The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

So where was all of the local high school bands? Most years at least two Tulsa public high schools are represented.

I saw East Central and Hale. Gravette Arkansas, Beggs, were there.

Was East Central the band with no signs early in the parade? Was Hale the big blue sound? I saw begs and gravette, though they are not TPS so not who I was referring to. Anyway poor signage made it seem like less local schools where represented. Best parade in a few years.

It was a good parade. Yes, the big blue sound was Hale and the all red uniform band early on was East Central.

Ah okay cool, thank you.

We saw one of the bigger TNF celebrities there.  The downtown (all inclusive) parade, that is.

I was at home. You must have been confused.  :P

Bands look at this time of year to play the nicest slot they can get. We have many great local high school bands who regularly play bowl games so that leaves lesser local bands and nearby communities to play our parades, for which playing this event is a big deal.

You may have been home, Guido, but your ego had its own float.  And it was a big one!  Mine was bigger, though.

You can see me from a good distance.

What would you say is the optimal distance?  Not to far. Not too close.   ;D

The Broken Arrow Pride will be marching in the Rose Bowl parade. I'm guessing that getting them would be like booking Justin Bieber.

A mistake?

The Rose Bowl Parade or Justin Bieber?

I was standing at 4th and Cheyenne. Right before the fireworks went off the parade sped up to 60 MPH and the last few floats went speeding by. There were a few really long gaps at the begining of the parade so I guess they were trying to make up for lost time?

Did anyone else experience a 20 minute or so lag between floats at about 6:40?

Yes. I think a float broke down and had to be removed. I'm pretty sure it was the alien float.

We were barely going fast enough to keep the bicycles upright.  We ate at The Vault after the parade and Libby was telling us their Elote-mobile's battery went dead right before they were supposed to move out and they had to wrangle some jumper cables in a big hurry.

The real Christmas Parade was the big parade at Tulsa Hills, it was packed with people. Christmas is about Christ - it's a Christian holiday. The downtown parade  may as  well be held  on New Years or some other time of the year, it does not celebrate Christmas and that's the reason for the season.

I don't think the original poster asserted it as a question about the Christmas parade, it was a question about the holiday parade.

If they were to do the Holiday Parade of Lights some other time of the year then what holiday would it be celebrating?  MLK Day?  Have one of those.  Memorial Day?  Yep, there's a celebration for that.  Independence Day?  Oh, all kinds of events and parades in the area.  Veteran's Day?  It's downtown even.  You want the traditional Holiday Parade of Lights to celebrate Labor Day?  Too many picnics.  Arbor Day?  RM might like that, it promotes trees.  Or, Columbus Day?  Am I missing any other holidays that we could celebrate with a parade of lights?

Sometimes, it seems, a post is made that is so blatantly stupid that the poster has to be fake.

The downtown parade celebrated Christmas as well as other holidays. The south Tulsa parade celebrated Christmas shopping at the stores at a mall.

Was TNF represented at the Christmas parade? Anyone? Anyone?

Source!

Tulsa Hills has become a depressing place.  It's a place to go, do what you need to, and leave.

It's a shame.  It could've been so much more.

I agree. It has no atmosphere and you feel like you are taking some form of radical drivers test just to weave from store to store.  "You can't get out that way. . .or that way. . .or that way. . ."  The firm that designed it should not ever design anything ever again.

I agree with you both. I haven't been back after I had to get a item for Christmas when it first opened. The weaving in and out of parking lots was rediculous.
I was just curious if anyone went to the parade and what they thought about it.
Me personally, I would much rather watch a parade with the backdrop of tall buildings. But that's just me.

And subsequent holiday fireworks.

Sauer, fooled me. I thought it twas all about stuff.

Ka-Zackly!

I enjoyed the parade.

I didn't understand why the Coney Island (with hundreds of people standing around within a block of their door) couldn't deviate from normal hours to get some business from parade goers. I feel like so many businesses downtown are just open certain hours because that's the way it's been for decades.

The same goes for the new popcorn shop. They're open 4 hours a day five days a week at a time when there's a holiday parade, winterfest, tons of people at the pop-up shops and more that I'm probably forgetting.

