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Welcome Reepicheep. Yes we were ripped off of Christmas -- our families cheated out of a very special time for so many years.
Y'know, Banning Christmas isolates us from outside influences.
Which is exactly what a cult leader wants.
The winter holidays bring enjoyable experiences with non believers.
(Horrors! The outside world is a safe, enjoyable place? My God, church members will ditch me as soon as they find out life is better on the outside.)
Repeat, the winter holidays subtract attention from the high demand cult leader.
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Welcome Reepicheep. Yes we were ripped off of Christmas -- our families cheated out of a very special time for so many years.
Y'know, forbidding participation in Christmas is an effective way to isolate us from a huge array of outside influences and thus trap us further in a cultic group.
A group that tells you to avoid winter holiday efforts and festivities requires you to forgo special times with friends and families outside the high demand group.
The winter holidays bring high risk that you will have enjoyable experiences with non believers -- experiences which cause you to realize you're happier outside of the group than inside the group.
And...attention to the holiday subtracts attention from your high demand leader.
Winter holidays foster bonding experiences with strangers. (Gasp!)
* There's a shared sense of endeavor that comes with the winter holidays.
Even the stuff that's a pain in the butt is something you can grouch about with total strangers. They understand. You see each other in line at the post office, you make that extra effort to go shopping for goodies, arrange to cater something to bring to a party or a family gathering.
You talk with each other at the office, fall into conversations at cafes.
Winter holidays foster bonding experiences with
strangers.
What do we get at the Winter holidays?
* Christmas decorations, music, food, and the beloved Ugly Sweater parties.
* Once a year aromas - pine trees, ginger/spice combinations, peppermint.
* Eggnog. Even if you don't like it, the stuff shows up at just this time of year. How many of us would drink the stuff, otherwise?
* Our families
* Seasonal offerings in bookstores, bakeries, grocery specials.
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2017 08:05AM by corboy.