I’m looking forward to Christmas

It’s coming up you know! And I for one am already getting excited. The first little treat that comes my way – I can hardly stand the wait – is egg nog! Mmm… it’s so deliciously bad for me, but I just can’t resist. And as the snow starts setting in for winter, it gets so cozy inside. Something about the winter just makes you want to eat fresh cookies and sit under a big blanket watching the snow fall. Then you have those crisp mornings when the new snow came the night before, and the whole world seems to be pristine and untouched – the snow dampens the sound and makes it feel so still, so serene.

And as it gets closer to December 25th, the decorations start coming out and the city lights up with festive colors and lights. It’s hard to beat a night with your loved ones, driving around with hot chocolate and snacks, looking at lights and decorations and savoring the time together. It builds up to Christmas day, and for me that’s a wonderful family and friends celebration. We give out gifts; we drink, eat and laugh. The stress of the rest of the year doesn’t matter for a day. I look forward to seeing people I don’t see often enough, sharing gifts and seeing their reaction to what I pick out for them. I will forget about health food for a day and eat whatever tastes good. I’ll drink some great wine, maybe take a nap by a crackling fire, and for a day I get to really relax. “Christ”mas or not, I can’t wait for this season to come.

Sometimes when people shed a religion, they’re eager to also cast off any ties to it. It may be a symbolic act for them, rejecting the practices all together. That’s fine, if it’s meaningful for you, but I have no problem keeping some holiday traditions. I don’t feel like it’s anything hypocritical, and doesn’t mean anything about my belief system. Deep down, I know that I enjoy lots of the aspects of Christmas (which has grown very far from celebrating the birth of Jesus, much to the chagrin of many Christians), and I know that a day (or season) of celebration is a great way to recharge for the coming year, and reflect on the past one. I don’t go to church; I don’t put an angel on the top of my tree. But it’s also not necessary to hoist a copy of Origin of Species up there just to make a stand. The holiday, for me, has nothing to do with religion or a belief system, and forcing that upon it is just plain silly. If I wanted to make a stand, I’d make up some other holiday and celebrate that – but then it wouldn’t be celebrating a holiday, it would be making a show of my beliefs.

In fact, I think the secular celebration of Christmas is a great thing. Some holidays commemorate special events, and some are purely religious. But there’s nothing wrong with celebration for its own sake. I don’t have to deprive myself of things that I truly enjoy to be comfortable with my beliefs. Come on, it’s Christmas… just have a good time!

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Monday, September 28th, 2009 General

581 Comments to I’m looking forward to Christmas

  • makarios says:

    You go girl! Enjoy what you enjoy and don’t let anyone stop you. Happy Holy Days!

  • mjb says:

    Nothing you’ve described has anything to do with religion. Just a party with a cheezy (but fun)winter-ish theme and certain types of decorations and certain types of food.

    If you have kids someday are you going to string them along with the whole Santa Claus thing?

  • Crystal says:

    I’m with you on the excitement of Christmas. I love the holiday (I get the post-Christmas blues – that’s how much I love it), and I love spending it with my overtly religious family. Despite the fact that they are very religious, Christmas has never been a sacred holiday in my family. Yes, my mother puts up her angel tree topper, and yes, we all go around singing religious Christmas carols while we bake and decorate (even I do! Just because I’m an atheist doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the music I grew up with, even if that music has a religious message. My two favorite Christmas songs are both religious, as a matter of fact), and yes, my mother has her Christmas nativity decorations around the house, but Christmas itself has always been more about enjoying time with the family, not about praising some baby born in a barn. Despite their firm faith, my family rarely went to church anyway, so church on Christmas wasn’t something we did (except when visiting my grandparents up in Indiana). Since I have come out as an atheist, Christmas has never been awkward because, to us, it’s more about family, food, and… more food.

  • AtheistSpy says:

    I didn’t even know Christmas was a celebration of jesus until I was 12. I think Christmas is a great tradition, and an increasingly secular one at that. Some of my fondest childhood memories are from a stinking hot Australian Christmas day around the pool. Never have I associated god with it.

    I think its great that godless people can celebrate Christmas, not believing in god shouldn’t affect your social life or exclude you from such great events as Christmas or Easter.

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