Photo by Anokarina.

Welcome back to Overheard in D.C., DCist’s weekly column of funny, strange, and poignant things that our readers and staff overhear and send in. We’ve been doing it since 2006, so check out the archives here.

With the role of religion declining in America while cultural sensitivity is on the rise, the holiday season can be a tricky one. How can you pick a holiday card that won’t offend anyone?

Overheard of the Week

Near the cards section in the Columbia Heights Target:

Guy 1: “We can’t do religious, baby Jesus, or Santa, but we can do snowflakes, elves, or reindeer.”

Guy 2: “Are you sure? I think all reindeers are Christian.”

Guy 1: “Or are they just Nordic?”

After the jump, cultural understanding, money problems, and more.

As always, Real, Original Overheard in D.C. relies on you to submit the good stuff to our special Overheard in D.C. email address. Make sure to tell us who, where, and in what context, too.

——

Thanks, Obama!

Tuesday around lunchtime on L Street NW at Connecticut Avenue:

Two 60-something, K Street lobbyist types are talking about their day.

Man 1: “How’s your day?”

Man 2: “Terrible. The White House is giving me trouble again.”

Man 1: “Oh really?”

Man 2: “Yeah, about the money.”

——

But not you guys!

On a 30 Metrobus heading toward Georgetown from downtown:

Bus driver: “Some people just make you want to wind down the window and just beat the living daylight out of them.”

Passengers are silent.

——

Cultural understanding, thanks to Showtime

Kabob Palace in Crystal City at 5 a.m. Sunday:

Two 20-something white men are talking.

Man 1: “So do you want to eat there, or do you want to McDonalds?”
Man 2: “Let’s eat here, but let me do the ordering. I’m watching Homeland this season, so I speak the language.”
Man 1: “Awesome. I can’t pronounce anything here.”

——

… and the E! channel …

On a bus in Georgetown:

Two early-20s girls are discussing a boy they know.

Girl 1: “What is his eth … ethin … ethnicity?”
Girl 2: “I don’t know, is he one of those … a Kardashian?”
Girl 1:”I know what you’re talking about, it starts with an ‘A.’ But no.”

——

… and ??? …

Friday evening at The Tombs in Georgetown:

An obviously inebriated young couple, maybe in their early or mid-20s, is speaking.

Guy: “So you’re a Kenyan? Really? You’re white, though.”
Girl: “Yeah, I’m one of those … what do you call it?”
Guy: “Colonists? Apartheid whites? Genocide…”
Girl: “Yeah! Genocide! That’s it.”

——

Mama beard, papa beard and baby beard

Two bearded guys, one in his late 30s and the other in his early 20s, in line at a food cart near Union Station:

Older guy to younger guy: “My beard wants to be your beard when it grows up.”

——

And finally, the truth.

Two young professional women are walking back from lunch in Farragut. It’s sunny and 73 degrees outside:

One girl to her friend: “You can tell it’s secretly cold out, but it’s just trying to be warm!”