SGrouchy comments on Solstice 2015: What Memes May Come? (Part I) - Less Wrong

14 Post author: Raemon 02 November 2015 05:13PM

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Comment author: SGrouchy 09 November 2015 10:35:30PM 1 point [-]

I think the topics list is too long for a single holiday. For comparison:

Thanksgiving Giving Thanks Family National Heritage -Pilgrims and Indians

Christmas Generosity/ Giving
Family
Christ
Community of All People/ Brotherhood

Also the more major themes you throw at Solstice, the less you have available to differentiate future possible holidays. Instead of eventually having 3-4 different holidays with different themes and feels, you'd get 3-4 holidays that all cover all the themes.

X-Risk is covered pretty well by Petrov Day, so you could probably cross that off the list since it's taken care of elsewhere. And making atheism a major theme doesn't feel right, because then it feels more like a nyah nyah pooh pooh of Christmas rather than something solemn and important in it's own right.

Comment author: Raemon 09 November 2015 11:38:46PM *  0 points [-]

I actually agree with a lot of this: if you look at the next post, you'll see my thoughts about atheism are "it's not actually a priority at all." (All the topics listed there are not necessarily ones that should be included, just ones that have played some role historically)

That said, I'm also defining subthemes a bit differently than you. For example, if I were making a similar list for Christmas, it'd be:

Generosity
Peace on Earth, Goodwill
Theological Birth of Christ
The Nativity Scene (i.e. Mythological Birth of Christ)
King Herod et all
Family
Winter Festivities / Winter Wonderland
Santa Clause (and Christmas Magic) Christmas Candy/Food (candy canes, gingerbread, etc)

It's not just about the core-themes, it's about the surrounding mythology that springs up around those core themes. Several of the things I just listed also have a lot of sub-components.

The mythology is going to evolve over time, but I do think it's important to give it a strong definition early on, because that can shape how it further evolves over time.

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