A lively downtown needs businesses, and it needs businesses more than just the current array of bars and sit-down restaurants.

Many people in the crowd were yelling out "Merry Christmas!" as well as people in the parade yelling back to the crowd.  For someone to say it didn't celebrate Christmas is really ignorant.  But look at the source...

Didn't this all start because Senator Inhofe refused to ride his donkey in the parade once he figured out it was now called the Holiday Parade Of Lights?

I think the crowd would have been confused by trying to figure out which one was the donkey.

(Sorry, couldn't resist.  I'll be quiet now.)

I don't think he could have steered it unless there was a big yellow X on the road

Pilots will get that reference

I really think there's a lot more to it all that lays below surface. But RM has this thing about protecting religion on the forum. I'm ok with that. It's called being respectful of other's beliefs. But when those beliefs are used by the powerful to meet their goals then both "groups" have issues. (and many of you wonder why we can't retain the educated children in Tulsy)

Actually, these differences eventually lead to a better understanding between people. Jim Inhofe has had a lifetime to adapt and understand but he still digs in those heels. He must long for when the country was not so diverse.

In the future we will see the Suburban Christmas Parade and the Downtown Holiday Parade. Just quit doing it at the same time on the same date. That's reflective of the ugly underbelly of hate and intolerance.

I am adding that I enjoy yelling "Merry Christmas" and getting into the spirit by virtue of the community connection despite my non beliefs.

Which is why the only float I saw on the news from that parade showed a big Santa Claus waving at the crowd with a
"Happy Birthday Jesus!" banner behind him. That was weird. It was a shopping promotion, not a Christian parade. That's fine, but don't make it more than it was.

Jesus seems to be a somewhat frequently occurring name for Hispanic males so the "Happy Birthday Jesus" banner could possibly be for someone local. (I know, the probability is minimal.)   :D

I said "Thank you Jesus" and my lawn guy said back, "De nada".

I assume you pronounced it (approximately) hey-SOOS rather than GEES-us.

Moral of the story:
Judge a parade by the floats and atmosphere, not its name.

NOPE. The moral of the story is "don't make your town look like idiots". Schedule your parades on separate days and different times. Don't make yourselves look like mean and hateful people.

Agree with Tea Town Clown on this one.

A parade to celebrate the birth of Christ is certainly worthy.  Did Christ himself not ride into Jerusalem on a donkey with palm leaves and robes laid down for him to pass on?  The original Christ parade, perhaps?

But, in my humble opinion to intermix the commercial (and some would say pagan) symbols of the modern Christmas celebration and proclaim it the Christmas parade celebrating "The Reason for the Season", in an almost Pharisaical tone mind you, is laughable.  So laughable in fact it makes our little metropolis a laughingstock of the late night TV set.

Is Tulsa the only U.S. City that wants to call it's parade Christmas?
I'm old and have alway's heard the name Christmas parade.
I can't remember the last company Holiday party I went to.
Or my last Holiday present I recieved.
Hey I sure like that Holiday sweater you're wearing, with that big fat red fraud on it.
Did you get you're Holiday bonus yet?
I got me a festavus pole this year. All the Holiday trees were gone.
Hurry and send out those Holiday cards with the picture of my frowning Holiday family on it.
I hate how the radio station keeps playing that Holiday music. They should bleep out that Christ word in those songs.
I hope that my son gets that x-box he wants for Holiday.
Boy the Grinch was stupid to go out and try and steal Holiday.
But I will give all you spirit killing, politically correct, laughingstock making Tulsans one thing.
Charlie Brown did go out and buy one Helluva nice "HOLIDAY" tree

Change happens. Like you, I am old and my holiday memories are from the sepia toned 50's and 60's. But you either embrace change and evolve or you spend your life complaining about how it used to be.

Did you know-
Cincinnati avenue is now MLK avenue
Christmas lights are now Holiday lights
Water coolers are gone
No one seems to know who Virgil "Gus" Grissom was and why we would care.
There is no Easter bunny and he had nothing to do with Easter
Holiday Shopping is an acceptable term and interchangeable with Christmas Shopping
There was a time when people loved their land lines
23 Skidoo is meaningless
Groovy will be soon
"Its gotta' be more than just two lines, in the Oklahoma City Times"...is meaningless

Call a parade what you want but to set up dueling parades and try to take the position that yours is more holy when both were designed for and paid by commercial interests is hypocrisy.

