--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's nothing so obscene and depressing…" description: "\"There's nothing so obscene and depressing as an American Christmas.\" — Edward Abbey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/edward-abbey-254_christmas_there-s-nothing-so-obscene-and-depressin_2900187.png" --- # There's nothing so obscene and depressing as an American… ![“There's nothing so obscene and depressing as an American Christmas.” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/edward-abbey-254_christmas_there-s-nothing-so-obscene-and-depressin_2900187.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/edward-abbey-254_christmas_there-s-nothing-so-obscene-and-depressin_2900187.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/edward-abbey-254_christmas_there-s-nothing-so-obscene-and-depressin_2900187.png) > “There's nothing so obscene and depressing as an American Christmas.” [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. American Christmas can feel obscene and depressing. **In simple terms:** Holiday may seem bleak in America. Key Takeaway Seek authentic meaning beyond commercialism. Themes consumerism cultural critique holiday Mood reflective critical Type cultural philosophical When to use this quote - family gatherings - travel - personal reflection Key Concepts American traditions holiday commercialization Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of Christmas feel authentic? - How can you create meaningful traditions? A Different Perspective Some find joy in holiday rituals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christmas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas/) [Depressing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressing/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“They shared an image of the American Christmas--riches, reconciliations, tears, snow, success, sentiment, furs and firs, the shop windows shining like Heaven and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-thomas-ellis/they-shared-an-image-of-the-american-christmas-riches-reconciliations/) [Alice Thomas Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-thomas-ellis/) > [I once stole a pornographic book that was printed in braille. I used to rub the dirty parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-once-stole-a-pornographic-book-that-was-printed-in-braille-i-used/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [War technology is science in the service of obscene anatomical vandalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-goff/war-technology-is-science-in-the-service-of-obscene-anatomical/) [Stan Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-goff/) > [Commercial rock 'n' roll music is a brutalization of the stream of contemporary Negro church music an obscene looting of a cultural expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/commercial-rock-n-roll-music-is-a-brutalization-of-the-stream-of/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [Sex and obscenity are not synonymous. Obscene material is material which deals with sex in a manner appealing to prurient interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sex-and-obscenity-are-not-synonymous-obscene-material-is-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I imagine like most of us that I'd like obscene amounts of money but the people I met and worked with who have those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isaacs/i-imagine-like-most-of-us-that-i-d-like-obscene-amounts-of-money-but/) [Jason Isaacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isaacs/) > [Whether my acting was obscene, or whether it was distasteful, well, Judge Rehnquist, who just recently passed away couldn't define pornography. His comment on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reems/whether-my-acting-was-obscene-or-whether-it-was-distasteful-well/) [Harry Reems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reems/) > [“The worst possible sexual education: a taboo imposed by the Catholic church plus romantic literature elevating love to unreal heights plus the obscene language…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/czeslaw-milosz/the-worst-possible-sexual-education-a-taboo-imposed-by-the-catholic/) [Czeslaw Milosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/czeslaw-milosz/) > [When the commission finds that a pig has entered the parlor, the exercise of its regulatory power does not depend on proof that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paul-stevens/when-the-commission-finds-that-a-pig-has-entered-the-parlor-the/) [John Paul Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paul-stevens/) > [The most important truths always appear first as blasphemies or obscenities. That's why every great innovator is persecuted. And the sacraments look obscene, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-most-important-truths-always-appear-first-as-blasphemies-or/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The First Amendment is not an altar on which we must sacrifice our children, families, and community standards. Obscene material that is not protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-hatch/the-first-amendment-is-not-an-altar-on-which-we-must-sacrifice-our/) [Orrin Hatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-hatch/) > [The main hangup in the world today is hypocrisy and insecurity. If people can't face up to the fact of other people being naked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/the-main-hangup-in-the-world-today-is-hypocrisy-and-insecurity-if/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > ['Nobody goes to jail.' This is the mantra of the financial-crisis era, one that saw virtually every major bank and financial company on Wall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/nobody-goes-to-jail-this-is-the-mantra-of-the-financial-crisis-era/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [The only thing that is obscene is censorship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-thing-that-is-obscene-is-censorship/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Women should be obscene and not heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/women-should-be-obscene-and-not-heard/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) ## More by Edward Abbey > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. By submitting to huge hierarchies of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-institutions-are-too-big-they-represent-not-the-best-but-the/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it's likely that no one is thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/where-all-pretend-to-be-thinking-alike-it-s-likely-that-no-one-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“But why, the questioner insists, why do people like you pretend to love uninhabited country so much? Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. An old wino's disease, which could lay me in the grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/me-i-m-living-under-a-sword-too-as-jack-may-have-told-you-an-old-wino/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/look-here-i-want-to-say-for-godsake-folks-get-out-of-them-there/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/reason-has-seldom-failed-us-because-it-has-seldom-been-tried/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. Part Two: Say it well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-is-the-essence-of-the-art-of-writing-part-one-have-something-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) [Explore all 807 Edward Abbey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More Christmas quotes > [The notion of a non-religious Christmas is ridiculous. But so is the insistence on the part of Christians that politicians and retailers carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/the-notion-of-a-non-religious-christmas-is-ridiculous-but-so-is-the/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying, toys not included.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-manning/i-once-bought-my-kids-a-set-of-batteries-for-christmas-with-a-note-on/) [Bernard Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-manning/) > [May you have the spirit of Christmas which is Peace, the gladness of Christmas which is Hope, and the Heart of Christmas which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/may-you-have-the-spirit-of-christmas-which-is-peace-the-gladness-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To my future children; you will know the true meaning of Christmas just not you get gifts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-my-future-children-you-will-know-the-true-meaning-of-christmas/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No sane local official who has hung up an empty stocking over the municipal fireplace is going to shoot Santa Claus just before a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-smith/no-sane-local-official-who-has-hung-up-an-empty-stocking-over-the/) [Al Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-smith/) > [A new heart for a New Year, always!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-new-heart-for-a-new-year-always/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Santa Claus has nothing to do with it," the latke said. "Christmas and Hanukah are completely different things." "But different things can often blend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/santa-claus-has-nothing-to-do-with-it-the-latke-said-christmas-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For Christmas one year I bought my son a BB gun. He bought me a t-shirt with a bulls eye on the back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/for-christmas-one-year-i-bought-my-son-a-bb-gun-he-bought-me-a-t/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [“Why did he hesitate? He finally admitted to himself that he was like an American child who was almost completely certain about Santa Claus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/why-did-he-hesitate-he-finally-admitted-to-himself-that-he-was-like/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-seems-a-magic-in-the-very-name-of-christmas/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Heaven? Floating about with everyone you ever knew for eternity? Me family does me 'ed in after one day at xmas, I'd rather be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/heaven-floating-about-with-everyone-you-ever-knew-for-eternity-me/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/like-everyone-in-his-right-mind-i-feared-santa-claus/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“I stopped keeping an eye out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve because, when I was five, my mother told me that Santa was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/i-stopped-keeping-an-eye-out-for-santa-claus-on-christmas-eve-because/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [On Hanukkah, the first dark night, Light yourself a candle bright. I'll you, if you will me invite To dance within that gentle light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-gordon/on-hanukkah-the-first-dark-night-light-yourself-a-candle-bright-i-ll/) [Nick Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-gordon/) [Browse all 5,100 Christmas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's nothing so obscene and depressing as an American Christmas.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Abbey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/there-s-nothing-so-obscene-and-depressing-as-an-american-christmas/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Christmas" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/there-s-nothing-so-obscene-and-depressing-as-an-american-christmas/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/edward-abbey-254_christmas_there-s-nothing-so-obscene-and-depressin_2900187.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/edward-abbey-254_christmas_there-s-nothing-so-obscene-and-depressin_2900187.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dea/edward-abbey-254_christmas_there-s-nothing-so-obscene-and-depressin_2900187.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's nothing so obscene and depressing as an American Christmas.” — Edward Abbey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edward Abbey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There's nothing so obscene and depressing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/there-s-nothing-so-obscene-and-depressing-as-an-american-christmas/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/there-s-nothing-so-obscene-and-depressing-as-an-american-christmas/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```