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sloowhand t1_ix3u4kt wrote

I refuse to acknowledge Christmas’s invasion and colonization of November.

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TheHairyManrilla t1_ix4tvlh wrote

The War on Christmas will end when Christmas respects the sovereignty of the autumn holidays and retreats across the Thanksgiving armistice line.

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Technicolor_Reindeer t1_ix48jd8 wrote

Thanksgiving is the most boring holiday, I see november as xmas prep month :)

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sloowhand t1_ix4dekj wrote

Thanksgiving is superior to Christmas in every way imaginable and I won’t abide its erasure!

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trenzelor t1_ix62fqk wrote

But do you get presents and countless movies for Thanksgiving???

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sloowhand t1_ix636ev wrote

The absence of presents and terrible movies is precisely why it’s superior.

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Gumburcules t1_ixcyhef wrote

> But do you get presents

Once you're not a kid anymore presents suck though. I'm an adult with a job, anything I want I'll just buy myself. Nobody is going to be as good at giving me presents as myself, and then I have to give them a present of reasonably equal value in return so basically you're spending money to get stuff you didn't actually want.

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trenzelor t1_ixczbp6 wrote

Thats true...which is why i always gift myself something i want! That way im guaranteed to get at least 1 thing i actually like

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Technicolor_Reindeer t1_ix6b417 wrote

Its all the family fights, boring food, horrible travel conditions and none of the lights or presents. Thanksgiving can suck it.

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sloowhand t1_ix6nhnk wrote

Christmas has all the fights. And the same food. Worse travel conditions. And you also have to spend half your life savings buying presents for people. Not to mention being obligated to go to a dozen stupid holiday parties you don’t want to go but have to. And there’s having to listen to the same six stupid Christmas songs ad nauseam.

Thanksgiving is just a single day, with better weather, hanging out with the people you love, eating your face off, then drinking beer and watching football. THEN you get the rest of a 4-day weekend to yourself. And you’re done in a single day as opposed to having to deal with it for a month and a half. Thanksgiving rules.

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LeoMarius t1_ix3i7f9 wrote

I always loved walking through there during Xmas time. Do they still have the trains?

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erichinnw OP t1_ix3rnhi wrote

Do you mean Amtrak & Metro? If so, absolutely. If you mean a miniature model set, I've never seen one.

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datoverder t1_ix3wgzf wrote

They used to have model trains there in the SW corner of the station. No idea when they stopped, I haven't been in there regularly since middle school.

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poirotoro t1_ix41q5h wrote

They had the model trains up through the mid-2010s at least! I remember seeing them when I was still using Amtrak to visit family over the holidays.

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aoc_desantis_2024 t1_ix86tn7 wrote

Ha at first I thought this was a joke about how empty Union Station has become.

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RallyPigeon t1_ix5rtgx wrote

I'd like an answer to this as well. They didn't have it in 2020 or 2021 IIRC

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LeoMarius t1_ix4ss67 wrote

The miniatures. I know Metro and Amtrak still go through there.

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JAStars102 t1_ix617d9 wrote

If you're missing trains, the Botanic Gardens have a free Train exhibit every year. It's also free.

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LeoMarius t1_ix620sc wrote

Thanks! I could probably make it over there after Thanksgiving.

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JAStars102 t1_ix642hy wrote

It won't open until after thanksgiving, but it's pretty neat. There are no reservations like there are at Zoolights, so a line is likely to be there.

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SolemnLemonMelons t1_ix3ppjm wrote

Lovely picture that is a reminder to brace myself for the scent of "pine & pee" when heading to the train.

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celj1234 t1_ix3wziw wrote

Let thanksgiving happen. There should be a massive turkey out there

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RallyPigeon t1_ix5rzxs wrote

Christmas started taking over Halloween sections before the end of October this year. I've seen restaurants with trees up already too.