Big parade in OKC is the Annual Devon  Energy Holiday Parade on the Oklahoma River. Devon happens to be a very large contributor to Inhofe's campaign. Has he ever complained about that one?

The Hell you say

I'm not advocating replacing the word "Christmas" with "Holiday".  I'm advocating to understand that in our increasingly diverse country there are more celebrations in December than just Christmas.  They each have their own traditions and celebrations, where those overlap I see no problem calling those "holiday".  As an example, some Jewish families will decorate their Hanukkah bush using blue lights.  Some Christian families decorate their Christmas tree with the same.  Should those be packaged as Hanukkah lights or Christmas lights?  Holiday lights seems like a fair compromise to me.

The organizers and supporters of the Holiday Parade of Lights are not waging a war on Christmas, they are simply inviting those that practice various faiths and December traditions to join them in parading through the streets of downtown celebrating in a joyous and peaceful way.  Why is that so hated?

Well stated!

<sarcasm>
Because all those other religions are bogus
If you don't believe in Jesus, Santa Clause and Christmas you're going to hell
God hating commies!
The fact that you believe in (or worse, accept) other religions scares me and my narrow world view.
</sarcasm>

I used to like this time of year. I have some amazing stories of wonderful parts of my life that happened in December. I believe that people have been good to me and good things have happened around me each December because of many Christian friends and strangers filled with Christmas spirit. I can tell you stories that will make us both cry with joy.

I would never want to wage a war on Christmas. I believe in it. It is real.

But I have immediate family that are Mormon, Baptist, Muslim, Catholic, Unitarian, Atheist, Agnostic and attend the Salvation Army church. These are my brothers and sisters and their spouses and my cousins and parents and people I love. Each of them see Christmas differently than me. I want to respect their holidays and traditions.

We completely celebrate Christmas Day in my home. It is a holy day to me.

But I strongly believe that the people that demand that every day from Thanksgiving to December be proclaimed to be an exclusive homage to the birth of Christ are selfish and wrong. They demand that no other religion be mentioned for weeks and have somehow determined that the word holiday (from holy day) is offensive to them and must be challenged if ever used.

They are wrong to demand such. I believe they are just upset that the symbols of Christmas have become a guy in a red suit, reindeer, a snowman, and indoor dead trees. They have lost that symbolic battle and now just have other religions left to fight. I don't want to fight. And it ain't because Santa Claus is watching me.

And I'm sure it's never occurred to those people that Christians co-opted this celebratory season from earlier religions in the first place.

I won't go so far as to say I used to like this time of year, but I find I change stations and am quick to delete commercial emails to try and avoid the commercial exploitation of the season as much as possible.  What disappoints me about this time of year is it seems to have become focused so much on personal consumption rather than giving.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uKnd6IEiO0&feature=g-high-u[/youtube]

Holiday is short for "Holy Day" and is not a secular term
Families generally don't got "Home for the christmasdays"
I've had customers, friends and neighbors who were Jewish, so I have wished people "Happy Holidays" for years since it covers both
There are tons of holiday cards with holiday families who look plenty happy
Sirius XM has a "holiday" music station
NPR is doing "holiday" music programming
Movies in december are called "Holiday Movie Season"
The Downtown parade was known as the "Yule Parade" for decades and became the "Parade of Lights" when PSO started sponsoring it. The word "Christmas" appeared in the name only sporadically over the life of the event.
If your son cares more about the name of a parade that happens three weeks before opening his XBox, then he shouldn't get an XBox.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

May your sales be merry and bright!

Brought to you by. None other than CNN. Penn Jillette's Atheist War on Christmas. From "The Monkees" to "Frank Zappa" he is never short on comparisons. He is Happy Holidays version of Christmas Wesboro Baptist.

Enjoy.http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/13/opinion/jillette-atheist-christmas/index.html?eref=rss_opinion&cid=sf_twitter