Quick survey
If you got a Christmas card with just the words “Let nothing you dismay” (along with a photo and a “Love, Aprille and Denny”) on it, would you get it?
Denny and I are having a debate.
I like the kind of esoteric, out-of-contextuality of it. He thinks it will go over people’s heads.
I kind of like that it’s a little odd. A few days ago I sent my mom a card for her birthday that said, “Congratulations to the expecting parents!” I also put two wrinkled dollar bills in it.
OH! I just googled “let nothing you dismay” and apparently it’s part of a real thing. I just thought maybe it was Yoda-talk.
See, Katy, you’re smart. If you don’t get it, Denny’s probably right.
All right, maybe he is. You can’t put a little picture of Yoda by the words and draw a speech bubble that leads to his face?
I had to Google it, too, but then, I was never much for Christmas carols. Despite that, I like it. At face value it is a delightful sentiment, and then when you Google it, it makes sense, too. And this sort of thing reaps its reward tenfold when someone actually gets it right off.
I say, do it. Denny can take his pragmatic self off to Hallmark for his 300 friends and relations. 😉
I’m rather fond of it, personally. I think Christmas cards are corny and usually roll my eyes at the generic Seasons Greetings. I’d actually read and muse over that one, which I think is a good thing. And, knowing who it is from, I would think it was rather appropriate.
I love it. It’s unusual but instantly recognizable—to me, anyway.
I recognized what it was right away, but had I not I would have been a bit perplexed. I think it depends on how well “in tune” a person is with Christmas Carols.
Along the lines of Katy sending her mom the Expecting Parents card for her birthday, my hubby and I got a “Happy Birthday Grandson” card from a friend of ours for our wedding. It made us laugh so hard and was so “him”. I think sending cards that are off the wall or make people think gives them something to talk about and something they will always remember.
I recognize it; it’s from God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. (No Google necessary, but I like Christmas carols.) It’s also, in my opinion, an excellent wish in this season of seemingly endless stress for some. However, I think the couple needs to be in agreement on the greeting.
I got it right away, but, yeah, it would be really lost on someone who wasn’t pretty down with christmas songs. I went to just enough midnight grandma church times to know what’s up.
Hmph!
I got it, but I am extremely intelligent!
I got it as part of the lyrics to “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” (I’ve always loved that line because it’s more grammatically correct than they way we commonly speak and yet sounds so backwards). But then the mention of Yoda came up. You always make me draw unusual parallels between seemingly unrelated things.
I’m now trying to picture Yoda dressed as an elf! I’m also wondering how he would look in that old 19th century style when gramatically correct speech was more common and that phrasing wouldn’t seem nearly so out of place.
Send it! At least to those who would appreciate it. Heck, send me one! I’ll send you one of my hand-made cards (we always make our own cards every year).
Maybe you could print jaunty little musical notes at either end of the line? That might help people make the connection.
Lucky for me, you have given me an idea for our card this year. How do you like this line:
“You’re a three decker saurkraut and toadstool sandwich with arsenic sauce.”
Too foody?
I get it. GRYMG and “What Child Is This?” are my favorite Christmas carols. Go minor keys!
Any Christmas card that would make people get online, Google the phrase, and then possibly sing the carol to each other afterwards gets a thumbs up from me!
I’m dismayed. I received the card today, and after all this, just a “happy holidays” (thanks for keeping it secular). When I saw the envelope, I felt kind of let down because I thought I knew what it would say. Then I was delighted by the holiday letter (love those), then let down again by the lack of “let nothing you dismay”. All in all, a roller coaster of emotions in one mailing. Bravo.