes for a Non-Offensive Celebratory Event." (She
> thoughtfully handwrote "Merry Solstice", as well, since that one seems to
> have been left out by the card designers.)
>
> Anyway, the inclusion of Ramadan in the list is interesting to me since i
> wouldn't call it a wintertide festival in the same sense as the others, due
> to its length--but Eid ul-Fitr probably wouldn't have fit into the rhythm as
> well.
>
> The back of the card advertises the web site for Glenn Beck, a
> conservative-lite talk radio guy, and it turns out he sells an entire
> (small) line of RamaHanuKwanzMas merchandise:
> http://www.mercuryradioarts.com/charts/productchart.jsp?dispid=1001404
>
> David Bowie                                         http://pmpkn.net/lx
> Jeanne's Two Laws of Chocolate: If there is no chocolate in the
> house, there is too little; some must be purchased. If there is
> chocolate in the house, there is too much; it must be consumed.