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melissalovekills237 t1_ix4d9rx wrote

It's so beautiful, I used to work in the Center Cafe, the big round mahogany restaurant, right in the middle of the train station..I don't even know if it's still there. Now that my parents have passed... I don't come home anymore..but I l loved working there. At Christmas, they used to have toy train sets, set up... and on my break, I would walk around and look at them. Each one was like its own little world and the craft that the artists put into them, was amazing. This time of year is so magical.... I miss coming home for Christmas😞🪄🎩🎄☃️

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Eurynom0s t1_ix4krqe wrote

Center Cafe is long gone, that whole hall is just empty space now. :(

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melissalovekills237 t1_ixxsyxx wrote

That's a shame it was a beautiful restaurant and I made really good money there, well I was going to AU. I met a lot of very interesting people.It was actually my first real job.. I had been a hostess and shucked crabs and worked at my dad's KB theaters...when I was a teenager but that was my first real full-time job. The staff would take the train up to New York and party after the Friday night shift and then be back to work for the next dinner shift, in the same clothes, it was crazy. I spilled an entire bowl of soup down my grandmother's back because I was so nervous serving my family and I dropped a jeroboam of $1500 champagne on New Year's Eve because I had never opened champagne before... and I think the bartender was messing with me because I begged him to do it for me at the table ... but he told me that I had to learn how to do it myself. So I close my eyes and pulled on the cork and bam slid right out of my hand..the 2 customers from Saudi Arabia thought it was hilarious and ordered another one and end up tipping me enough money to cover the bottle which I was responsible for and another 1500 for me. I had a woman stab her husband in the hand at one of my tables...snd I won the super bowl pool and I know nothing about football everybody was pissed ...that was the best first job ever. That's a shame it's not still there but I don't really come home anymore.

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Jack0fNoTrade5 t1_ix3yxv1 wrote

Kind of an ironic ad from the directory

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Slapbox t1_ix4i35u wrote

What makes it Norwegian? Norwegian pine, I guess?

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dumbdumbmen t1_ix4jsx7 wrote

Its put up by the Norwegian Embassy as a thank you for WWII (they also do one for the UK I believe) It's been a fake tree with a different theme for as long as I can remember.

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SirBreckenridge t1_ix4kgwe wrote

It's a gift from Norway to celebrate Norwegian-US Relations.

Fun Fact: The current King of Norway, Harald V, spent the first five years of his life in Washington, D.C. with his mother and sisters while Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany during WWII. He speaks English with a slight American accent as a result.

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erichinnw OP t1_ix4j96s wrote

It might be a Norwegian pine but it's an evergreen tree from Norway that is a gift to DC that they send every year.

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TaraJohn t1_ix4scpf wrote

So pretty ♥️

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clockoutdc t1_ix6pr8y wrote

By the way, I got a press release email about the tree lighting ceremony:

Norwegian Christmas Tree Lighting DATE: Monday, November 28, 5PM LOCATION: Union Station, Washington DC TICKETS: FREE One of Washington’s most popular holiday traditions, the annual Norwegian Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony, which began in 1997, kicks off the Christmas season with festive music, special guests, and of course, the lighting of the magnificent Norwegian Christmas Tree. This year’s performance line-up includes: tenThing, Wicked Sycamore, Rayshun Lamarr, and East of the River Steelband.

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swill128 t1_ix40ewv wrote

Fuck Christmas until Dec 20th.

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popcornjew t1_ix4jdfe wrote

Yes, for real

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Technicolor_Reindeer t1_ix5k4kt wrote

username checks out

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popcornjew t1_ix5kdqb wrote

I celebrate Christmas I just don’t like extended holiday seasons, it’s over commercialized and a mess. Not even sure why holiday talk is a thing before Thanksgiving

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Tom_Leykis_Fan t1_ix4zaff wrote

Looks beautiful. Maybe it'll get the whiny suburbanites to quit complaining about the place for five seconds.

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JaapHoop t1_ix6oj0p wrote

I never considered myself a whiny suburbanite before? Union Station has gone downhill massively from its glory days. I don’t even see how that’s up for debate?

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